【国会发言】1亿新元！新加坡将出重金发展这个行业

唐振辉（文化、社区及青年部长兼律政部第二部长）先生：新加坡充满活力的文化艺术界多年来不断发展壮大。我们打算继续培育这一行业，使其不断发展壮大，以满足社会对艺术和文化的需求。同时，它还提供了多样化的工作角色和工作机会，以及多种职业发展途径。

艺术行业和艺术工作者的收入一直在增长。

我们的艺术行业不断发展壮大，反映了艺术从业人员的才华和勤奋，以及政府对艺术行业的持续投资，以维持和培育其发展。例如，在新冠疫情期间，政府采取大量干预措施来大力支持艺术界。我们推出了总额7500万新元的“文化艺术振兴配套”（Arts & Culture Resilience Package），帮助维持艺术公司得以持续发展，并保留行业内的工作岗位，包括自雇人士。去年，当我们全面恢复活动时，它还为该行业注入活力，帮助其从疫情中恢复过来。

在政府、艺术界和私营部门的共同努力下，艺术行业得以恢复增长。艺术行业的名义增加值从2020年的7.4 亿新元回升到2022年的9.1亿新元。这几乎回到了2019年新冠疫情之前的9.5亿新元的水平。

2018 年至 2023 年间，艺术行业全职就业居民的名义月总收入中位数也增长了26.5%。这高于全国名义月总收入中位数的增长率，后者同期增长了 17.1%。

政府打算通过《艺术蓝图2.0》（Arts Plan 2.0）（将在下文详细阐述）和其他举措，进一步推动艺术行业的发展。我们可以利用各种机会，例如改进技术，使艺术家更容易与世界各地的观众分享他们的作品。政府致力于与艺术行业合作，帮助我们的艺术家利用这些机遇，获得可持续的、有竞争力的生计。

政府认为，在艺术领域创造良好的就业机会需要多管齐下。这与制定薪资指南本身无关。相反，要为艺术家创造良好的就业机会，就必须建立一个具有竞争力和可持续发展的艺术部门，并为其奠定坚实的基础。而这又需要三个组成部分：实力雄厚的艺术公司和代表各种艺术形式的熟练从业者，以及支持并愿意为本地艺术消费买单的广大观众群体。根据我们的《2023-2027年新加坡艺术拓展蓝》，国家艺术理事会 (NAC)的目标是推进这三个事业的发展。

实力雄厚的公司。首先，我们需要加强新加坡艺术公司的实力。实力雄厚的公司将能够为艺术工作者提供更多更好的工作机会和更高的薪酬。我们的起点很高。过去几年，艺术公司的数量有所增加，从2019年的约3,700家增加到2022年的4800多家，这表明许多公司认识到对艺术产品和服务的需求依然强劲，艺术家们也准备成立公司来从事艺术创作。

国家艺术理事会为帮助我们的艺术公司发展提供了支持，无论是通过主要辅助计划（Major Company Scheme）等组织计划，还是通过满足不同目的的各种项目资助。实力雄厚的公司在整个生态系统中具有重要意义，因为它们为我们的艺术家提供了磨练技艺并在本地和国际上获得认可的机会。

新加坡爵士协会（JASS）就是一个例子，该协会由新加坡文化奖获得者杰里米.蒙泰罗（Jeremy Monteiro）于2016年创立。爵士协会的愿景是扩大爵士乐社区，推进爵士乐教育，并通过其外联工作将爵士乐带给新的听众。多年来，国家艺术理事会通过项目和组织资金为爵士协会提供了支持。如今，爵士协会已成为艺术界的中流砥柱，他们将回馈社会和培养下一代音乐家作为其使命之一。

例如，新加坡爵士协会（JASS）曾多次与许凯翔（Rit Xu）合作演出。许凯翔（Rit Xu）是新加坡杰出的长笛演奏家，曾于2022年获得新加坡国家艺术理事会颁发的青年艺术家奖，并被誉为首位在美国爵士乐独奏比赛中获奖的东南亚人。通过这样的机会和其他许多机会，许凯翔得以在实践中不断磨练自己，在每一次演出中完善自己的技艺，并自2023年起一直随“张学友 60+ 世界巡回演唱会”进行世界巡演。

