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SINGAPORE: You will soon have a chance to do your bit in building the renaissance city.
A new Cultural Philanthropy portal will be launched to make it easier for the public to donate to the arts and culture sector, said RAdm(NS) Lui Tuck Yew in a written response to questions by Nominated Member of Parliament Audrey Wong in Parliament.
In his reply, the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts also noted that the local arts scene "has not been significantly impacted by the recession".
Describing cultural philanthropy as "an important component of enabling an engaged and gracious community", the new portal will complement the donation portal set up by the National Council of Social Service and will be linked to it, said RAdm Lui.
It will be launched by his ministry's newly-established Arts and Culture Development Office.
"This dedicated portal will make it easier for the public to lend support to arts and culture through donations, big and small. Beyond facilitating donations, the portal will also be a platform for more Singaporeans to volunteer their time, skills and resources in a broad range of arts and cultural programmes," RAdm Lui said.
As to the state of the arts scene last year, the Acting Minister noted that the sector enjoyed growth despite the economic downturn.
"Growth, although small in some areas, was seen in overall ticketed attendances, ticketed performances, visual arts activities and arts-related companies and societies."
The visual arts scene enjoyed an "unexpectedly buoyant" 2008, with more than 900 exhibitions held last year. However, "there was a decline in total ticket sales value recorded by Sistic and Gatecrash as arts companies adjust ticket pricing downwards", said RAdm Lui.
While the Government was committed to sustaining the arts during the recession, he added: "The growth of the arts and culture is a shared responsibility between the Government, private and people sectors".
- TODAY/sc
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