Tuesday 5 April 2016
Thank you Madam Speaker. It is a privilege to stand before the parliament and share my views about the Budget as an artist and a Nominated Member of Parliament for the Arts. First of all, I would like to begin by congratulating our Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat, for delivering a budget that seeks to place Singapore in good stead to face future economic and social challenges.
I am very aware of time. That I have only 20 minutes to make my point. And so I will be very mindful.
Let me first recount a performance that my company Drama Box staged in 2001. That was the year when there was the financial crisis caused by the default of subprime mortgage.
The performance, in the form of Forum Theatre, was about a husband who was retrenched and was taking out his frustration on his wife. Forum Theatre is a form of theatre where the protagonist is facing a problem within a scene. After the scene is performed, the audience is invited to replace the protagonist to try out different ways of dealing with the problem. In this particular story, both the husband and the wife could not find ways to handle the crisis and affect change.
In one performance, many people replaced the role of the wife, speaking to the husband about the need to accept the change, look out for government schemes, advising him, encouraging him. The husband understood all these, but he was still not placated. He was still frustrated.
Then a woman came up. She sat the husband down. Held his hand. The audience and myself were waiting for her to speak. But she did not. She just kept quiet.
Finally the husband asked her why did she not speak. She replied with a question: “Are you okay?” I could hear the husband letting out a sigh of relief.
When I, the facilitator, asked her why she did what she did, she said: 在这样一种情况，人需要一点点的时间，一点点的空间。In such difficult situation, people need some time and some space.
I share this anecdote to highlight the importance of time and space during a crisis or in face of change.
Government schemes can help Singaporeans prepare for structural changes in our economy, and to move into new jobs and responsibilities.
However, schemes will only help Singaporeans IF we also look at how our body, hearts and spirits are affected in these moments of change or crises.
“Small acts of repair. Calming the hands in a troubled world. Restoring damage to renewed use.”
This quote comes from a US-based theatre company Goat Island, which believes that theatre is a small act of repair. Repairing the body and the hearts that has been bruised by the experience of crisis and change.
Human beings are not like little bolts, which can be melted down and made into nuts if there were not enough nuts. To change a mindset is not about switching into a different mode. It requires the emotions and the spirits to be engaged.
It needs time. And it needs space.
The woman who participated in the forum theatre told us later that that was how she had helped her husband who was retrenched during that same financial crisis.
The performance became a demonstration of what is possible.
It became a place for learning.
It also became a place for rehearsal.
Hence in response to the Budget Speech... I would like to ask these two questions:
Where is Art in the future of Singapore?
Why is Art important in the future of Singapore?
I'm sure that if I search hard enough, I will be able to find statistics on the arts in Singapore. How our audiences have increased over the years, the number of art works have multiplied since the 1990s.
Yet, the very fact that I am standing here, asking about the importance of the arts in Singapore, suggests that there is some cause for concern.
To further reinforce that concern is the fact that the arts are not mentioned in this year's budget speech. The word 'culture' is mentioned, in reference to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Surprisingly, the arts does not even get a mention in the section “Transforming our economy through enterprise and innovation” — this despite the fact that the arts powers innovation, which is important if we are to be future-ready in challenging times.
Innovation is a primary objective of the arts and artists. The arts can be innovative in its creative process. We innovate, break old regimes and create new paradigms. The arts encourage play. To play means, first of all, playing within the rules with tried-and- tested methods. After a while, one must start playing creatively, go beyond the rules and improvise. Then only can one start to make new discoveries.
Critical thinking balances innovation with responsibility. As we strive for change, we must also strive for sustainability. For example, how do we deal with economic growth yet be aware of how it will impact the environment?
The creative mind coupled with critical thinking can complement our usually pragmatic and logical approaches to problem solving. While we want to transform our economy through innovation, we also want the transformation to be equitable, viable and sustainable.
Innovation also happens in the arts through collaboration. Composers, writers, film-makers and other artists have always collaborated with other disciplines such as science, technology and education. Such collaborations are vital to the lifeblood of these industries. Let me illustrate with a story, and again I am aware of time.
This was an experiment that was conducted in 250 BC. Two equal- length sticks were placed upright in the ground 500 miles apart. Then at an exact moment, a person at each location would measure the length of the shadow. If the earth were flat, the shadows would be the same length. But it was discovered that the shadows were not the same length, and so we began to think that maybe the earth was not flat but round. This happened around 250 BC. But it took another 1000 years before we finally agreed that the earth was round.
A triangulation must occur for us to make sense of this. Two people collaborated in setting up the experiment and measuring the shadows. It took two of them, from two different of viewpoints, to visualise the earth as round. It also took time – roughly a millennium – to finally arrive at a conclusion. It was through a collaboration on such a fundamental issue – is the earth flat or not? - that we are able to gain a more accurate view of ourselves.
So what does 'collaboration' mean? Simply, it means two things: Giving and Taking.
Giving is sharing. Offering. So that one can contribute to, and feel invested in the process of nation building.
Taking is listening. Engaging. The ability to accept criticism. Where criticism is concerned, it is easier to give than to receive.
As artists, our works get reviewed and critiqued all the time. No artist wants to read a negative critique of his or her work. But if we see the critic as someone who cares about the arts, our mindset will change. The critic is no longer an opponent but a collaborator.
We are all in it together. Yet we are different from one another. How do we manage difference?
How do we learn not to be offended by difference?
How do we respond if we were to be offended by difference?
What if one person were to impose his ideas on another person? What if one group were to force their opinions and belief systems on others?
I say this because in many ways, the state today has failed in mediation techniques. It is reactive, unable to effectively manage difference to find a common ground.
For example, a few letters complaining about an artwork may lead to that work being removed. But what about the many other people who do not have a problem and in fact appreciate the artwork?
How does this logic work? Where is the mediation? Should we encourage audiences to write in when they are not offended to balance those who write in who are?
Being fair means being fair to all, not just those who write the angriest letters or shout the loudest slogans or garner the most signatures.
That is not collaboration. This is not giving and taking. Collaboration is about being grounded, yet open; it is about letting go of presumptions and judgments in order to create meaningful dialogue.
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