Encouraging Strata Malls' Initiatives on Use of Space for Creative Collaborations
Ministry of Culture, Community and YouthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms Usha Chandradas’ inquiry on providing support to activate strata malls for creative collaborations, following the successful private arrangement at Peace Centre. Minister Edwin Tong Chun Fai responded that the Government encourages such partnerships and already facilitates collaborations at venues like Far East Plaza and Fortune Centre. He affirmed that agencies will continue supporting these initiatives in appropriate circumstances to enhance arts accessibility by bringing creative works into public spaces. The Minister also noted that outreach extends to heartland locations through programs like ArtsEverywhere@CDC, which recently engaged over 20,000 audience members. These efforts reflect a commitment to expanding access to the arts beyond commercial spaces to create a more vibrant and distinctive city.
Transcript
46 Ms Usha Chandradas asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in light of the recent successful private arrangement between PlayPan and Peace Centre for creative use of space, whether the Ministry can consider providing support to encourage and facilitate similar initiatives that activate strata malls as spaces for creative collaboration and intervention by the arts community.
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: PlayPan took over Peace Centre from October 2023 to January 2024, just prior to the demolition of the building. This was a private arrangement between PlayPan and the owners of Peace Centre, which took advantage of the circumstances for creative collaboration before demolition works at the location. We encourage such private collaborations, where members of society work together to create a more vibrant and distinctive city in a variety of different ways.
Government agencies have been working with interested private venue owners to activate their spaces and on creative collaborations. Some of these venues are strata malls.
There are some examples. For instance, as part of Singapore Design Week, DesignSingapore Council partnered PLUS Collaboratives for the Nostalgia Play installation at Far East Plaza. Fortune Centre also featured the “Crossroads: Random Access Memory” digital art showcase at this year’s Singapore Art Week. We will continue to support the use of such spaces in the appropriate circumstances, which can bring art into public spaces in order to enhance the accessibility of the arts.
We should add that our efforts to extend the reach of the arts go beyond commercial spaces. For instance, in the last three months, since the launch of ArtsEverywhere@CDC, Government agencies brought the performing arts to 15 community locations across five Community Development Councils and engaged over 20,000 audience members in various locations in the heartlands. This reflects our commitment to expand access to the arts.