Focus on continuity, more than change, in updated Singapore arts plan

SINGAPORE is a highly planned society: from the economy, housing, urban space and transport, to even the arts and cultural sector. In 1989, the watershed report of the Advisory Council on Culture and Arts noted the potential of arts and culture to contribute to tourism and our economy.

Since then, the government has built infrastructure, set up funding schemes and established the statutory boards National Arts Council (NAC) and National Heritage Board to shepherd the development of the sector.

Arts plans over the past 30 years, such as the Renaissance City Plan of 2000 and 2012’s Arts and Culture Strategic Review (ACSR), have greatly shaped our cultural scene.