Going solo: Art donors step forward

SINGAPORE — For Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award recipient Joseph and Emma Cherian, giving to the arts is inevitable and necessary to Singapore’s sustainability.

“Singapore’s art and cultural scenes are important legacies of our heritage,” shared Emma, who is managing director of an investment company. “The arts add to the well-being, development, creativity and enrichment of our society. It helps our people, especially the younger generation, and visitors, explore and understand the history and culture of Singapore in particular, and the region in general.”

The Cherians were among a slew of recipients acknowledged for their contributions at the Patron of the Arts Awards 2016 ceremony and dinner, which was held at the Shangri-La Hotel late last month. Individual giving saw a 60 per cent spike from 115 individual donors in 2014 to 185 last year. The donors contributed a total of S$8.2 million last year to the betterment of the local arts scene.

This growing number of donors coincides with the overall trend of Singaporeans who give and create their personal impact on the Republic’s society and communities.

The Cherians received the award given to individuals who donate S$100,000 or more in a year, for their adoption of Malaysian artist Chia Yu Chian’s untitled 1960 oil painting featuring a village scene.

“Last year, my husband and I decided to make a personal donation to the National Gallery Singapore,” Emma added. “It was an auspicious year for Singapore, with SG50 being celebrated along with the opening of the National Gallery Singapore. As residents of Singapore, we were proud to see the launch of this new visual arts institution, and wished to be a part of it,”

The Cherians’ contributions are part of the Art Adoption and Acquisition Programme by the National Gallery Singapore, an initiative to strengthen the National Collection, deepen research and scholarship, and enhance its mission to showcase art from Singapore and South-east Asia to the world.

To date, the Art Adoption and Acquisition Programme has garnered approximately S$9 million in donations from private organisations and individuals, including the Yong Hon Kong Foundation, Lam Soon Cannery, BinjaiTree, and Emma and Joseph Cherian.

These efforts show “significant progress in Singapore’s arts and cultural scene over the last three decades,” Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said during her speech at the awards ceremony and dinner. “More patrons have also stepped forward to give to the arts as we celebrated Singapore’s Golden Jubilee — be it through cash contributions, business expertise or volunteering your precious time.”

This surge could be due in part to the launch of the Cultural Matching Fund in November 2013, which provides dollar-for-dollar matching for private cash donations to arts and cultural organisations.

“I’m happy to say that the response has been overwhelming, with a steady increase in applications. To date, we have received applications for more than S$140 million,” Fu said.

Sue Cher, a Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award recipient this year, acknowledged that the Cultural Matching Fund does encourage more support in the arts sector. “It signals to the public that the Government recognises the value of the arts,” said the 51-year-old graphic artist.

Cher was awarded for donating a total of 10 works by Singaporean artist Lim Hak Tai to the National Gallery Singapore. Her husband, Lim Yew Kuan, an artist himself, is also a recipient for the Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award this year for his cash donation.

However, Cher acknowledges that we can do more. “We can transform ourselves from a society that merely consumes foreign culture in the form of American movies and South Korean dramas into a society that creates a uniquely Singaporean brand.”