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SINGAPORE: A new S$20 million (US$15.6 million) grant to support the development of traditional and multicultural art forms will be introduced by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the National Arts Council (NAC).
The move was announced by Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo in parliament on Thursday (Mar 5) where he laid out his ministry's spending plans for the year.
This is part of stepped-up efforts to strengthen Singapore's unique multicultural identity, he added.
The Multicultural Arts Programme Grant, which will span five years, will be administered by NAC and seeded by the President’s Challenge and MCCY.
NAC will launch the grant via an open call in the second half of this year, with applications accepted annually from then on.
It will support a range of multicultural arts productions and initiatives, including instances where artists weave elements from other cultures together or when they seek to learn and develop mastery in cultural forms beyond their own inherited traditions.
"When I speak with practitioners from our arts and culture groups, they tell me they are starting to notice declining interest among the young to engage in traditional arts. Some youths are trading traditional dance co-curricular activities for contemporary dance styles such as K-pop," said Mr Neo.
"While I understand the allure of K-pop and K-drama, we also need to retain our diverse traditional art forms and culture that form the foundation of our multicultural identity, and we need to pass these on to the next generation."
In a fact sheet, MCCY said that a President’s Challenge multiculturalism panel will also be formed to steer and guide multicultural arts initiatives.
“The panel will advise in areas such as advancing Singapore’s multicultural arts development, identify areas of learning, growth and investment for multicultural arts, and advise on the broad criteria for the application of the MAP (Multicultural Arts Programme) grant,” added the ministry.
In line with this multiculturalism push, NAC, supported by the Ministry of Education, will launch an Ethnic Fusion Dance Programme for all secondary schools from March 2026 to August 2027.
The programme will provide students with training in three traditional dance forms - Chinese, Malay, and Indian - and their relevance to contemporary dance.
It will involve established dance practitioners trained in traditional and contemporary dance, and all students will receive foundational training in the dance forms and have a chance to audition for the final showcase at local dance competition platform Super 24.
NAC will also pilot a Sustained Arts Education Programme for preschools that aims to integrate arts learning into early childhood education through programmes focused on music, creative play and Singapore’s cultural heritage.
"Around the world, we see how social diversity leads to fragmentation. It is therefore critical that we strengthen our cross-cultural understanding and deepen our shared identity," said Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng.
"This is where the arts can be a powerful catalyst. Through the arts, we get to know ourselves and where we came from. More importantly, the arts encourage us to look beyond the differences and value our commonalities."
"COMMITTEE BY THE COMMUNITY"
The ministry on Thursday also announced the formation of a new Indian Engagement and Development Initiative (INEI) committee, which aims to strengthen the Singapore Indian identity, coordinate community uplift efforts and develop youth leadership over the next five years.
This follows a series of engagements and focus group discussions with various stakeholders and community groups, including representatives from more than 150 Singapore Indian organisations and more than 240 Singapore Indian youth leaders aged 35 and below.
The INEI committee will be chaired by Senior Minister of State for Transport and Law Murali Pillai, as well as Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash.
It will comprise leaders and representatives from the Indian community organisations and promising youth leaders, said the ministry.
"This will be a committee by the community, and for the community," said Mr Dinesh in his speech.
"Its aim is to build strong networks across the Indian community, bringing together partners who are already doing good work on the ground, including SINDA and Narpani."
The committee will focus on three key areas – driving community upliftment, strengthening social cohesion and fostering a “We First” spirit, as well as developing a pipeline of Indian Singaporean youth leaders.
An annual INEI forum will be established, with the first dialogue next month, said Mr Dinesh.
