esplanade theatres – consultants

The first consultant on the performing art centre project was Richard Brett who was appointed in 1985.  The 1985 invitation to quote hastily put together by Ruby, Tisa and me attracted expression of interest from several theatre designers with “strong track records” and after interviews by the Steering Committee, Richard Brett of Techplan was appointed to the job. We liked his roll up your sleeves “workman- like” attitude. 

TheatreProjects led by David Staples took over the project in the early 1990s when TechPlan amalgamated with TheatreProjects. Richard Brett also stayed on as consultant to the project.  Anne Minors (who now leads Anne Minors Performance Consultants) joined the team.

After the UK tour in 1992, the Steering Committee appointed ARTEC led by the late Russell Johnson to be acoustic consultant to the project.  The Birmingham Concert Hall was an essential stop on the study trip so that DPM Ong Teng Cheong, Minister George Yeo and the PWD specialists could experience the Hall’s acoustics first hand, before finalizing the appointment. Russ was supported by Robert Essert.  

In response to an open architectural competition in 1992, 48 teams of architects pitched to design the centre.  Four teams each led by a Singaporean architect with foreign partners in tow were short-listed for consideration.  After receiving inputs from the Users Advisory Committee, the Steering Committee led DPM Ong Teng Cheong and Minister George Yeo selected the partnership of Michael Wilford Associates and DP Architects to be the designer for the art centre.  Michael Wilford was the associate of renowned UK architect James Stirling who had passed away three months before the award was made. DP Architect was led by Koh Seow Chuan and Gan Eng Oon and the architects I worked most closely were Vikas Gore, Lydia Fong, Moh Yin, Victor.  I also remember Ketna Patel who has since become a notable “Asian pop” artist. 

The members of the team have all moved on to other equally large or even larger iconic projects but I believe no project is as unique as the Esplanade Theatres, for the many interesting personalities working on it and the diversity of views expressed by an arts community which had found a voice on the consultative platform of the Users Advisory Committee and the lively reaction of the public on an iconic public building whether they loved or hated it

esplanade theatres – hits & misses

HITS

• A fully tuneable Concert Hall made possible by the cavernous “Russell Johnson reverberation chambers” with 108 doors, canopy and draperies.
• Asian expression in Concert Hall design with timber forms alluding to the hull of boat or basket, thanks to DP architect Lydia Fong.
• Acoustical barrier between Concert Hall and Concourse to insulate it from vibrations and noise of MRT trains, barely visible on floors on hall entrances.
• Two small performance rooms cleverly morphed from rehearsal studios, to compensate for the Adaptable Theatre and Black Box that had been phased out.
• Jendela art gallery created out of the VIP entrance foyer, conceived for quiet entrances by VIPs prior to their ceremonial entrance into the hall.
• A reasonable-sized F & B and shopping annex popular among casually-dressed Singaporeans so they can have a claim on the beloved “durians’ even if they don’t feel ready to “endure” an arts performance. 
• A waterside esplanade nearly as romantic as the original Esplanade from which the building takes its name.
• Stop for ferry services envisaged to ply Tanjung Rhu to Marina South and Singapore River. 
• The clever redeployment of steps at Main Concourse for an art showcase including attractive festive seasonal installations.
• Light cones filtering light into the carpark.
• Toilets that open on two ends to avoid congestion, a lesson from the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre.  

 

MISSES

• A Medium Size Theatre (800 seats)
• An Adaptable Theatre (400 seats) designed to accommodate Asian performing arts
• A Black Box (200 seats)
• Seamlessless between the Dance Studio and the rooftop to allow pageantry and performance to flow into each other. 
• A lushier garden outside the artists dressing rooms.   
• An in-house recording studio to facilitate the tele / broadcasting of performances  without the inconvenience of having to bring in an OB van.
• A one-million square feet waterfront commercial complex housing modest artist accommodation, global alumni club and other retail shops. to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the Esplanade. 

HAPPY MISS

• A 10-lane Esplanade Drive which thankfully, was narrowed to 8 lanes,  giving the Esplanade a larger entrance forecourt.

behind the scenes

After three years of programming music and visual arts programmes at the Ministry of Culture,  I awoke to the realization that performances were ephemeral in nature.  More must be done behind the scenes to create conditions that would sustain artists  in their longer-term efforts to produce more high-quality productions.  

