// There is a substantive package to honour the contributions of the Pioneer generation, but will enough be done to honour their memories and their connection to this place, which are also the memories and connections of their descendants and future generations to this place called home? ------------------------ A dollar spent on a local product goes further than one spent on an import. To better support the presence of Singapore design in the market, could we consider ‘cluster’ housing for creative enterprises in unused, government buildings or conserved spaces at affordable or low rents? Not only will this bring vibrancy to a precinct or neighbourhood, it builds a strong identity for Singapore’s design culture and international visitors have the unique opportunity to buy products they cannot get anywhere else. We also need to broaden and soften the KPIs for this sector. Rather than looking at target sales and financials as outcomes, could we not give more value to other forms of impact, like the contributions they make to quality of life and Singapore’s reputation internationally? ------------------------ Such intangibles are my bread and butter: art, identity and belonging; the day-to-day practices of mutual respect – and respectful disagreement. These are some of the most fragile, ambiguous and unpredictable domains of human experience. Not, at first glance, the business of politics. But they are also amongst the most powerful and meaningful. They can make the difference between a livable life, and a life worth living. Good artists know what it takes to make a big picture, because that’s literally their job. Contrary to cliché, they know you don’t get there by being vague or airy-fairy. Regardless of the materials you are working with – paint, language, technology, bodies – you interrogate your chosen themes rigorously and relentlessly. Sometimes, the result is literally big like the Sistine Chapel or the long inkwork scrolls of the Chinese literati. At other times, it is as small and perfect as a Japanese haiku, but it contains multitudes. // NMP Janice Koh 许优美 in her Budget Debate 2014 speech
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 05:52:29 +0000
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