Review of Arts Fund Guidelines

Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what has been the take-up rate for the Arts Fund over the last five years; and (b) whether NAC will consider reviewing its funding guidelines, in particular the measurable indicators.

Administered by the National Arts Council (NAC), the Arts Fund was set up by the Tote Board to bring the arts to the wider community.

Following a review in 2011, the Arts Fund sharpened its funding guidelines to encourage arts groups to reach out to new audiences with quality performances that resonate with Singaporeans. Artistic excellence has remained an important criterion. This is in line with the twin goals of the Arts and Culture Strategic Review to support arts excellence as well as make the arts an integral part of the lives of our people. There was an increase in funding provided by Tote Board from $750,000 to $1.5 million per year from financial year (FY)2012 onwards.

The take-up rate from FY2011 to FY2015 has been healthy at about 100% in FY2011, 80% in FY2012, 95% in FY2013, 100% in FY2014 and 75% for FY2015 thus far.

After the implementation of these funding guidelines, we have seen a growth in the audiences reached under the Arts Fund, from around 220,000 in FY2012 to a projected 340,000 by end of FY2015. This indicator and the measures of audience satisfaction continue to be relevant indicators, given the objectives of the Arts Fund.