Debated in Parliament on 14 Nov 2012.
Ms Janice Koh asked the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what subsidies or preferential rates are given to non-profit and for-profit local arts groups to help offset the venue rental cost of spaces run by the Esplanade and other Government agencies; and (b) what more can be done to help these groups alleviate the cost of such rentals.
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Mr Speaker, Sir, subsidised and preferential rates are extended to both not-for-profit and commercial local arts groups, for spaces run by agencies, such as The Esplanade Co Ltd and The Old Parliament House Ltd.
The Esplanade, for example, tiers its venue rental rates according to the different forms of hire. Public performances by local commercial arts groups enjoy preferential rates starting from 35% off the rates charged for private hire and non-arts use. Local not-for-profit arts groups are the main beneficiaries, as they are offered subsidies of at least 60%.
At the Goodman Arts Centre (GAC) and The Arts House (TAH), both of which are arts centres run by The Old Parliament House (TOPH) Ltd and supported by the National Arts Council (NAC), public performances by local arts groups are entitled to rates that are less than 50% of those compared to private hire rates.
Other for-hire venues, such as the Drama Centre, similarly accord preferential rental rates to local arts groups that are approximately 30% to 40% lower compared to private hire rates.
In addition to subsidised and preferential rates for venue rental extended to our local arts groups, NAC's support under the Arts Spaces Framework and the Arts Housing Scheme also provides highly subsidised spaces for artists and arts groups to create work, rehearse, or even perform or exhibit in. Under these schemes, arts groups, such as The Necessary Stage (TNS), Theatreworks, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) and The Substation, enjoy performing arts spaces which are highly subsidised by between 80% and 90%. We encourage our arts spaces and arts housing tenants to explore sharing such resources with other artists, wherever appropriate and available.
Apart from looking at financial assistance, MCCY is also cognisant of the need to broaden our support by expanding the range of arts venues and facilities that are available. This will allow our arts groups more opportunities to find the right spaces that they can afford and which suit their needs.
Sir, I thank the Acting Minister. I have three supplementary questions. NAC's current funding guidelines support no more than 30% of an arts group's total production budget. On average, the rental costs paid by arts groups who do not have access to their own performing spaces, for these arts groups to rent venues like the Drama Centre, which is run by The Esplanade, the rental costs vary between 20% and 35% of their total budget. In this scenario, many of the non-profit funded arts companies have expressed to me that they are literally receiving Government funding from one public agency and handing over the whole amount as rental to another public company. It puts immense pressure on these groups to find the remaining 70% to 80% of their budget from other sources, such as box office revenue and corporate sponsorships, which are hugely uncertain in this economic climate.
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My first question to the Acting Minister is: in view of the Ministry's push to bring the arts to a wider public, and to nurture the arts and culture as a way of developing Singapore's soul, would his Ministry consider reviewing its rental rates to local arts groups, to not only create a conducive environment for them to develop original work and new artistic talent, but also to ease the financial pressure that is eventually passed on to the Singapore public through high ticket prices? Secondly, are public companies, such as The Esplanade and The Old Parliament House, under any expectation or pressure from the Government to profit or break even from running these theatre venues which might explain why rental rates and manpower costs for these venues are so high? Thirdly, does the Ministry have plans to develop more mid-size theatres like the Drama Centre, which is now insufficient for the needs of local arts groups.
Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions, and I share her concerns and desire to provide more support for the arts groups in Singapore. On the first question, NAC is indeed doing a review of its grants framework and one of the items being reviewed is the guideline of funding of 30% of operating costs. For the review, NAC has been talking to arts groups, having consultations with the groups, getting their feedback. NAC will design a new framework, a new grant scheme or new items in the grant scheme which will provide more support for the arts groups, and I think the arts community will find it a positive move when the announcement is made.
On the second point about rental rates charged by The Esplanade and other agencies, I did a check on the rental rates and actually the rental rates by The Esplanade have not increased since the day it started operations. So, it is not as though the rental rates have been repeatedly raised in order to recover costs or to charge higher profits. They have not increased the rates since the day it started operations. Be that as it may, I understand the concern from the arts groups about rental costs. It is indeed a significant part of their operating costs and one way in which we can help them is with the grant that NAC provides, and that is why I have alluded to earlier that NAC has been doing a review of its grants framework. And I believe with the new grants framework, more support will be provided to the arts groups.
On the third point about additional mid-size theatres and additional venues, that is something that the Ministry will be committed to do. We are looking at expanding our institutions and spaces for performances. One of the things that we have done is to look at quality arts infrastructure and how we can expand that. We do look forward to the reopening of the Victoria Theatre and the Victoria Concert Hall, and that would be some time in the first quarter of 2014. We are also looking at upgrading facilities in other community nodes. So, we are mindful of the need for more spaces, and we will be looking to expand the possibilities and the spaces that we can have for performance venues.
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Sir, I thank the Acting Minister. I just want to clarify that based on my supplementary question on rental rates, I was referring to some of the venues that The Esplanade runs, not just necessarily within the Esplanade, but, for example, the Drama Centre, which in 2008/2009, the rate collected was something like 12% of gross box office takings, and by 2010/2011, that had increased to 15% of gross box office takings. Similarly, in 2008/2009, if the venue was not used, the Dark Day Rate would be $750 and by the following year, it had increased to $1,400. So, there have been increases in the venue rental rates, not necessarily within The Esplanade but at the external venues run by The Esplanade.
Mr Speaker, Sir, the increases may happen from time to time. I mentioned The Esplanade. In the other spaces, there may be some rental increases. These have to cover some costs. The agencies that rent out these venues do not do this for profit. They are doing this to ensure that their finances are sustainable. So, we will do several things, as I mentioned. One, continue to manage the costs and ensure that the rents are affordable; two, do whatever we can to better utilise these status so that they are well optimised, in terms of utilisation rates; and, three, through the grants framework that NAC provides, ensure that sufficient support is given to our arts groups.
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