The Art of Business

Singapore, Changing the World Through Art

The Singapore Arts Festival is just about to begin its final week, with the closing ceremonies at 8 on Thursday, June 14, 2009. This festival began during 1977, with the intention of celebrating the diversity of the communities throughout Singapore and featuring their rich talent and work. Local arts were featured and within the last thirty years, the festival has served a catalytic and symbiotic part in the development of culture and the artistic life of Singapore. This has brought many new faces into the city, staying in the Singapore luxury hotels and wandering throughout the festival, catching glimpses of a different side of the city. Concerned about the world view of Singapore, organizers wanted to show the world that it was not just a country of strict rules, laws and oppression, that the cultural diversity of the people of this country would be evident in the artwork, visual and performance. This festival has contributed greatly to the changing face of the city. Now, it is one of the capitals of culture throughout Asia. Artists are continuing to be influenced by each other, are continuing to influence the art scene and creating new venues and movements that are adding to the beauty of this city.

What started as a festival of traditional art forms has now become one of the most innovative, progressive and bold movements on the international art scene. Artists that work in different forms are collaborating, bridging disciplines and thus bridging the boundaries of culture, geography and language. Performances are becoming more esoteric in nature, and dealing with social issues such as life in the urban setting, history and migration, and abstract issues such as memory, and love and philosophy. This event is bringing out the young and promising artists of tomorrow, and is encouraging further interaction between other artists from the region, as well as others internationally. And as many of the performances are held outdoors, free to the public, the locals of Singapore are experiencing the world of art the moment they walk out of their doors. The theme of the closing ceremony, “Crackers?” is …”an invitation to be brave”. It is a show of fireworks and performers that promises a thrilling close to this ever increasingly thrilling event.