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One
rainy day, I walked into
the charming Sculpture Square to see a site-specific installation
by Mathew Ngui, which reminded me of a scene in Jim Henson's Labyrinth.
The scene shows far-apart rocks that reveal faces when viewed at
specific angles. In the installation, the parts of the letters in
'GLOBAL' are placed separately in such a way that you make out the
word only when standing at a specific point.
The air was clear as I next strolled along Waterloo Street, admiring
the pre-war and other old buildings which now house the arts groups
Action Theatre, Singapore Calligraphy Centre, YMS Arts Centre, Dance
Ensemble Singapore, Sculpture Square and Stamford Arts Centre.
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Most
of us know the areas in Singapore associated historically and to this
day with the Malays, Chinese and Indians. These areas are Geylang,
Chinatown and Little India respectively. What about the Eurasians?
Their historical link was with Waterloo and Queens Streets which link
the two parallel running Bras Basah and Middle Roads. The early scenes
of these streets saw shophouses, terrace houses, bungalows with gardens,
and children playing and going to nearby schools such as St. Joseph's
Institution. Many of the old buildings have given way to HDB flats,
private apartments, hotels and office buildings. Some have become
spaces for arts groups and survive to this day.
Some of these old buildings which have survived are now homes for
the arts. They are a result of the Arts Housing Scheme implemented
in 1985 |
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by
the National Arts Council (NAC) to provide spaces at subsidised
rents to arts groups which meet stringent requirements
set by NAC such as, for example, high artistic standards.
Working closely with the Urban Redevelopment Authority,
NAC identified these buildings as being suitable for arts
use.
From the pre-war to the present scenes of Waterloo Street,
we now zoom out to see the larger area that covers the
Singapore Art Museum, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and
Selegie Arts Centre. Waterloo Street is one of the three
arts belts which have sprung up because of the high density
of diverse arts groups in the area, the street being the
'peak of the density profile' (The other two are Chinatown
and Little India Arts Belts). It took five years and seven
million dollars to restore and develop this arts belt
which is envisioned to help link the arts centres and
institutions in the area, and add |
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Lying
in the heart of the city, the Waterloo Street Arts Belt
certainly has much potential to be developed into a vibrant
arts precinct providing Singaporeans and tourists with
another fun and stimulating place to visit. Not only do
the arts groups have to relentlessly improve their artistic
standards, they have to create ways to allow more public
involvement. The general public, on its part, has to actively
participate. Certainly, other private organisations can
promote the Belt's growth in various ways such as by providing
funding. In the same way that the viewer can see the sectioned
text 'GLOBAL' in Mathew Ngui's installation only if he/she
actively participates by searching for the right viewing
angle, we will one day see a vibrant Waterloo Street Arts
Belt only if the arts groups, the general public and other
organisations work and participate together in synergy.
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