Artists slam rent, service charge hikes at Goodman

SINGAPORE – Resident artists at the Goodman Arts Centre (GAC) are up in arms over recent increases in rent and service charges.

The Arts House Limited (AHL), which manages GAC for the National Arts Council (NAC), upped rents and service charges from July, and some artists TODAY spoke with claim they will no longer be able to afford to keep their spaces at the centre.

Previously, the rentals charged ranged from about S$500 for the smallest 37sqm space to about S$695 for a 73.5sqm space after subsidies, and inclusive of service charges that ranged from S$200 to S$385 depending on the size of the unit.

Rentals have increased about 12 per cent, inclusive of service charges. The new rental rates were implemented from June, while the higher service charges will kick in from September. As such, an existing tenant occupying a 73.5sqm unit, for example, can now expect to fork out about S$800.

New tenants, however, will have to pay S$1,368 — almost 70 per cent more — for a unit of the same size. This is largely due to the removal of NAC subsidies covering service charges.

Comparatively, according to some artists, for around the same price, one could get a unit that is 1.5 to double the size from the open market. The main difference would be provision of security and cleaning services, and venue for hire currently offered at GAC and are covered by the service charges.

Contemporary multi-disciplinary artist Khairullah Rahim, 30, applied for a studio space at GAC earlier this year, but had to rescind his application due to the high charges.

Khairullah, who was looking to rent an 82sqm unit, said: “The service charge alone was S$916.16. That means the total amount I would have been expected to pay monthly was S$1,726.80,” said the part-time Lasalle lecturer.

“I couldn’t believe it at first when the place manager was explaining to me the whole breakdown.”

“Considering the unit I was offered has no ceiling fan, no air-con, no lift, and no Wi-Fi, I could not comprehend what this service charge (was for). I could not afford to fork out that amount monthly,” said Khairullah.

GAC was launched in 2011 as a pilot project under the NAC’s Framework for Arts Spaces (FFAS) initiative, meant to improve arts infrastructure as well as support the growth and development of the arts community. Under this framework, artists occupying spaces at GAC are required to pay monthly service charges.

Since 2014, the NAC has been gradually decreasing its annual subsidies for service charges.

As such, longtime GAC tenant and established artist Robert Zhao Renhui, 34, said that he has had to pay more over the last few years, and will likely have to give up his studio if the current trend continues.

“The price is rising fast, and I don’t think I can afford it if it goes up any more,” said Zhao, who was recently announced as one of the finalists for the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award 2017.

Other artists have chosen to locate elsewhere instead, citing more affordable options in the open market.

Joshua Ip, founder of literary non-profit Sing Lit Station, had previously considered some of these subsidised arts-housing options from the NAC, but decided against it. “Cheaper and better housing is easily available outside. The additional service charge (incurred) is either too expensive, or goes to offering fixed services that we do not need, for example, additional security, (conservancy) and (venue) booking administration.”

Ip eventually settled for a 93sqm partially furnished unit in an office building at Jalan Kubor for $2,500 a month, which includes utilities and Wi-Fi. Furthermore, Ip added: “We are in the heart of Kampong Glam, within walking distance from two MRT stations and performance venues … whereas Goodman is on the other side of the river, in the middle of nowhere.”

Responding to queries from TODAY, Arts House Limited’s head of marketing and communicatioins Tanny Chia said: “Rental and service charges for the spaces in the art centres are benchmarked against civic rentals in similar spaces.

“For example, recent valuations done of comparable non-subsidised rental for community and arts businesses show that total rental and service charges currently paid by subsidised tenants at (similar facility) Aliwal Arts Centre averaged some 60 per cent less than similar workspaces in the open market.”

On the additional service charges, Chia said: “At these centres, the (fees) collected from tenants go towards the costs of upkeeping the artists’ spaces, and shared services. These include security services, daily cleaning, and pest control, in addition to other maintenance coordination and services.

“Service charges paid by the tenants cover only a portion of these costs; the remaining are offset by AHL. The amount paid by each tenant is calculated on a per-square foot basis, and the larger the tenant spaces, the higher the service charge,” Chia said.

Another long-time tenant, Sonny Liew, award-winning author of graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye — who has had a studio at GAC since 2011 — said: “While NAC is trying its best, the end result is rising costs for tenants, so perhaps we need to talk about adjusting the structure of things rather than just what is possible within existing conditions.”

“Their old costing models were too optimistic, so an adjustment was necessary. The dialogue they held with tenants a couple of years back was quite open, but perhaps there needs to be a wider discussion about the budgeting for arts housing in Singapore, and what the expectations and goals are for the various schemes,” Liew said. 

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this report, we stated that the new rental rates and service charges at Goodman Arts Centre kicked in from July. The revised rentals and service charges are effective June 1 and Sept 1 respectively for existing tenants. We also said rentals increased by 12 per cent, while service charges are up 15 per cent. The 12 per cent increase is inclusive of the higher service charges. We apologise for the errors.