POWER LIST 2014 live, page 8 thesundaytimes December 14, 201416. ARTS ENGAGE Giving a voice to arts unity Artists are an incredibly diverse - and fractious - lot. Yet not only did one group manage to unite them, but this group, Arts Engage, also succeeded in nudging the Media Development Authority to drop a controversial new arts term licensing scheme through a series of in-depth discussions with the authority responsible for regulating all entertainment and the arts. This is not the first time Arts Engage - a loose network of practitioners across different fields - has been a rallying point for the arts community. The network, which grew out of an e-group for artists, has existed since the early 2000s and began to gain stronger traction in the past five years, particularly on issues related to arts censorship. It has a core organising group of about a dozen people. About 100 to 200 attend its ad-hoc meetings (below) and town halls. It is supported by a wider group of about 1,000 artists, intellectuals, activists and audience members, who regularly sign the petitions and papers released by Arts Engage. For its growing influence and patient engagement with various parties, Arts Engage enters the Power List for the first time. In a bid to reduce red tape, the media authority had proposed implementing an optional licensing scheme whereby arts groups would, over a one-year term, put age-appropriate advisories or restrictions on their own works in line with the authority’s classification code. This scheme caused great disquiet among many artists, who felt it would breed self-censorship. Arts Engage organised several meetings to discuss the matter and put forward a strongly worded position paper detailing its objections to the scheme, signed by at least 45 arts groups. The core group - which includes educator and Cultural Medallion recipient T. Sasitharan, playwright and researcher Tan Tarn How and The Necessary Stage director Alvin Tan also met members from the authority. Finally, in August, in a move that surprised many, the authority dropped the scheme from its list of proposed amendments to the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act. It was not an outright victory for Arts Engage, as the regulatory body had rejected the group’s call for an alternative scheme of self-regulation by arts groups, one not based on the current classification code and with fewer or no penalties for mis-classification.However, former Nominated Member of Parliament for the arts Janice Koh says this process of engagement between artists and the authorities will set a precedent, adding: “it is probably the first time we’ve had such in-depth discussions on the topic of arts regulation.”Arts Engage is now considering registering as a society or association so it can operate on a more organised basis and raise funds. Some issues it is looking at tackling include the rising cost of venue rentals and arts housing. Corrie Tan
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:42:48 +0000
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