熟练的从业者。第二个方面是培养一批能够胜任这些工作的熟练从业人员。多年来，政府已投入大量资金，建立本地艺术人才库。例如，我们设立了艺术教育机构，如艺术学院和新成立的新加坡艺术大学。这些学校培养了一批具有前瞻性、才华横溢、技能扎实的艺术毕业生，他们进入艺术界时已经做好了准备，可以贡献自己的力量，分享自己独特的声音和观点。

同样重要的是，已经进入该行业的艺术工作者能够进一步提升技能，并保持与时俱进。新加坡艺术理事会为艺术工作者提供继续教育和培训支持，以便艺术工作者能够不断提高技能。我们推出各种计划，帮助艺术工作者掌握新兴技能，确保他们的竞争力和就业能力。

为了最大限度地提高就业能力，我们的目标是帮助艺术工作者不断提高技能。首先，艺术工作者需要了解自己需要掌握哪些技能。我们已经推出了一些举措，如国家艺术理事会和新加坡精深技能发展局（SkillsFuture Singapore）于2023年联合推出的 “艺术技能框架”（Skills Framework for Arts）。这些结构化框架有助于帮助从业者了解技能需求，提高自身能力，开辟自己的职业道路。

其次，当从业人员了解自己需要掌握哪些技能后，国家艺术理事会会提供帮助，帮助他们掌握这些技能。例如，国家艺术理事会推出了新的培训举措，如后台管理事务（Backstage Affair）学徒试点。该计划允许学徒通过实际制作中的亲身体验，学习舞台和制作管理的技巧，为他们提供宝贵的工作机会，让他们掌握新技能，积累工作经验。

通过这些战略，我们将确保我们的艺术工作者能够很好地利用现有的工作机会。

培养观众。最后，我们需要观众支持并愿意为艺术付费。对艺术和文化有健康的需求是确保艺术公司和艺术家继续获得机会的关键。这不仅有利于我们的艺术家，也有利于我们的社会，促进社会和情感的健康发展，与我们的根和社会的联系。

根据“新加坡艺术拓展蓝图”（Our SG Arts Plan）（2023年至2027年），我们正在为新加坡人创造更多参与和支持艺术的途径。例如，“艺术处处@社区发展理事会”（ArtsEverywhere@CDC）是新加坡艺术理事会与五个社区发展理事会之间的合作项目，旨在将高品质的艺术体验带到主要的中心节点（如淡滨尼中心和大巴窑中心）。通过每月的演出和活动，我们的目标是让新加坡各社区的 50,000 多名居民参与其中，大大扩大新加坡人支持本地艺术家和艺术团体的机会。这一举措也为艺术家和艺术团体创造了就业机会，帮助他们接触新的观众以扩大观众基础，并提高人们对其艺术形式的认识。

国家艺术理事会还支持艺术公司和艺术家接触新的观众和市场。这有助于艺术家提高他们的地位和市场竞争力。例如，在视觉艺术领域，国家艺术理事会一直致力于提高新加坡视觉艺术家在国际舞台上的知名度，支持他们扩大影响力，吸引新的观众和收藏家。2024 年，国家艺术理事会支持众多艺术家参加海外展览和双年展，其中包括赵仁辉（Robert Zhao）、何锐安(Ho RuiAn)、巴尼（Bani Haykal）、扎琳娜·穆罕默德（Zarina Muhammad）等。国家艺术理事会还支持艺术画廊在重要的国际博览会上展示新加坡艺术家的作品，包括首尔弗里兹艺术博览会（Frieze Seoul）、巴黎亚洲艺术博览会（Asia Now） 和台北当代艺术博览会（Taipei Dangdai）。

国家艺术理事会还支持我们的本地作家寻找国际读者。例如，国家艺术理事会与出版商合作参加 “2023 年法兰克福书展”。据出版商报告，展会后共售出14份版权，包括名创（Marshall Cavendish）和世界出版社（World Scientific）分别出售的新加坡文学作品和儿童图画书的版权。此类交易是国家艺术理事会帮助我们的作家实现知识产权货币化、找到更广泛的受众并增加收入的努力的一部分。

有了更广泛的受众和强劲的需求，我们就能够建立一个强大的生态系统，为实力雄厚的公司提供支持，为艺术工作者提供良好的工作机会。

改善艺术工作者就业结果的工作一直在进行。今年早些时候，我们宣布政府将在现有资金的基础上，根据“新加坡艺术拓展蓝图”（Our SG Arts Plan）（2023年至2027年），在未来四年内再投资1亿新元用于发展艺术行业。这将支持我们努力扩大艺术受众、培养艺术工作者和加强健全的生态系统，所有这些都将有助于在艺术领域为新加坡人创造良好的就业和工作机会。

