Goodman Arts Centre rental hikes on hold in light of economic uncertainties

[SINGAPORE] To support artists at a time of economic uncertainty given the conflict in the Middle East, rental hikes at Goodman Arts Centre (GAC) will be deferred in 2026.

Instead, the National Arts Council (NAC) and the Arts House Group, which manages the arts centre, will review at the end of the year the rates for 2027.

Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng said this in Parliament on Apr 8.

He was replying to Gho Sze Kee (Mountbatten), who asked whether measures are being considered to help tenants cope with higher rentals, and whether longer-term plans are in place to ensure arts practitioners have access to affordable workspaces.

News that rents at GAC would increase by as much as 60 per cent has caused anxiety among artist tenants worried about rising costs.

The GAC offers 77 units, including 26 project studios for short-term tenancies of up to 12 months, the rates for which were last reviewed in 2012.

There are 51 units under the Framework for Arts Spaces scheme, which supports arts groups for leases up to nine years, the rental for which is subsidised by NAC up to 80 per cent.

Baey said: “To support our arts sector, the NAC provides such spaces at rates below commercial rental rates.”

He noted that in considering rental increases, the NAC “takes into account rising operation costs for the maintenance of these spaces and the need to ensure that the revised rates remain affordable compared with other commercial spaces in the vicinity and other arts spaces”.

SEE ALSO

Shophouse sales in Kampong Gelam have ‘declined sharply’ in recent years, most buyers local: URA

Baey added: “In planning for the future, the NAC will take steps to ensure that arts spaces remain accessible and affordable for artists and arts groups.”

The current gross floor area dedicated to the arts spans 94,000 sq m, a 42 per cent increase since 2010.

Baey said that a study on how to improve the provision of arts spaces is in the works and updates will be shared.

While Baey reiterated support for the arts community, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo drew the limits of the Government’s financial support in a written reply to a parliamentary question submitted by Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Pioneer).

Tay had asked if the Government was studying Ireland’s much-hyped Basic Income for the Arts, which gives arts sector workers a monthly payment of 1,300 euros (S$1,940).

While Neo reiterated Singapore’s support for artists and recognition of the intrinsic value of the arts, he pointed out the shortcomings of Ireland’s “well-meaning” scheme, which supports only a limited number of people and provides temporary relief without addressing broader structural issues in the arts sector.

He added that Singapore prefers a “multidimensional ecosystem approach through developing workers’ capabilities, strengthening arts organisations and growing demand for the arts – so that our artists will have more and better jobs in a sustained manner”. THE STRAITS TIMES