THE ARTS IN US
Michael Tay, founder and director of the Foundation for the Arts and Social Enterprise, on the power of the arts
The Foundation for the Arts and Social Enterprise nurtures and promotes arts groups, in particular those in the performing arts space. How does social good factor in?
The arts is not just a means to social good. It is social good, because it helps the whole of society, whether you’re handicapped or psychologically damaged. The arts can help you lift yourself. The basic premise of the foundation is that the arts is in all of us.
When you’re a baby, you have to be creative to navigate the world, to grow and thrive. Before you’re an engineer or a doctor, you’re an artist. This creative force is in each of us and is something that drives every individual. So, whatever we can do to promote that in us is good for us, and in turn good for the larger society. People who are in tune with the arts expand their minds, their universe of possibilities. Artists hold up a mirror to the real world; they lead to evolution, to improvement of society. The arts is important that way.
What’s the challenge for the Singapore arts scene today?
One objective of the foundation is to help expose children to the arts. You need people to grow up to appreciate the arts, to continue to develop their passion. This creative force is a key part of a thriving arts ecosystem, exemplified in the older societies of Europe, or Japan or Korea, where the arts are an intrinsic part of a child’s life. The arts can only flourish if you have an audience so engaged with them. In addition, some of the children will become CEOS and patrons. It’s a cycle. But if you don’t have a system where the arts is appreciated at all levels, where it’s low on the totem pole of priorities, funding becomes difficult because the bulk of the money goes to other pressing causes such as the elderly or the physically challenged.
Today, it’s even more difficult because the focus is on ESG, or Environmental, Social and Governance. Most corporate CSR efforts prioritise these ESG programmes, at the expense of funding for the arts. Once again, the arts dropped off the map.
So how do arts groups navigate this?
Sometimes, you don’t have a choice but to connect to ESG themes; it’s the only way to get funding. You do a movie about the environment or a short film about family values, you get funding. That’s the world artists have to navigate. Some can align with social causes. To be an artist is to be a social activist after all. But there’s also self‑expression; and these artists must be given a chance to be heard or be seen. They are making a statement.
[Chinese artist] Ai Weiwei is the purest essence of an artist‑activist. His art form talks about or draws attention to social issues, not necessarily to challenge the Communist Party, but to highlight things that should be looked into.