第92号问题的注释：

1.资料来源：新加坡统计局

2.资料来源：综合劳动力调查，人力资源研究及统计处，人力部。引用的数字是指全职就业居民的名义月总收入中位数（包括雇主公积金）的累计变化。按实际价格计算，艺术和文化部门在同一时期的增幅为10.7%，而全国增幅为2.5%。

3.赵仁辉— 威尼斯双年展；何锐安—巴黎蓬皮杜艺术中心联展；巴尼—釜山双年展；扎琳娜·穆罕默德—光州双年展；林育荣（Charles Lim）—第11届亚太三年展（布里斯班）。

 Ms Usha Chandradas asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the Ministry has any plans to develop or lead any initiatives to create comprehensive skills and salary guidelines for arts workers so as to ensure that competitive salaries are provided to members of the arts community and to improve talent attraction and retention within the various arts groups.

Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: Singapore’s vibrant arts and culture sector has grown over the years. We intend to continue to nurture the sector to evolve and develop to meet our society’s artistic and cultural needs. At the same time, it also presents a diverse range of job roles and work opportunities, along multiple career pathways.

The arts sector and incomes of arts workers have been growing.

The evolving strength of our sector reflects the talent and industriousness of our arts practitioners, along with the Government’s continued investment in the arts sector to sustain and nurture its development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the Government intervened heavily to support the sector. We rolled out the $75 million Arts and Culture Resilience Package which helped to sustain arts companies and preserve jobs, including for self-employed persons, within the industry. It also provided a boost to the sector, helping it emerge stronger from the pandemic when we fully resumed activities last year.

With the Government, arts community and private sector working together, the arts sector has been able to resume its growth trajectory. The nominal value-added of the arts sector rebounded from $740 million in 2020 to $910 million in 2022. This is nearly back to the pre-COVID level of $950 million in 20191.

Median nominal gross monthly incomes for full-time employed residents in the arts sector have also increased by 26.5% between 2018 and 2023. This is higher than the rate of growth for national median nominal gross monthly income, which increased by 17.1% over the same period2.

The Government, through Arts Plan 2.0, which will be elaborated upon below, and other initiatives, intends to further the growth of the arts sector. There are various opportunities which we can harness, such as improving technology, which makes it easier for artists to share their work with audiences worldwide. The Government is committed to working with the arts sector to help our artists take advantage of these opportunities and earn sustainable, competitive livelihoods.

The Government believes that creating good jobs and gigs in the arts sector requires a multi-pronged approach. It is not about setting salary guidelines per se. Rather, creating good jobs for artists requires a competitive and sustainable arts sector, with a strong foundation. That, in turn, requires three components: strong arts companies and skilled practitioners representing a diverse range of art forms, as well as a wide audience base supportive of and prepared to pay for the consumption of local arts. Under Our SG Arts Plan 2023-2027, the National Arts Council (NAC) aims to advance all three of these causes.

Strong companies. First, we need to strengthen Singaporean arts companies. Strong companies will be able to provide more and better work opportunities for arts workers and better pay. We are starting from a good base. The number of arts companies has increased over the past few years, from around 3,700 in 2019 to over 4,800 in 2022, showing that many recognise that there continues to be strong demand for arts products and services, and artists are prepared to set up companies to make art.

NAC has provided support to help our arts companies grow, whether through organisational schemes, such as the Major Company Scheme, or through the various project grants that cater to different purposes. Strong companies are significant in the overall ecosystem landscape, as they provide opportunities for our artists to hone their craft to and be recognised both locally and internationally.

One example is Jazz Association (Singapore), or JASS, founded by Cultural Medallion recipient Jeremy Monteiro in 2016. JASS’ vision is to expand the jazz community, advance jazz education and bring jazz music to new audiences through their outreach efforts. NAC has supported JASS over the years through project and organisational funding. JASS today is a staple of the arts scene and they have made it a part of their mission to give back and hone the next generation of our musicians.

For instance, JASS has played many gigs with Rit Xu, an outstanding Singaporean flautist who received NAC’s Young Artist Award in 2022 and who was celebrated as the first Southeast Asian to win a solo jazz competition in the United States. Through such opportunities and many others, Rit has been able to hone his practice over time, perfecting his craft with every gig and has been on world tour with the Jacky Cheung 60+ World Concert tour since 2023.

