The Arts Magazine to close
 

Final Issue: July/August 2003

Source: The Arts Magazine


After seven years of service to the arts community in Singapore and the region, The Arts Magazine is saying goodbye with its July/August 2003 issue.

The magazine was launched in 1997 by The Esplanade Co Ltd to establish a dialogue with the local, regional and international arts community. Since its launch, it has grown to become the premier guide to the arts in the region with an international reputation for excellence in arts coverage.

The Arts Magazine appears as an A4-size magazine with a supporting website at www.theartsmagazine.com.sg. It has provided extensive coverage of Eastern and Western art forms – classical, traditional and contemporary – with a focus on the Singapore art scene within an international perspective.

Of the decision to cease publication, The Arts Magazine Editor Rachel Farnay Jacques says, "The Arts Magazine broke new ground within the arts and cultural scene in Singapore and throughout Asia, and established a strong editorial reputation. Unfortunately, while much appreciated by its readers, subscription and sales never reached the necessary level for sustainability. It is a great magazine, but this is an unfortunate reality of the Singapore arts scene."

Esplanade CEO, Mr Benson Puah comments: "It was a hard decision to make to cease the publication of The Arts Magazine, as it has proven to have entrenched itself in the international and local arts community, serving an important function and providing a unique perspective on the arts. However, without special funding to continue publishing The Arts Magazine, we had to make this tough choice."

The final bi-monthly issue covers the return of the musical sensation Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress. It also introduces the 1st Singapore Chamber Music Festival and the original Butoh masters as they arrive in town. The issue commemorates the French heroine Joan of Arc in a moving event combining film and an original score by Richard Einhorn, conducted by Lim Yau. And as it bids farewell, the magazine questions the state of the Singapore art scene in its most revealing issue yet.

The magazine stopped accepting subscriptions from 1 May 2003. But, it continued to be delivered to subscribers, and will be available at newsstands until August 2003.