for Moses to Shakespeare from ancient
Norse Sagas from folklore and legend
unfolding like raagas we live by the
stories we hear we remember the stories
we fear that’s a line from one of my
most favorite musicals is a homegrown
musical called forbidden city portrait
of an empress it was the first musical I
ever saw live 15 years ago ever since
then it seeded a passion and a love for
the Arts which has grown so much I’m so
excited to be here representing the
industry to talk about the powerful
domino effect that the arts has in
society I was a little bit hesitant when
I was invited to do this TEDx talk
because in my mind a TEDx speaker kind
of had to have the swag of Steve Jobs
introducing a new iPhone I don’t think I
can do that but what I can do is share
with you my stories the stories that I
encounter every single day at my work
and the stories that will help you
understand the importance of the arts
and why you need to support it now
before we do all that we need to begin
to understand about the arts in
Singapore specifically 25 years ago the
company I work for Singapore Repertory
Theater was born back then there were
not very many theatre or arts
organizations around 25 years later we
have 150 arts and heritage organizations
that organize over five thousand nine
hundred events every year attended by
2.8 million patrons so the next time you
say there’s nothing to do in Singapore
you’re not really trying very hard
enough to find these events but few
people see beyond the glitz and glam of
the stage few people actually know and
understand the business of the arts and
that’s really my job so let me share
with you three things that maybe you
might know you probably don’t know about
the arts number one most arts and
heritage organizations in Singapore are
charities nonprofit organizations number
two unlike our counterparts in Europe
that receives something like 70% state
funding
we get as a major grant recipient about
five to six percent of our annual budget
from the government number three
ticket sales only account for about 50%
of our revenue which means that we are
heavily reliant on donations and
sponsorships from individuals and
organizations on the topic of donations
Singaporeans are a very very generous
Bunch
they’ve done a that something like 2.9
billion dollars every year and that
number is growing with each year but
because a lot of people think the arts
is already very rich or it’s a very
frivolous cause that there’s no need to
give to the arts less than four percent
of that amount goes to all the
organizations i talked about earlier on
now despite all of these restrictions
and problems the arts still goes on to
have a very powerful domino effect in
society and I’ll cover three of them
today with you engage educate and enrich
so let’s move on to the first domino
effect of engage I think the problem
with the world today is we live in a
very disengaged society we look around
the trains and the restaurants what do
you see everyone’s got their face glued
to their phones I saw a great video
online about this artist who did is
image of people in everyday scenarios
sort of doing the things they do just
without their phones it was a couple
lying with their backs facing against
each other with their hands empty just
staring into it like that
I think that’s symptomatic of the
loneliness that we find ourselves in
this world today see theatre forces
people to engage because of the very
nature of how you appreciate it
the arts in general you get your friends
your loved ones people you care about
generally people you like and you go and
you have a great night out together
theater the galleries and a festival a
great example of this is Shakespeare in
the Park which you see in the slides
behind you it’s a fantastic thing we do
it every two years now 20,000 people
come to watch Shakespeare being done an
accessible modern exciting way but it’s
more than just a Shakespeare play
it’s about a picnic the people you love
with your colleagues with your lover
it’s a fun night out it’s a shared
experience under the stars see theater
is about bringing people together and it
does that in a fun way in a way that’s
memorable but more importantly it covers
great numbers of topics one of the
things I love to do is stand just on
this is fort cannon Clarke stand on the
hill and watch people walk out and hear
the conversations that are talking about
Shakespeare wrote about many wonderful
things and it gives people points of
reference common points of reference to
talk about things that matter the human
condition power love jealousy things
that impact us every single day now if
that’s what one arts event can do in
terms of bringing people together
can you imagine five thousand nine
hundred events every single year I think
that’s a domino effect that’s so crucial
and that’s something that the arts can
do which Netflix can only dream about
ever doing second domino effect
engage now the arts is more than just
something that’s entertaining the arts
can use its popular mass appeal to bring
people together to address important
social issues this is a picture from the
Curious Incident of the dog in the
night-time by National Theater which was
staged at the Esplanade earlier this
year fantastic story about a boy named
Christopher who’s autistic who goes on
this journey to find out who killed the
neighborhood dog very very nice job I
had a kid an autistic boy who came for
the show it was a relaxed performance a
