Update on National Arts Council's Busking Scheme

Mr Darryl David asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether he can provide an update on the National Arts Council's (NAC) busking scheme in terms of (i) the number of buskers registered under the scheme over the last three years (ii) the locations where the buskers are currently allowed to perform and (iii) the support measures that are provided to the buskers by NAC.

The National Arts Council (NAC) administers the busking scheme, which aims to enliven our city life and energise urban spaces. There were about 300 registered buskers in 2020. Since March 2020 when the pandemic hit, NAC suspended busking activities to support national efforts to contain the COVID-19 situation. With the resumption of busking in March 2022, the number of registered buskers has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

NAC considers buskers an important community as contributors to building a vibrant arts scene and is committed to supporting them to hone their craft and giving them opportunities to showcase their talents with the wider community. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, NAC encouraged buskers to explore the digital space to engage their audiences. For example, NAC organised online busking sessions and subsidised the performance rights fees and provided each participating busker with an honorarium. The busking community demonstrated creativity, resilience and a positive spirit by adopting online channels to share their performances.

In March 2022, when the suspension on busking was lifted with the relaxation of COVID-19 Safe Management Measures, NAC launched a new e-service portal to support the resumption of live busking. The portal was designed to give buskers access to more busking locations. Before the resumption of busking in March 2022, each busker only had access to and could busk at, five fixed allocated busking locations. With the resumption of busking and the launch of the e-service portal, buskers can now busk at more than 70 designated busking locations islandwide.

As part of our efforts to support the busking community and the art of busking, NAC continues to actively work with venue owners to grow the number of busking locations across Singapore. Venue owners include Government agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), National Parks Board (NParks) and Housing Development Board (HDB) as well as Town Councils, business and merchant associations and commercial property owners.

Of the 70 busking locations, about 30 are located in the city centre, such as Orchard Road and Marina Bay. The rest are spread across neighbourhood towns and parks across the island. To date, busking locations in neighbourhoods like Ang Mo Kio, Hougang and Paya Lebar have been well-utilised by buskers. Four new locations at East Coast Park, Tras Link Park and outside Ngee Ann City were added after busking resumed in March last year.

As our buskers gain greater visibility, more event organisers and venue partners are now looking to showcase buskers at their events.

We will continue to foster greater understanding among buskers, residents, venue partners and property owners, the Government as well as members of the public to support busking and its contribution to our vibrant city.