Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the signing ceremony between the LASALLE College of the Arts and Goldsmiths College, 29 Feb 2012

Mr Peter Seah
Chairman of the LASALLE Board

Mr Christopher Jonas
Chairman of Goldsmiths College, University of London

Prof Steve Dixon
President of LASALLE

Distinguished guests, students, friends, ladies and gentlemen


1.    I am very delighted to be here at your new campus to celebrate the signing ceremony between LASALLE and Goldsmiths College. I came to LASALLE once before, but it was at your old campus at Goodman Road. And Brother McNally showed me around with great enthusiasm and passion, all the many things he was doing. I am happy that it has evolved and metamorphosed, and you have this splendid place and this splendid group today. Well done. Today’s signing is not just a major milestone for LASALLE and Goldsmiths College, but it is also an important step forward for Singapore’s arts and cultural landscape.

IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS

2.    The arts are a very important part of a gracious Singapore society. We spend a lot of time talking about economic development in Singapore. And indeed, economics, growth, hard work, prosperity, creating wealth is crucial to us, because without a vibrant economy, we cannot improve our lives, and we would not have the wherewithal to look beyond our physical needs to enjoy the finer things in life. But material wellbeing should not be our only goal, either as a society or as individuals. Not everything that is important in life can be measured in dollars and cents, and we must also see to the emotional and spiritual wellbeing and fulfilment of our people, and our families and friends.

3.    The arts and culture give us this fulfilment. They are essential aspects of our identity, of our sense of worth and humanity. They uplift our emotions and stir our souls, and they bring our people together and bond us closer together, regardless of our cultures or backgrounds, our races or religions. That is why it is important for us to nurture the arts, and to give proper weight to these intangible goals.

4.    Our arts and cultural scene here has become much more active and vibrant in recent years. We have many more high quality international shows and exhibitions. Recently, for example, the National Museum put on the Dreams and Reality exhibition of impressionist paintings and works. Then we had “Giselle” performed by the Paris Opera Ballet at the Esplanade. These are international shows, but we also have very good productions and works by local artists and groups. Last weekend I went to watch a production of “Don Giovanni”, put on by the Singapore Lyric Opera. It was mainly a Singapore cast – very good singers, the orchestra was conducted by a Singaporean, Joshua Tan, and the team was complemented by international talent: an English director, Tom Hawkes; a Korean lead playing Don Giovanni himself, Song Kee Chang. The audience enjoyed it tremendously, and so did I.

5.    This ability to inspire and to captivate is not confined to classic operas or Broadway musicals. We should be eclectic in our approach, open to a wide range of art forms. You may call them high-brow, you may call them low-brow, you may call them new or traditional, but I think we should be open-minded in what we can have and enjoy. It could be theatre, could be literary arts, could be films, could be familiar favourites or thought provoking avant garde pieces – if some of the audience goes home puzzled, that means everything is alright. We could have world-class performers or amateur exhibitions. All these art forms can touch people’s hearts, so it is important for us to have a diverse arts landscape, with something for everybody. And taken as a whole, the works and the performances will reflect and enrich our cultures and heritage.

6.    All this is what we would like to see, but it has to come from the people, it has to come from the community, because it is best for our arts landscape to develop organically, through individual and community initiatives. The arts need to be promoted and pursued by artists and audiences who enjoy and are passionate about what they are doing, who have a message, who have something to say, a story to tell, some mission, something they want to change in the world or in society. Then we can sustain and deepen the level and standard of our cultural life over time. So I am very happy that the recent review of arts and culture – the Arts and Culture Strategic Review that Mr Lee Tzu Yang chaired – has recommended a ground-up, community-led approach to integrating arts and culture into our lives. The Government is reviewing the Committee’s recommendations and we will have a response quite soon.

VALUE OF AN ARTS EDUCATION

7.    On the part of the Government, the state will facilitate and encourage Singaporeans to contribute to the arts. So for example, we will provide good infrastructure – whether it is the Esplanade, whether it is the National Art Gallery in the process of being built, whether it is integrating arts and culture spaces in our city. We will also provide support for funding, and our annual programme spending on the arts is going up significantly and this year, it will go up by more than 50% to reach $365m. In other words, a million dollars a day, which is not a small sum, so I hope it will be well spent. But we would like also, apart from resources and facilities, to foster an open, nurturing environment where artists can express themselves creatively and freely, within broad limits that respect our society’s standards of what is acceptable and proper and decent.

8.    One important strategy is to give our talented and passionate Singaporeans every opportunity to realise their potential. And therefore we have a well-established, longstanding programme to build up our arts education, and students now have a wide variety of institutions and arts forms, for example, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at NUS; the School of Art, Design and Media at NTU; the Royal College of Music programmes at NAFA; or the Goldsmiths programmes at LASALLE, here. All these reflect our commitment to build many peaks of excellence in our education system, and not just a single pinnacle of achievement. And even within the arts, to provide many alternative routes, alternative possibilities, alternative programmes and courses, so that people with very different talents and interests can each find their own niche, their own avenue and their own success.

9.    I am especially pleased to see the good progress which LASALLE has made since it was established in 1984. More than 2,000 students today, and many distinguished alumni making their mark in Singapore and internationally. For example, the late Mr Chua Ek Kay, the painter – a Cultural Medallion winner who blended traditional Chinese art forms with Western techniques; or Kit Chan, the singer; or Boo Junfeng, the film director who won the Singapore Youth Award in 2011 and whose films have been shown at international film festivals.

LASALLE-GOLDSMITHS PARTNERSHIP

10.    This LASALLE-Goldsmiths partnership is another step forward. Goldsmiths is one of the top universities in the world for Arts and Humanities, and LASALLE can develop its faculty and arts research capabilities through this partnership with Goldsmiths.

11.    The partnership will enhance the opportunities for our budding arts talent. From August this year, students enrolled on the Goldsmiths-LASALLE programme can choose from 14 different degree possibilities, including Performing Arts, Fine Arts, Media Arts, Design and Arts Management. Programmes are designed and developed by LASALLE, and validated by Goldsmiths – the first validation of an institution by Goldsmiths outside of Europe. And the graduates will receive a Goldsmiths award that is equivalent to a graduate from Goldsmiths in London. The degree programmes are funded by the Government, and it is another example of how we are giving every Singaporean the best opportunity to succeed.

CONCLUSION

12.    I hope that this programme will help to develop passionate leaders and talented performers in the arts, and in due course, you will produce a constellation of alumni who will do you proud and do Singapore proud. And you will encourage more Singaporeans with an aptitude and talent in the arts to consider pursuing it seriously in their education, and later, in their careers and their lives.

13.    Not everyone will be a superstar, but we can all enjoy the arts and we can all contribute, in big or small ways, to developing the arts in Singapore. And through our talent and hard work, inspire future generations of Singaporeans.

14.    Congratulate LASALLE and Goldsmiths on your partnership, and wish you every success and many beautiful days to come, for many, many more years. Thank you very much.
 
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