special performance design for autistic
patrons it’s part of our partnership
with autism Association of Singapore he
wrote a card which he asked me to pass
to the actor who played Christopher and
the card said thank you it’s for the
first time in my life I seen someone on
stage who looks like me things like me
feels like me the first time in my life
I feel quite normal you see this kind of
representation is possible through the
arts and it’s not just important for the
autistic boy it’s important for everyone
else
because when everyone else goes to watch
to show they’re reminded of the fact
that we are so privileged of the fact
that we need empathy that we need
understanding of different communities
with different needs that education and
debt advocacy that’s so powerful and so
visceral another example just last night
I was at a play called Michael Chang’s
private parts it’s a local play and it
tells the story about three
transgendered women going through a
transition from being a man to a woman
woman to a man most people kind of freak
out don’t really know what to do about
these sort of things but at the end of
the show you walk out with the
understanding that they’re just human
want to be loved and want to love in
return the Arts has the ability to
normalize what is not seen as normal it
has the power to dispel fear of the
unknown because it does one thing very
well it tells a story a story that
connects and resonates with individuals
that broadens mind that creates momentum
of change and that’s a powerful powerful
domino effect that again cannot be
ignored last domino effect for today and
which it’s no secret that the arts is
key to capturing imagination and
nurturing creativity in a way that a
classroom no offense to the teachers cut
there’s something fun about going to the
theater it’s live entertainment and we
do lots of children’s shows at SRT and
there’s so many things around going on
in general and Singapore for your kids
and for your family and that kind of
holistic development at such a young age
is so crucial because our kids these
days are obsessed with math and science
and engineering which are so crucial and
important but so is literature and
humanities and history and the arts
because we’ve seen with our leaders in
the world today what happens when you
forget these lessons it’s important to
develop society holistically the arts
nourishes and enriches the lives
especially of the people who need it the
most
just last week I was at the theater and
we were staging this
nursery crimes is a very fun children’s
play about nursery a world where nursery
rhymes has kind of gone topsy-turvy we
worked with a donor who had underwritten
tickets for a charity called love Mills
they’re a charity that works with
children underprivileged children who
have cancer
broaden sixty of them to come and watch
the show I was there to receive them at
the end of the show one of the kids ran
up to me and grabbed me and hugged me
and he said I’m so happy thank you so
much I started chemotherapy this week
and it really hurts but all week I could
only think about one thing it’s I’m
going to watch a show but stories I love
it’s for the little moments like this
that me and my colleagues in the art
industry works so hard every single day
full knowing we will never have the bank
accounts of lawyers and doctors but
knowing that when you give the magic of
theater to just one person one child
you’re not just making it impact on them
and helping them create this amazing
experience which they’re gonna remember
for a long time but you’re impacting
their brothers their sisters their
mothers their fathers and that creates a
trickle effect because when everyone
does that then you go on to nourish the
very soul of a nation I’m gonna wrap up
my speech with a call to action for you
three things that you can do to enable
the rippling effect and the powerful
domino effect of the arts patronage get
off your Netflix go to the theater go to
the many free events from the lights and
arts events in the Civic district to in
your own neighborhoods we need people
like you to come and watch shows only
then will you experience the domino
effect of the Arts in your life and
remember don’t just go to MBS and watch
the fourth run of wicked that’s great
watch local theater watch local stories
go find them they’re around we create
them
it’s so important as an international
community that we know the world we live
in the society we live in and you can
learn that by going for local theatre
donation as I mentioned the arts is poor
you might not look it we are for
charities and what you can do is
organize your communities get your
colleagues together get your friends in
school together
start a fund raiser and underwrite
tickets for underprivileged children to
come to the theatre this will be the
first time they’ve ever step foot in a
theatre some of them unfortunately this
will be their last and that’s the
difference that you can make very
tangibly it’s just twenty five dollars
can underwrite the ticket for one child
twenty-five dollars that’s the amount
you spend on a grab advocacy be an
ambassador for the arts because it’s not
enough for me to do speeches like this
what really matters is grassroot change
and a change in mentality that the art
is in Phyllis it’s important it’s
crucial it’s necessary so with that I
hope you’ve enjoyed my speech today and I hope to see you at the theater
