Government’s funding for the arts sector and the sector’s contribution to GDP and job creation

Response to parliamentary question on Government’s allocation of funds to the arts sector, its various players and by art form, and the contribution of the arts sector to GDP and job creation, as well as the Government’s efforts to protect jobs in the sector

Questions

Ms Raeesah Khan: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) how much funds have been allocated for the arts annually in the past five years; (b) how are these funds distributed between visual, performing and literary arts; and (c) how are funds distributed among large arts organisations, medium-sized independent outfits, small collectives, and individual artists.

Ms Raeesah Khan: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what is the contribution of the local arts sector to Singapore's GDP; (b) how many jobs does the arts sector currently provide; and (c) what are the efforts undertaken by the Government to protect the arts economy and jobs in the sector.

Response

Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law:

1. We take a holistic approach to the development of our arts and culture landscape to respond to the diverse needs of different players in the ecosystem. Funding for the arts and culture is distributed across a variety of purposes. These include grants to arts groups and practitioners for organisational development, art making and presentation, digitalisation, and audience engagement; direct commissioning and programming of works; allocation of spaces and rental subsidies; maintaining and upgrading of arts infrastructure; profiling of Singapore’s arts and artists to international audiences, and undertaking of research that is shared with the arts community.
2. Our schemes also help and incentivise our arts and culture practitioners to develop their skills and capabilities so as to sustain their livelihoods and maximise opportunities. This is done through schemes like NAC’s Capability Development Grant; the Arts Resource Hub to support self-employed practitioners; as well as MCCY and NAC’s work with MOE on the new arts university that will provide industry-relevant training across creative disciplines, to support employment opportunities in the arts economy.
3. The Arts and Culture Resilience Package (ACRP) has been a key  effort to safeguard livelihoods, retain capabilities and talent, and help position the sector for the post-COVID recovery. The ACRP was recently enhanced with an additional $20 million, bringing the total dedicated COVID-19 support for our arts and cultural community to $75m, beyond  other national support measures during the pandemic.
4. We believe that support for the arts and culture must be a partnership with shared responsibility among the public, private and people sectors. We seek to encourage greater private support through initiatives like the Cultural Matching Fund under which government matches private donations dollar-for-dollar.
5. Government funding for the arts and culture has steadily and consistently increased over the years. Since 2013, a total of $3.16bn has been provided to the sector. Annually, this amounts to around $450m per year, compared to $300m per year before 2013.¹
6. NAC receives about a third of this amount, which in turn is passed on to the arts community through grants and commissions.² The annual allocations to different arts and culture organisations and practitioners – whether medium-sized independent outfits, small collectives, or individual artists – vary based on grant applications received.  Allocation by art form also varies, but generally corresponds to the relative proportions which they occupy in the arts ecosystem, which in 2019 had around 60% of organisations in the performing arts, 20% in the visual arts, and 15% in the literary arts.³
7. Other Government funding goes to the National Heritage Board and our national cultural institutions such as the Esplanade and National Gallery Singapore. Like NAC, these organisations channel their budgets to sustain and grow a vibrant culture sector, including by commissioning smaller arts groups and self-employed practitioners for their exhibitions and festivals. They make sustained efforts in profiling the best of our arts and culture to local and international audiences. Our cultural institutions are also instrumental in building new capabilities for the future, providing resources and spaces for innovation and experimentation through initiatives like National Gallery Singapore’s Y-Lab, an incubator for Art x Tech product innovation.
8. In terms of economic outcomes, the nominal value-added⁴ from the arts and culture has been increasing over the years. It stood at $1.8bn in 2018, an increase from $1.5bn in 2013.⁵ This translates into a contribution of 0.4% to GDP in 2018⁶, comparable to the Sports sector. Employment in the arts and culture has been largely stable over the past few years, and stood at around 26,000 in 2019.⁷
9. Our arts and culture make meaningful contributions to society beyond economic indicators, with awareness and appreciation for the arts growing over the years:
   
   a) In 2019, attendance at arts and culture events reached an all-time high of 15.6m, while visitorship to museums reached an all-time high of close to 9.6m.⁸ 
   
   b) In the same year, 89% of Singaporeans agreed that the arts gave them a better understanding of different cultures and backgrounds, while 82% agreed that the arts gave them a greater sense of belonging to Singapore. These were significantly higher than previous years.⁹
10. Beyond this, the arts and culture contribute to the lives of Singaporeans in other, often immeasurable, ways. The sector adds significantly to Singapore’s vibrancy and liveability, with over 34,000 arts activities in 2019.¹⁰ MCCY and NAC hope to see these positive outcomes continue as we recover from the impact of COVID-19, and will continue to support and develop our arts and culture organisations and practitioners, so that there is something for everyone to enjoy, whether theatre, dance, music, or the visual and literary arts.