Skilled Practitioners. The second prong is to develop a pipeline of skilled practitioners who would be able to take on these jobs. Over the years, the Government has invested heavily in building up the local talent pool in the arts. For instance, we have set up arts education institutions, such as the School of the Arts and the new University of the Arts Singapore. These schools produce a pipeline of forward-looking, talented arts graduates with a good base of skills who enter the arts workforce already ready to contribute and share their unique voices and perspectives.

It is also important that arts workers who are already in the industry are able to further upgrade their skills and keep current. NAC provides support for arts workers to undergo continuing education and training, so that arts workers can continually improve their skills. We have introduced programmes to help arts workers to equip themselves with new and emerging skills to ensure their competitiveness and employability.

To maximise employability, we aim to help arts workers continually enhance their skillsets. First, workers need to know what skills they need to acquire. We have introduced initiatives like the Skills Framework for Arts, jointly launched by NAC and SkillsFuture Singapore in 2023. These structured frameworks are beneficial to help practitioners understand skill needs, improve their own capabilities and forge their own career pathways.

Second, when workers have understood what skills they need to acquire, NAC provides assistance to help them acquire those skills. For instance, NAC has introduced new training initiatives, such as the Backstage Affair’s Apprenticeship Pilot. This programme allows apprentices to learn the ropes of stage and production management through a hands-on approach in actual productions, providing valuable work opportunities to acquire new skills and build their work experience.

With these strategies, we will ensure that our arts workers are well-positioned to take advantage of the work opportunities available.

Developing Audiences. Finally, we will need audiences to be supportive of and willing to pay for the arts. Having a healthy demand for the arts and culture is key to ensuring that there will continue to be opportunities for arts companies and artists. This benefits not just our artists, but our society as well, nurturing social and emotional well-being, connection to our roots and social bonding.

Under Our SG Arts Plan 2023-2027, we are creating more ways for Singaporeans to get involved in and support the arts. For instance, ArtsEverywhere@CDC is a partnership between NAC and the five Community Development Councils to bring high quality arts experiences to major heartland nodes, such as Our Tampines Hub and Toa Payoh Hub. Through monthly performances and activities, we aim to engage more than 50,000 residents in various communities across Singapore, significantly expanding opportunities for Singaporeans to support local artists and arts groups. This initiative also creates job opportunities for artists and arts groups, helps them reach new audiences to grow their audience base and generates greater awareness of their art forms.

NAC is also supporting our arts companies and artists in reaching new audiences and markets. This helps our artists to enhance their stature and marketability. For example, in the visual arts sector, NAC has consistently worked to raise the prominence of Singapore’s visual artists on the international stage by supporting their efforts to expand their reach to new audiences and collectors. In 2024, NAC supported numerous artists at overseas exhibitions and Biennales, including Robert Zhao, Ho Rui An, Bani Haykal, Zarina Muhammad and more3. NAC also supports art galleries to present Singapore artists’ works at key international fairs, including Frieze Seoul, Asia Now and Taipei Dangdai.

NAC has also supported our local writers in finding international audiences. For example, NAC worked with publishers to participate in the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair. The publishers reported a total of 14 sales of rights post-fair, including rights sold by Marshall Cavendish and World Scientific for Singapore literary titles and children’s picture books respectively. Such deals are part of NAC’s efforts to help our writers monetise their intellectual property, finding wider audiences and contributing to their income.

With wider audiences and strong demand, we will be able to create a robust ecosystem capable of supporting strong companies and good jobs for arts workers.

The effort to improve employment outcomes for arts workers is an ongoing one. Earlier this year, we announced that the Government would be investing another $100 million to grow the arts sector over the next four years under the Our SG Arts Plan 2023-2027, on top of existing funding. This will support our efforts to build a wider audience for the arts, develop our arts workers and strengthen a robust ecosystem, all of which will contribute to creating good jobs and work opportunities for Singaporeans in the arts sector.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 92:

1 Source: Department of Statistics

2 Source: Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, MRSD, MOM. Numbers cited refer to the cumulative change in median nominal gross monthly income from employment, including employer CPF, of full-time employed residents. In real terms, the increase over the same time period was 10.7% for the arts and culture sector, versus 2.5% at the national level.

3 Robert Zhao – Venice Biennale; Ho Rui An – group exhibition at Centre Pompidou in Paris; Bani Haykal – Busan Biennale; Zarina Muhammad – Gwangju Biennale; Charles Lim – 11th Asia-Pacific Triennial (Brisbane).