Singapore Arts Festival

The Singapore Arts Festival (??????) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. Organised by the National Arts Council, it is one of the most significant events in the regional arts scene. The festival, usually held in mid-year for a stretch of one month, incorporates theatre arts, dance, music and visual arts, among other possibilities. Besides local participants, approximately 70% of the events are put up by international artists.

 

The Festival remains the largest singular event in Singapore’s arts calendar, inviting artists from more than 20 countries, offering more than 500 activities attracting up to 700,000 attendances - a 4-week infusion of performances and events that inspire and capture the public imagination of the city.

History

The Singapore Arts Festival started in 1977 as a national arts festival to celebrate local arts from the diverse communities in Singapore. Over the last three decades, the Festival has played a symbiotic and catalytic role in the development of the artistic and cultural life of Singapore. It has helped to transform the city’s cultural landscape, turning it into one of Asia’s major cultural capitals today. It has influenced local artists as well as increasing public awareness and demand for the arts, spawning new cultural platforms, events, and movements that help underpin the lively cultural scene in present Singapore.

Local Productions

In addition to international acts, Singaporean productions (some in collaboration with overseas partners) in previous Arts Festivals include ECNAD's Missing In Tall Pillars (2002), Mark Chan's Little Toys (2003), Opiume (2004) and Dreaming of Kuanyin Meeting Madonna (2007).