Our mission in organising the Singapore Season in China was to showcase Singapore’s arts, culture and creative talent to the Chinese people. We set out to put the spotlight on our artists from different genres, writers, entertainers, product and fashion designers, chefs and many more. Our programmes in Beijing and Shanghai attracted more than 165,000 participants and visitors. This number included the attendance at ticketed events and outdoor activities.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening and welcome to this reception. I would like to thank each and everyone for your support of the recently concluded Singapore Season in China 2007.

A Showcase of Singapore’s Creative Talent

Our mission in organising the Singapore Season in China was to showcase Singapore’s arts, culture and creative talent to the Chinese people. We set out to put the spotlight on our artists from different genres, writers, entertainers, product and fashion designers, chefs and many more. Our programmes in Beijing and Shanghai attracted more than 165,000 participants and visitors. This number included the attendance at ticketed events and outdoor activities.

We planned the Singapore Season in China with the arts and culture events as the core component. The performances by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Singapore Dance Theatre received enthusiastic applause and standing ovations. Many were impressed by the artistic standards and wide repertoire of these orchestras and dance company. The performances by the Chinese Theatre Circle, the Drama Box, which co-produced the drama ‘Drift’ with the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, and Mark Chan’s musical score for the Chinese silent movie ‘Little Toys’ were also warmly received by the Chinese audiences.

The outreach shows at shopping malls in the Chinese cities gave the people of Beijing and Shanghai a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of Singapore’s performing arts, design and lifestyle. These shows allowed us to introduce Singapore arts to a wider audience and helped to raise awareness of the artistic side of Singapore among the citizens of the host cities.

The visual arts exhibitions were well attended, attracting close to 30,000 visitors. The ‘SingArt – A Brush with Lions’ and ‘Unique2Me’ art exhibitions and design showcase ‘HybriCity: Singapore’, which featured the works of seven Singapore designers, saw steady streams of curious and interested visitors.

The six films showcased in the Singapore Film Festival connected well with the audiences. Talks and recital sessions helmed by 11 Singapore writers also generated healthy exchanges and highlighted the diversity in Singapore literature.

The Singapore Evenings in Beijing and Shanghai provided Singapore companies operating in China with an entertaining business networking platform. Both Singapore Evenings were fully subscribed and well attended by our corporate supporters and senior officials from the Chinese Government.

Outcomes of Singapore Season in China

So what were the outcomes of the Singapore Season in China? Did we achieve our objectives?

I will sum up the month-long Singapore Season by way of four key outcomes. First, t he Singapore Season has succeeded to provide many Chinese people with a different perception and appreciation of Singapore. The Season presented a different face of Singapore – a city with cultural diversity and vibrancy, as well as artistic excellence and distinctiveness – to the people in China The extensive media coverage of the Singapore Season’s events by the Chinese newspapers, TV, magazines and online media helped to publicise and promote our arts and cultural developments to a much wider audience in China, well beyond the audiences who came to the events. A survey done by Kenkou Market Research Consultancy in Shanghai at some event venues showed that one in three surveyed had prior knowledge of the Singapore Season in China. The survey also revealed that overall impression of Singapore has been enhanced. Singapore was not just seen as being clean, beautiful and economically dynamic but also having rich cultural heritage, creativity and vibrancy.

Second, all programmes under Singapore Season in China had good attendance and received very warm reception. The SCO, SSO and SDT performances achieved average 90% attendance while the rest, as I mentioned earlier, were well received. Clearly, our arts performances struck a chord with the audiences in Beijing and Shanghai. This could provide a foundation for future arts and cultural engagements with the Chinese.

Third, the Singapore Season created a new platform for collaboration between Singapore and Chinese artists. For example, the well received production ‘Drift’ was a pioneering collaboration between Singapore’s Drama Box and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, the leading drama company in Shanghai. The powerful vocals of the Beijing and Shanghai choir groups blended beautifully with emotive and evocative music of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, resulting in rousing performances which clearly touched the hearts of the audiences. Such collaborations augur well for our artists and performing arts companies and provide a good foundation for future partnership in artistic productions.

Last, but not least, the Singapore Season had served as an artistic and cultural backdrop for strengthening bilateral relations and industry collaborations. We signed a total of 18 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) at the government, business and academic levels. These included 17 MOUs to collaborate in media and film, and one between the National Art Museum of China and the Singapore Art Museum to co-curate art exhibitions in China and Singapore.

These outcomes clearly indicate that the Singapore Season was successful in promoting Singapore arts and culture to the Chinese people. China is a vast country with a huge population. We cannot hope to engage all of China at one go. Singapore Season is but an opening act. We will have to continue to cultivate and collaborate with Chinese organisations to further our arts and cultural partnership in the future.

Critical Success Factors

As Chin Nam has pointed out, one success factor was the extensive support from the public, people and private sectors in Singapore. Singapore Season was a MICA led event but it was not just a MICA event. The success of Singapore Season in China was undoubtedly the result of very generous support and encouragement from partners from our public, private and people sectors. We appreciate greatly the financial support given by our corporate co-presenters, partners and sponsors. We also value the effort of many public sector agencies which helped to enhance the networking outreach of the Season. We are indebted to the artistic participants on whose shoulders felt the heavy burden of performing up to the expectations of the discerning Chinese audiences.

I would also like to add that the other key factor which contributed equally to the success of Season in China was the strong and fruitful partnerships with the Beijing Music Festival and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. The Beijing Music Festival invited two of our orchestras to perform at their Festival. In Shanghai, the China Shanghai International Arts Festival co-presented the arts events of the Singapore Season. Their support and advice helped us to deliver an exciting and inspiring programme which balanced Singapore’s artistic capabilities with the expectations and taste of the audience in these two bustling Chinese metropolises.

Many other Chinese partners had generously supported the Season with prestigious venues and helped in promoting the performances and profiling our artists. For example, the National Art Museum of China gave prime location in presenting the works of the late Chen Wen Hsi, Wong Keen and Goh Beng Kwan. The Shanghai Library, the Shanghai Writers Association and other partners organised a beautifully choreographed and inspiring programme for the Singapore writers and facilitated a lively exchange of views and meaningful dialogues between the Shanghai and Singapore literary communities.

Conclusion

In summing up, I would say that the Singapore Season in China 2007 was a great success. It achieved our objective of presenting a comprehensive range of events to the different Chinese audiences giving them a favourable impression of the richness and creativity in the arts and cultural landscape in Singapore. It showcased Singapore as a city with cultural diversity and vibrancy, as well as artistic excellence and distinctiveness.

We are very pleased with the outcomes and I would like to thank all of you for all your support, encouragement and participation in the Singapore Season in China.
19 We hope you will continue to support us in the future as we plan to bring the Singapore Season to other global cities.

Thank you.