Debated in Parliament on 2 Aug 2021.
Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the Government is working with ticketing companies offering online streaming services to introduce age gates so that arts groups can produce non- "G" rated work digitally and still enjoy access to funding from the Digital Presentation Grant for the Arts (DPG).
MCCY and the National Arts Council (NAC) introduced the Arts and Culture Resilience Package (ACRP) in April 2020 to protect the arts and culture ecosystem, provide support and opportunities for arts and culture practitioners and help them develop longer-term capabilities for the post-COVID-19 recovery. The ACRP included support for arts and culture practitioners to present their works in digital form through grants, such as the Digital Presentation Grant for the Arts (DPG). These grants sought to generate work opportunities for arts groups and artists, and build industry capabilities in digital content production, while enabling new offerings for Singaporeans.
The DPG was open from April to September 2020, for projects to be completed by March 2021. It was well-received by the arts community, with NAC extending the application window from June to September 2020 to cater to demand. The DPG supported close to 700 digital projects that offered innovative digital content to Singaporeans, and generated over 9,000 work opportunities.
NAC's objective was for content supported by the DPG to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, to reach as many audiences, including young children, and introduce them to the offerings of our arts groups and artists. In addition, online content is easily and generally available and it is not always feasible to enforce age-appropriateness for online content. This made it prudent for the DPG to underwrite productions suitable for the general public.
Since the closing of applications for the DPG, arts practitioners have been able to apply to NAC’s enhanced Presentation and Participation Grant to support activities and works in digital or hybrid formats. NAC has also continued to provide its regular grant schemes and commissions which have been enhanced to include digital works and presentations. These cover wide-ranging works, including those with a higher-than-General rating.
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