Norse Sagas from folklore and legend
unfolding like raagas we live by the
stories we hear we remember the stories
we fear that’s a line from one of my
most favorite musicals is a homegrown
musical called forbidden city portrait
of an empress it was the first musical I
ever saw live 15 years ago ever since
then it seeded a passion and a love for
the Arts which has grown so much I’m so
excited to be here representing the
industry to talk about the powerful
domino effect that the arts has in
society I was a little bit hesitant when
I was invited to do this TEDx talk
because in my mind a TEDx speaker kind
of had to have the swag of Steve Jobs
introducing a new iPhone I don’t think I
can do that but what I can do is share
with you my stories the stories that I
encounter every single day at my work
and the stories that will help you
understand the importance of the arts
and why you need to support it now
before we do all that we need to begin
to understand about the arts in
Singapore specifically 25 years ago the
company I work for Singapore Repertory
Theater was born back then there were
not very many theatre or arts
organizations around 25 years later we
have 150 arts and heritage organizations
that organize over five thousand nine
hundred events every year attended by
2.8 million patrons so the next time you
say there’s nothing to do in Singapore
you’re not really trying very hard
enough to find these events but few
people see beyond the glitz and glam of
the stage few people actually know and
understand the business of the arts and
that’s really my job so let me share
with you three things that maybe you
might know you probably don’t know about
the arts number one most arts and
heritage organizations in Singapore are
charities nonprofit organizations number
two unlike our counterparts in Europe
that receives something like 70% state
funding
we get as a major grant recipient about
five to six percent of our annual budget
from the government number three
ticket sales only account for about 50%
of our revenue which means that we are
heavily reliant on donations and
sponsorships from individuals and
organizations on the topic of donations
Singaporeans are a very very generous
Bunch
they’ve done a that something like 2.9
billion dollars every year and that
number is growing with each year but
because a lot of people think the arts
is already very rich or it’s a very
frivolous cause that there’s no need to
give to the arts less than four percent
of that amount goes to all the
organizations i talked about earlier on
now despite all of these restrictions
and problems the arts still goes on to
have a very powerful domino effect in
society and I’ll cover three of them
today with you engage educate and enrich
so let’s move on to the first domino
effect of engage I think the problem
with the world today is we live in a
very disengaged society we look around
the trains and the restaurants what do
you see everyone’s got their face glued
to their phones I saw a great video
online about this artist who did is
image of people in everyday scenarios
sort of doing the things they do just
without their phones it was a couple
lying with their backs facing against
each other with their hands empty just
staring into it like that
I think that’s symptomatic of the
loneliness that we find ourselves in
this world today see theatre forces
people to engage because of the very
nature of how you appreciate it
the arts in general you get your friends
your loved ones people you care about
generally people you like and you go and
you have a great night out together
theater the galleries and a festival a
great example of this is Shakespeare in
the Park which you see in the slides
behind you it’s a fantastic thing we do
it every two years now 20,000 people
come to watch Shakespeare being done an
accessible modern exciting way but it’s
more than just a Shakespeare play
it’s about a picnic the people you love
with your colleagues with your lover
it’s a fun night out it’s a shared
experience under the stars see theater
is about bringing people together and it
does that in a fun way in a way that’s
memorable but more importantly it covers
great numbers of topics one of the
things I love to do is stand just on
this is fort cannon Clarke stand on the
hill and watch people walk out and hear
the conversations that are talking about
Shakespeare wrote about many wonderful
things and it gives people points of
reference common points of reference to
talk about things that matter the human
condition power love jealousy things
that impact us every single day now if
that’s what one arts event can do in
terms of bringing people together
can you imagine five thousand nine
hundred events every single year I think
that’s a domino effect that’s so crucial
and that’s something that the arts can
do which Netflix can only dream about
ever doing second domino effect
engage now the arts is more than just
something that’s entertaining the arts
can use its popular mass appeal to bring
people together to address important
social issues this is a picture from the
Curious Incident of the dog in the
night-time by National Theater which was
staged at the Esplanade earlier this
year fantastic story about a boy named
Christopher who’s autistic who goes on
this journey to find out who killed the
neighborhood dog very very nice job I
had a kid an autistic boy who came for
the show it was a relaxed performance a
special performance design for autistic
