Leading the arts with a flourish

SINGAPORE - With Mr Benson Puah's departure on July 31, who will take over the reins at the National Arts Council?

When the council was set up in 1991, then Acting Minister for Information and the Arts George Yeo said that the arts council would have "maximum autonomy" even though it was a statutory board.

It was also implied that the council, which aims to nurture the arts in Singapore, would groom a strong and capable team of arts administrators for the country's growing arts industry.

However, over the years, individuals selected for the top position tended to be male, Chinese and above 45 - and oddly enough, not groomed from within the arts council but brought in from other statutory boards.

Until Mr Puah took the hot seat in 2009, the council's chief executive position was firmly in the grip of the civil service.

Mr Foo Meng Liang, Mr Choo Thiam Siew and Mr Lee Suan Hiang, the arts council's first three chiefs, had all served in various ministries and statutory boards prior to their appointments.

Mr Foo rotated through the then Ministry of Information and the Arts, Ministry of Community Development and the Ministry of Finance. Mr Choo spent 20 years at the Parks and Recreation Department (now the National Parks Board), and Mr Lee served at the Economic Development Board and Spring Singapore.

While all three were staunch supporters and advocates of the arts, they were still viewed as career civil servants who did not have much experience running an arts body before their appointments to one of the top arts administration jobs in town.

Which was why Mr Puah's appointment was seen as a breath of fresh air. The 56-year-old chief executive of the Esplanade arts centre brought his private-sector experience in hospitality and the know-how of running an arts organisation to the position.

He did a creditable job in keeping his ear close to the ground and walking a tightrope between championing artists and reflecting government policy on arts and culture.

His relatively brief four-year tenure (previous CEOs lasted at least six years) was marked by significant steps towards stronger engagement with the arts community, with frequent dialogue sessions such as the Let's Talk discussion platform.

The Singapore Arts Festival made its first steps to becoming an independent company with the help of a thorough review committee and public feedback sessions.

On his watch, the council also revamped its grants framework to include a wider variety of art forms, and opened up funding to amateurs and semi-professionals, as well as those starting out professionally in the arts.

Many practitioners remarked that this made the once-faceless machinery of the council seem much more human.

The charismatic Mr Puah also had his detractors. Not all his decisions were welcomed by artists, not least of which was his reconsideration of Singapore's participation in the prestigious Venice Biennale. But there was a general respect, even if given grudgingly, for a chief who did not dodge criticism and who spoke his mind.

Now that Mr Puah has left, the arts community has been speculating whether the authorities would continue their past practice of appointing a civil servant or someone outside the public sector to succeed him.

The recent ground-breaking appointments of artist and academic Susie Lingham as director of the Singapore Art Museum and boundary-pushing theatre director Ong Keng Sen as director of the Singapore International Festival of Arts have led to talk that an arts practitioner might be appointed to head the arts council.

Some say that an arts practitioner at the head of the council would be sensitive to the challenges of artistic creation and experimentation. This would help the council in its aim of creating an environment in which the arts can flourish.

One name which has been thrown up is actress and Nominated MP for the arts Janice Koh, 39. She has a master's degree in arts administration and policy from the prestigious Goldsmiths College in London, and cut her teeth at the arts council, starting out in the strategic planning department and later moving on to the grants division.

As a Nominated MP, Ms Koh has made an impression by speaking up for the arts in Parliament and in the media, and by being a tireless bridge-builder in the arts community. Earlier this year, she organised a session of the Our Singapore Conversation on the arts and culture and has been on numerous panels and forums on the arts. She is also an award-winning actress who is familiar with the struggles artists face.

Another left-field choice would be Cultural Medallion recipient T. Sasitharan, 55, the incisive theatre educator and director who co-founded the Theatre Training and Research Programme (now known as the Intercultural Theatre Institute) with the late theatre pioneer Kuo Pao Kun.

Sasi, as he is commonly known, is a respected figure in the community, one of the leading voices speaking out against censorship in the arts and a catalyst in growing the Singapore arts scene.

His years of experience in arts journalism, as well as in running an arts education institute and the Substation are credentials that are not to be sniffed at.

Alternatively, the authorities could pick someone from within the council. Some arts practitioners think that none fits the bill better than deputy chief executive Yvonne Tham, 39.

Designated "covering" chief while the search goes on for a successor to Mr Puah, Ms Tham would continue the trend of the civil servant-turned-CEO. But she would also be an excellent example of someone groomed from within. She is familiar with the work of the arts council and what it takes to shape cultural policy and make weighty funding decisions.

The Cambridge University graduate has a bachelor's in English and a master's in American literature. She also has a master's in art business from the reputable Sotheby's Institute of Art in London, and worked at the former Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts for nearly eight years. There, she was part of the team that oversaw the setting up of the School of the Arts.

She joined the council in the same year as Mr Puah, and shouldered the responsibility of leading it when he was battling lymphoma last year.

Whether the authorities appoint an insider or outsider to the job, the hope is that Mr Puah's successor would continue to engage the arts community and be open to feedback.

corriet@sph.com.sg

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