The business of the arts

Imagine waking up to a world without the arts. You open a book and you are staring at empty pages. You take your remote control and alas, there is no content on your television. Switch on the radio and you hear only static.

The arts is such an essential part of our lives. It is the creative impulse that pervades everything we do. Yet, it is the aspect of life that we most take for granted.

Remember when, in the earlier days of the pandemic, there was some controversy surrounding a local survey that described the arts as "non-essential"?

Just as we underestimate the value of the arts to our personal lives, we are also barely aware of the nexus between the arts and business which exists and intersects at many levels.

Business requires soft power to enter and conquer markets. We all understand the soft power of Hollywood, which has imbued us with a sense of American power and values.

Conversely, it has coloured our perceptions of Russia, and China too is painted as a villain, rightly or wrongly.

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Look also at the Japanese example of soft power, which is far more fascinating. Rising from the ashes of the Second World War, its creative industry managed to reset Japan's standing and stature in the Western world within 40 years.

Walkman, karaoke, Pac-Man, Pikachu, Ultraman, Hello Kitty, Emoji are all brands and terminology that pervade our modern sensibilities and have captured not just children's but adult imagination worldwide.

There are several intersections between the arts and business.

The arts sector has suffered badly from the pandemic, and even though the Singapore government is doing its best to shore up the sector - led by the S$75 million Arts and Culture Resilience Package and other grants and schemes - Singapore businesses also need to, and can benefit from, partnering with the artists and the arts sector here.

First, the arts can be financially sustainable. Even though the life of artists can be a constant struggle, there are ample examples of hugely successful musicians or writers or artists.

Think Madonna, Dr Dre, Paul McCartney, J K Rowling, Stephen King, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons.

The climb is steeper, competition stiffer, and it is perhaps a lonelier journey but it is definitely not an impossible dream.

The arts is an asset class on its own

Second, the arts is an asset class on its own. Look at the collectors who are bidding enormous sums of money for paintings and sculpture and even graffiti.

Just last week, a purely digital piece of artwork - a collage done over 13 years, and embedded with a non-fungible token that proves authenticity - sold for nearly US$70 million.

Today, tokenisation may have started a democratising process for the arts. More ordinary people, not just investors, can now invest in the fine art market without having to buy one entire work, but own a piece of it.

In another recent success story that is disrupting the music industry, Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis has described songs as an asset class more reliable than commodities because "demand is impervious to economic and political upheavals. When you are feeling happy, you play music to celebrate; when times are hard, you play music to cheer yourself up".

Third, increasingly, the arts is absorbing the best practices of the business world.

For example, Foundation for The Arts and Social Enterprise, is taking a venture capitalist approach to curating and developing the arts.

Not necessarily to secure a financial ROI (return on investment), which can happen, but to create an impact and results-driven approach that economises on resources while leveraging on the less tangible value chain such as connections and networks to influence and fund.

Finally, which is for me the most important nexus of all, is where business has co-existed with the rise of the creative class and artists.

I will just pose a question: Would you be able to listen to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky without the aristocrats and businessmen who were their patrons?

My personal encounter derives from the Utopia Symphony, which I could not have commissioned without the support of business.

Originally titled Singapore and composed by major Russian composer Vladimir Martynov, the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded it as the Utopia Symphony in 2019 and released the album on iTunes and Spotify in November 2020.

Arts philanthropy and business must go hand in hand

In a simple stroke, a symphony inspired by Singapore is no longer a local event, but now a global undertaking, an attempt at "branding" Singapore to the rest of the world.

In conclusion, the nexus between the arts and the creative impulse and business is close but not predestined.

The arts can become a business, and business can tap the arts for branding and marketing.

But, more importantly, while governments can provide the conditions for the expansion of the arts space, it is business that will make the arts world go round.

In other words, arts philanthropy and business must go hand in hand if our societies are to mature and flourish as creative hubs.

This is our call to action to the business world: See the arts as an intrinsic part of every human being and help unlock the creative impulses that can transform our lives and the world around us.

• Michael Tay is the founder and director, and Dawn Wong is the project manager, of Foundation for The Arts and Social Enterprise (thefoundation.sg).