patrons it’s part of our partnership
with autism Association of Singapore he
wrote a card which he asked me to pass
to the actor who played Christopher and
the card said thank you it’s for the
first time in my life I seen someone on
stage who looks like me things like me
feels like me the first time in my life
I feel quite normal you see this kind of
representation is possible through the
arts and it’s not just important for the
autistic boy it’s important for everyone
else
because when everyone else goes to watch
to show they’re reminded of the fact
that we are so privileged of the fact
that we need empathy that we need
understanding of different communities
with different needs that education and
debt advocacy that’s so powerful and so
visceral another example just last night
I was at a play called Michael Chang’s
private parts it’s a local play and it
tells the story about three
transgendered women going through a
transition from being a man to a woman
woman to a man most people kind of freak
out don’t really know what to do about
these sort of things but at the end of
the show you walk out with the
understanding that they’re just human
want to be loved and want to love in
return the Arts has the ability to
normalize what is not seen as normal it
has the power to dispel fear of the
unknown because it does one thing very
well it tells a story a story that
connects and resonates with individuals
that broadens mind that creates momentum
of change and that’s a powerful powerful
domino effect that again cannot be
ignored last domino effect for today and
which it’s no secret that the arts is
key to capturing imagination and
nurturing creativity in a way that a
classroom no offense to the teachers cut
there’s something fun about going to the
theater it’s live entertainment and we
do lots of children’s shows at SRT and
there’s so many things around going on
in general and Singapore for your kids
and for your family and that kind of
holistic development at such a young age
is so crucial because our kids these
days are obsessed with math and science
and engineering which are so crucial and
important but so is literature and
humanities and history and the arts
because we’ve seen with our leaders in
the world today what happens when you
forget these lessons it’s important to
develop society holistically the arts
nourishes and enriches the lives
especially of the people who need it the
most
just last week I was at the theater and
we were staging this
nursery crimes is a very fun children’s
play about nursery a world where nursery
rhymes has kind of gone topsy-turvy we
worked with a donor who had underwritten
tickets for a charity called love Mills
they’re a charity that works with
children underprivileged children who
have cancer
broaden sixty of them to come and watch
the show I was there to receive them at
the end of the show one of the kids ran
up to me and grabbed me and hugged me
and he said I’m so happy thank you so
much I started chemotherapy this week
and it really hurts but all week I could
only think about one thing it’s I’m
going to watch a show but stories I love
it’s for the little moments like this
that me and my colleagues in the art
industry works so hard every single day
full knowing we will never have the bank
accounts of lawyers and doctors but
knowing that when you give the magic of
theater to just one person one child
you’re not just making it impact on them
and helping them create this amazing
experience which they’re gonna remember
for a long time but you’re impacting
their brothers their sisters their
mothers their fathers and that creates a
trickle effect because when everyone
does that then you go on to nourish the
very soul of a nation I’m gonna wrap up
my speech with a call to action for you
three things that you can do to enable
the rippling effect and the powerful
domino effect of the arts patronage get
off your Netflix go to the theater go to
the many free events from the lights and
arts events in the Civic district to in
your own neighborhoods we need people
like you to come and watch shows only
then will you experience the domino
effect of the Arts in your life and
remember don’t just go to MBS and watch
the fourth run of wicked that’s great
watch local theater watch local stories
go find them they’re around we create
them
it’s so important as an international
community that we know the world we live
in the society we live in and you can
learn that by going for local theatre
donation as I mentioned the arts is poor
you might not look it we are for
charities and what you can do is
organize your communities get your
colleagues together get your friends in
school together
start a fund raiser and underwrite
tickets for underprivileged children to
come to the theatre this will be the
first time they’ve ever step foot in a
theatre some of them unfortunately this
will be their last and that’s the
difference that you can make very
tangibly it’s just twenty five dollars
can underwrite the ticket for one child
twenty-five dollars that’s the amount
you spend on a grab advocacy be an
ambassador for the arts because it’s not
enough for me to do speeches like this
what really matters is grassroot change
and a change in mentality that the art
is in Phyllis it’s important it’s
crucial it’s necessary so with that I
hope you’ve enjoyed my speech today and I hope to see you at the theater
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