Arts festival bosses in public email spat

SINGAPORE — A public spat has erupted between the two main figures behind the Singapore International Festival of Arts, with its Artistic Director, Mr Ong Keng Sen, accusing Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lee Chor Lin, of “hijacking” the festival that is due to open in August.

The conflict was aired in an email sent yesterday by Mr Ong to Ms Lee. The email was also sent to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, the National Arts Council (NAC) and members of the press.

In it, Mr Ong accused Ms Lee of not responding to his emails regarding the content and design of the festival brochures and described her as “unprofessional and unethical”. “I don’t think you should be treating the festival director in this way. I am not just your content provider. I have been providing materials, but nothing has come back to me for review,” he wrote.

Speaking to TODAY, Mr Ong said he has not been able to vet the festival’s brochure and programmes, as well as those for the pre-festival event, O.P.E.N., which will be held in June. According to him, there has been a communication blackout since March 11.

“I’ve sent 20 emails asking for information and there’s nothing coming back. It’s a hijacking of material, and for seven days, they have been refusing to give me anything,” said Mr Ong.

“The bottom line is the CEO has not encountered any of the artists at all — any of the films and productions I’ve watched. So how can she (come up with the brochures containing) these productions (without consulting me)?” he added.

When contacted, Ms Lee denied any “hijacking” involved. “There is an understanding way back in June (about the) division of labour. I’m in charge of the PR, marketing and collateral, and he agreed to it ... Artists have a view of things, but this particular product goes to the audience and this has to be taken into consideration. The whole design and graphic process is one that he is not familiar with.”

As for Mr Ong’s claims that she has not been responding to his emails, she said: “We have responded. It’s just at some point there is a cut-off line. It’s really a simple thing.”

“Despite these very obvious creative combustions, I think we’re on our way to having a very good festival and producing a brochure will be a very important milestone ... I’ll just let this blow over then we pick up and go forward. It’s a very interesting relationship we have,” she said.

Commenting on the incident, NAC’s CEO, Ms Kathy Lai, said “it is not uncommon for differences of opinions to emerge” in the lead-up to any major event. The NAC has spoken to both of them and they are committed to moving beyond this episode and focusing on their vision of a world-class festival, she added.