Singapore is engaged in a battle for Asian arts supremacy with Hong Kong. The city state has made a huge investment in the Singapore Free Port and will be launching Art Stage Singapore in January of 2011. The New York Times explains one of the reasons:
“New York and London are what they are, not because of the specific economic activities they conduct but because people want to be there,” the Economic Strategies Committee, a panel of leaders from the public and private sectors said in its report. “That too, has to be Singapore’s key advantage in the future.” […] From 2005 to 2008, the government doubled its support for the arts to 110.3 million Singapore dollars, or $78.5 million, from 55.1 million dollars. More money is expected to be added when the 2010 budget is announced Monday and the government formally responds to the panel’s recommendations.Continue Reading