UOB and NAC want to strengthen artists’ financial knowledge

ADDRESSING the unique challenges artists face in achieving financial stability, UOB and National Arts Council (NAC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to help artists sharpen their business and financial competencies. 

The FinLab, UOB’s innovation accelerator, will run the UOB-NAC Acceleration Programmes to equip arts organisations and artists with skills in business finance, business management and development, and digital marketing. UOB and NAC will co-fund S$240,000 for this programme to benefit 150 artists and 60 arts groups over three years.

As many artists work on a freelance basis, their incomes fluctuate. When the pandemic hit, artists across different practices, from classical music to dance, saw their income dwindle, as theatres, galleries and live music spaces were forced to shut. Arts patronage also took a hit as organisations and individuals had less resources to allocate to the arts.