2007 Statistical Round

2007 Statistical Round-Up
of the Arts
A GLOWING YEAR FOR THE ARTS
Spectacular growth...
Overall Growth
1
The vibrancy of Singapore’s arts scene reached new heights in 2007, with nearly
27,000 arts activities (Figure 1). This represents a year-on-year increase of 24%, the
sharpest since 1998. Sources of the enhanced arts buzz were an exceptional increase
in exhibition days (up by 29% from 2006) and a healthy increase in performances (up
by 14% in 2006).
2
The total number of arts activities has quadrupled in the last ten years, growing at an
average of 15% a year. This means that on any one day, visitors and residents in
Singapore could choose from an average of 73 arts activities to engage in, compared to
just 18 a decade ago. Such strong increases in the number of arts activities augur well
for Singapore’s bid to entrench itself in the global consciousness as a vibrant and
cosmopolitan city with a lively arts and entertainment scene.
Figure 1
Total Arts Activities (Performances & Exhibition Days)
30,000
26,626
25,000
No. of Arts Activities
21,394
18,732
20,000
19,285
16,034
14,636
15,000
11,422
12,252
12,626
9,941
10,000
6,625
5,000
0
7,654
8,376
8,515
13,627
1997
14,838
12,875
11,380
9,459
6,164
4,115
2,510
19,177
3,777
3,768
1998
1999
3,876
2000
4,111
2001
5,177
2002
4,654
2003
5,105
2004
Total Activities (Performances & Exhibition Days)
6,410
2005
6,556
2006
7,449
2007
Year
Total Exhibition Days
Total Performances
1
Performing beyond expectations...
Performing Arts Activity
3
The trend of a steady rise in the number of performances since 1997 was interrupted in
2003 by the SARS pandemic (Figure 2). However, the performing arts scene
rebounded strongly with an average growth of 13% a year from 2004-2007. The
number of performances in Singapore has trebled since 1997, rising to a record high of
7,450 performances in 2007.
Figure 2
Performing Arts Activity
8,000
7,449
No. of Performances
7,000
6,410
6,000
5,177
3,777
4,000
1,000
3,768
3,876
4,111
4,067
3,657
2,652
2,510
2,028
2,000
5,105
4,654
5,000
3,000
6,556
2,066
2,061
2,203
2,437
1,749
1,702
1,815
2,217
1,908
2,710
3,382
2,753
2,525
1,511
3,520
3,036
2,395
999
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Year
Total Performances
Total Ticketed Performances
Total Non-Ticketed Performances
4
Reflecting Singaporeans’ preferences, theatre and music performances accounted for
three-quarters of all performances in Singapore (Figure 3). The remaining quarter was
contributed by dance and multi-disciplinary performances.
Figure 3
Others, 13.5%
Music
Music, 41.5%
Dance
Theatre
Others
Theatre, 32.7%
Dance, 12.3%
2
More producers...
Non-Ticketed Performances
5
Figure 2 also shows that non-ticketed performances continued to contribute a slightly
larger share (55%) of total performances in 2007. After a slight dip in 2006, nonticketed performances in music, theatre and dance bounced back with healthy growth
rates of 17%-21%. This was due to more organisations from the people, private and
public sectors using free arts events to reach out to their constituents. In fact, the
number of organisers for non-ticketed performances more than doubled in the last
decade.
6
Festivals are a key contributor of non-ticketed performances. Events that contributed
most to non-ticketed performances in 2007 were the Singapore Arts Festival,
Singapore Street Festival, Huayi: Chinese Festival of Arts, Mosaic Music Festival,
Kalaa Utsavam: Indian Festival of Arts, Pesta Raya: Malay Festival of Arts, and
Da:ns Festival. Non-ticketed performances featured at these festivals accounted for
16% of total non-ticketed performances.
Ticketed Performances
7
Ticketed performances continued to grow steadily in 2007. The 11% increase from
2006 came largely from the dance and theatre sectors, which grew by 53% and 22 %
respectively. Specifically, traditional dance, Indian dance and opera music and multimedia theatre performances showed the highest increase. Theatre performances made
up 54% of ticketed performances, followed by music (28%) and dance performances
(11%).
Shorter runs...
8
Notwithstanding the sharp rise in performances, the number of productions continued
to increase faster (Figure 4). What this means is that, compared to five years ago,
productions are playing shorter runs. In recent years, each production comprised an
average of just two performances, compared to 4 in 2002.
Dazzling variety...
9
Singaporeans continued to enjoy a wide variety of performances in 2007. Adding to
the diversity were novel productions and events such as The Crystal Mirror, a dinnertheatre performance, the Good Vibrations Festival, a music festival, and the Singapore
Visual Theatre Festival. Novelty also extended to the choice of performance venues.
Arts were literally everywhere, showing up in hospitals, welfare homes, parks,
beaches, shopping malls, museums, libraries, schools, community clubs, etc.
3
Figure 4
Total Performances and Productions
No. of Performances & Productions
8,000
7,449
7,000
6,410
6,000
5,177
5,105
4,654
5,000
3,777
4,000
3,000
6,556
3,768
4,111
3,876
2,510
3,184
3,196
2006
2007
2,402
1,915
2,000
1,291
1,194
1,337
1,295
1,275
1,408
1,479
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
1,000
0
2004
2005
Year
Total Performances
Total Productions
10
These ticketed performances drew in close to 1.5 million attendees in 2007 (Figure 5).
