Field Trip Report - Singapore Arts Festival ( Rock The Sub )

Rock The Sub Flyer and Poster



Artists that were involve in Rock The Sub



Program list and schedule



Partnerships and sponsors of the event



Timbre Substation Stage (Oliver the soundman)



Lunarin, Linda Ong on Bass and Vocals (Substation)

Introduction
Began in 1977, the Singapore Arts Festival as a national arts festival celebrates local arts activity of Singapore’s diverse communities. Over the last three decades, the Festival has been a symbol and a catalyst in the development of the artistic and cultural life of Singapore. The Festival has not only transformed the city’s cultural landscape, turning it into one of Asia’s major cultural capitals today, it has also influenced the work of artists and generated a growing public demand for the arts, spawning new cultural platforms, events, and movements that help strengthen the lively cultural scene in present Singapore.

Today, the 31^st Festival is characterized by a progressive and innovative spirit, committed to commissioning new works by principally Singapore and Asian artists, investing in works that bridges disciplines, cultures, language and geographical boundaries; exploring, among others, contemporary issues related to history, memory, migration, and urban living; discovering emergent and promising artists; and encouraging regional and international artistic exchanges and collaborations. The Festival also features an extensive programme of free outdoor performances island-wide, bringing the arts to the doorsteps of Singaporeans. Placing festival networking as an important process of cultural dialogue and festival collaborations, the Festival championed and co-founded the Association of Asian Performing Arts Festivals in 2004, and has since served as its chair and secretariat, overseeing a membership of 30 organizations in the Asia, Europe, America and Australasia.

The Festival remains the largest singular event in Singapore’s arts calendar, inviting artists from more than 20 countries, offering more than 500 activities attracting up to 700,000 attendances in a 4-week infusion of performances and events that inspire and capture the public imagination of the city.

Rock The Sub, Timbre

I personally went with my friends to one of the event during the Singapore Arts Festival which was called Rock The Sub. This performance was organized by Timbre, The Substation & The Arts House located at Armenian Street. The event is about some of the rock bands from local and overseas invited to Timbre to perform and it attracted a whole lot of crowd. At least 1/3 of the audience there were foreigners but there were many Singaporeans also. Beers and liquor were served to everyone as it was a pub with live band performances and everyone, including me, had a wonderful time just chilling at the pub, listening to the performances. Unfortunately I did not have the chance to take much photos at the event.

Background of Organizers

The Singapore Arts Festival is organized by National Arts Council of Singapore (NACS) annually and the official sponsors are MediaCorp Arts Central, MediaCorp Radiostation Gold 90.5FM and Yahoo! Singapore. These corporations work together to bring in cultural and artistic exchanges from over 20 countries to Singapore for this event. Not only do these corporations help out in the annual arts festival, they also contribute and play a major role in our everyday life to entertain and provide information to us through the help of television, radio and the Internet. The National Arts Council, together with these corporations also plays an important role in educating the public and bringing the arts to them.

Stakeholders in the Event
The stakeholders in the Singapore Arts Festival would undeniably be the organizer, National Arts Council of Singapore, the major and minor sponsors of the event, the performers involved in this event and also the public that are interested in the arts festival. For Rock The Sub, the stakeholders would be the audience that bought the tickets, performers and also the organizers, Timbre and The Substation & The Arts House.

The Target Market
The target market of this arts festival would individuals that are interested in artistic and cultural performance. I personally think that the Singapore Arts Festival is a chance not only to earn some extra cash for the performers, but also a good platform to promote and educate their acts and help to bring across the meaning of their performance. There are many types of performances that cater to every individual such as music, dance and theatre performance. Everyone can have their share of this arts festival even though with different interests. Rock The Sub caters to the group that likes the genre of rock music and also, to have a drink with friends and chill the night away after a hard day’s of work. Hence, the target market of Timbre would be the public (new and old customers) and also those who like rock music.

Marketing Strategies Employed by the Organizers
The marketing strategy that National Arts Council Singapore implemented was firstly, they marketed this event out to other countries, inviting them over for this arts fest. Then, NACS and various event organizers took the effort to broadcast and advertise way before the actual date through flyers, banners, Internet, television ads and also newsletters to inform the public of the event. Some of the “newer” method that they employ was to send messages to customers that have been there before to invite them and also to spread to their friends through the word of mouth. They also find places that are interested in promoting this event as places of performances and supported them in every way possible.

Talents from overseas took this chance to perform in this festival as this festival slowly grew into an international platform for artists to promote, educate, as well as entertain those that are interested.
Other marketing method that they used was to give information to tourist agencies so when tourists come over to Singapore, they will have a list of event calendar which will help them to notice the Singapore Arts Festival and activities that are going on.

Rating of the Organization
Overall, my opinion of NACS in handling the Singapore Arts Festival is that they have done a fantastic job through the years because the arts festival as been becoming more significant and bigger as the years goes by. With relevance with NACS’s vision and mission, they have clearly reached their target which is to develop Singapore as a distinctive global city for the arts and also, to nurture the arts and make it an integral part of the lives of the people of Singapore. So on an overall rating; I would give them an 8/10.

Potential of Event by the Organizer to Meet Tourist Demand
Due to the significance of the arts festival growing each year, this event does not only attract locals but also tourists. Some of these tourists just happen to be in Singapore at the correct timing while others travel to Singapore because of this event. This means that the tourists coming into Singapore for this period will increase and it will thus help the tourist industries such as the F & B sector, the accommodation sector and also the retailing sector as they will spend more in Singapore.

How the Value of the Event Could be Raised to be Align with the Tourism Mission of Singapore
The tourism mission of Singapore is to develop & champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. I think that the value of the arts festival is very high because of its popularity that has increased over the years. Its value has been increasing by itself and more people know the existence of this event. To date, the 31^st Singapore Arts Festival has just ended and it has created another reason for tourists attraction for Singapore and I think, this event has unknowingly, align with the tourism mission from the start.

Conclusion
Overall the Singapore Arts Festival has been more than just an event. It has brought to Singapore the education and appreciation of arts and cultural performances from all over the world. The arts festival should continue its movement as there is no reasons for it to be stopped so as to let the next generation and generations after to appreciate the value and importance of arts in our lives.

Reference: http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/index.asp?
http://www.nac.gov.sg/index.asp
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/
http://www.timbre.com.sg/music/index.htm

WASSUP T05 !!

yea its 1.56am now and here I am making my first entry.. yea i got life.. =S