This was a sharp 16% increase from the previous year, and the highest year-on-year
growth in the last decade. On average, each ticketed performance attracted 440
attendees, and an estimated house of 70%.
Figure 5
Ticketed Attendance
1,600,000
1,494,900
1,290,300
No. of Ticketed Attendance
1,400,000
1,262,200
1,200,000
754,100
985,200
940,200
914,000
1,000,000
800,000
1,110,300
1,084,200
857,900
821,700
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Year
Ticketed Attendance
4
Crowd favourites...
11
Theatre performances continue to be the biggest crowd-puller in 2007, attracting over
687,000 attendees (46% of total ticketed attendances). In particular, over 80% of them
attended musicals and English theatre performances, a 10% increase from 2006.
Audience favourites in 2007 were Phantom of the Opera, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,
The King and I, Dim Sum Dollies – The History of Singapore, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, Scrooge – The Musical, My Fair Lady and Titoudao. Collectively, these
productions accounted for 19% of total ticketed attendance.
12
Music performances were popular also, attracting over 540,000 attendees (37% of total
ticketed attendances). 2007 favourites were WOMAD Singapore 2007 and Liza Wang
& Singapore Chinese Orchestra .
A sight to behold...
Visual Arts Activity
13
Visual arts activity in 2007 was also exceptionally vibrant. The number of exhibitions
escalated to over 820, notching the highest rate of increase (25%) since 2000 (Figure
6). The number of exhibition days shot up to over 19,000 days, five times that a
decade ago. The year-on-year increase was an astounding 29%, the highest since 1998.
14
Compared to the growth in number of exhibitions, the number of exhibition days has
been growing at almost twice the rate, at 17% per annum between 1997 and 2007.
This indicates that the average duration of an exhibition in Singapore has nearly
doubled over the past decade, averaging 23 days in 2007.
Figure 6
Visual Arts Activity
No. of Exhibitions & Exhibition Days
25,000
19,177
20,000
14,838
13,627
15,000
12,875
11,380
10,000
7,654
8,376
8,515
9,459
6,164
5,000
4,115
346
399
406
520
518
551
537
542
568
660
824
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
0
Total Visual Arts Exhibitions
Year
Total Exhibition Days
5
15
The huge spike in visual arts activity in 2007 was largely boosted by an increase in the
number of exhibitions organised by art galleries (48% year-on-year increase), and
commercial entities like cafes, shopping malls, boutiques and bookstores (79% yearon-year increase). Major visual arts events also played an important role in promoting
vibrancy of Singapore’s visual arts scene. 2007 Singapore Art Show, a biennial visual
arts event that showcases works by Singapore visual artists, accounted for 5% of total
exhibitions and 8% of total exhibition days.
Towards a more dynamic ecosystem...
Arts Societies and Companies
16
The number of registered arts-related companies and societies1 rose from 730 in 2006
to 794 in 2007 (Figure 7). This is both a reflection and a driver of a more robust and
dynamic arts ecosystem.
Figure 7
Arts Societies & Companies
No. of Arts Societies & Companies
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Total Arts Societies
Total Arts Companies
Total Arts Societies & Companies
17
1
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Year
The increase in the number of arts companies to 477 in 2007 came on the back of
newly-registered music companies, including those set up by jazz singer Claressa
Monteiro, rock band Close Apart, The A Cappella Society Ltd, vocal coaching
company Vocalogy, record label Wake Me Up Music Pte Ltd, and event organiser La
Famiglia. New non-music entrants include Xin Yi Shen Wayang Opera, Wessex
Theatre Pte Ltd, The Singapore Handicapped Youth Arts Pte Ltd, International Kids
Performing Festival, Post-Museum, Redot Gallery Pte Ltd, Art Mart Gallery, and
ArtPrintsAsia Pte Ltd.
More details can be found at http://www.nac.gov.sg/sta/sta01.asp
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18
The number of arts societies increased by 5% to 317 in 2007. Some of the newly
registered arts societies are Wind Bands Association of Singapore, Nada Laya Arts
Society Singapore, Chinese Artists Association (Singapore), Underground Theatre,
and Migrant Voices.
Conclusion
19
Overall, the arts scene in Singapore experienced a year of substantial growth in 2007,
showing an accelerating upward trend in most areas. The increase in demand for arts
performances may be explained by the positive consumer sentiments as a result of the
robust economic growth experienced by Singapore in 2007. Average monthly
household income grew by 9.6% from 2006, the fastest growth over the last decade2.
20
However, it is also testimony to the high quality of the arts performances themselves –
be they of local or international origin – that more among the population are attracted
to attend and consume arts. All these paint a bright landscape for the arts in Singapore
over the next few years; and will help Singapore realise its desire to be a vibrant,
cosmopolitan city to live, work and play.
2
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/papers/people/op-s14.pdf
Research & Statistics Department
Corporate Development Division
140 Hill Street
#03-01 MICA Building
Singapore 179369
Website: www.nac.gov.sg
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