My Deputy Secretary Lee Wai Kok agreed that I could set up the new “Cultural Services” division (twinning the “Cultural Programmes” division).  I gave up my music and visual arts portfolios to focus on  development work, on what is now called  “capacity-building”.   

I bargained for one experienced executive to support the new division.  Lee agreed but no one was prepared to join me as  I had nothing to show for what I was hoping to do.  Grant-making and theatre management were of peripheral interest.  Programming on the hand, was safe, familiar and glamorous, with many show openings to attend and dignitories and sponsors to rub shoulders with. 

I spent hours trying to persuade executives to take up the challenge with me.  Eventually, Irene Wong, Assistant Officer (Literature) agreed to join me , having got my assurance that if she didn’t find what I was embarking on meaningful,  I would release her in a year’s time. 

The second member of my team was Tisa Ng.  She was Heaven-sent though she only worked part-time under the newly-introduced Part-time Married Women’s Employment scheme.  Tisa had relocated to Singapore with her hematologist husband and was then free-lancing as a Straits Times arts reviewer.  She approached the Public Service Commission for a job in the arts sector and after interviewing her with Lee, we jumped on this eloquent and passionate woman who instantly grasped what I was trying to do.  Tisa in turn, recruited Nancy Thai also on the Part-time Married Women’s Employment Scheme. 

 The new Cultural Services Division staffed by Tisa Ng, Irene Wong< Nancy  and myself, was well on its way!  Between the four of us, we hatched the Arts Housing Scheme, the Semi-Residential Theatre in Residence Scheme (STRITS), Annual Grant Scheme, arts and heritage in old buildings, arts management courses, arts research programme. 

We also kicked off the performing arts centre project, appointing the theatre consultant and servicing the Singapore Performing Arts Centre (SPAC) Steering Committee.  We organised the first-ever Singapore Heritage Week and launched the Arts Diary. 

Tisa must take full credit for publication of the glossy new Arts Diary with funds she raised from Standard Chartered Bank (1986) and later, the Straits Times (1987).  The high-quality monthly publication carried a monthly calendar of upcoming arts events and articles on artists and productions for two years before funds dried up.  

All the schemes were conceived to strengthen the arts groups which I termed the “building blocks” of the arts scene.   The Dec 1984 Manifesto on the 1999 Cultural Vision provided fertile grounds for these schemes to take root and thrive.  They eventually found their way into the agenda of Advisory Council Culture & the Arts headed by Mr Ong Teng Cheong.   This arts blue-print formalized our cultural development plan and furthered the realization of the schemes which we had quietly hatched.

blueprint for the arts

Every decade or so, there is a new blueprint for the arts. It’s not always clear whether the blueprint is the initiative of the current arts administration or the politicians in charge, whether it is a genuine attempt to improve things, an electioneering ploy or simply an expression of the current administration’s vanity. Some people will view blueprints with cynicism but for art enthusiasts hungry to propel arts into the mainstream, it is always a welcome platform to talk about the arts and inject a fresh impetus and resolve to advance arts development further.

The 1980s blueprint for the arts was enshrined in the 1989 “Report of the Advisory Council for Culture & the Arts”.  The ACCA Report was literally a “blueprint”. We chose blue for its cover.

ACCA Report: a literal "blueprint" for the arts

In Feb 87, the Singapore Government announced its Green Paper & “Agenda for Action” outlining the course for Singapore as we moved towards 1999.  ACCA was set up on 9 Apr 88, to “review the current state of the arts and culture, and to recommend measures that will make Singapore a culturally vibrant society by the turn of the century”.  It was one of six Advisory Committees coordinated by the office of the 1st Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, reviewing various aspects of Singapore life including the arts, education, health, heritage and social services.

2nd Deputy Prime Minister DPM Ong Teng Cheong chaired the ACCA and its members were Arun Mahiznan, Chia Kee Koon (Ministry of Finance), Er Kwong Wah (Education), Hawazi Daipi (Berita Harian), Ho Kwong Ping, Koh Cher Siang (Permanent Secretary (MCD), Leslie Fong (Straits Times), Loy Teck Juan (Lianhe Zaobao), Prof Edwin Thumboo, Robert Iau, Haji Suhaimi Jais (SBC), Tay Kheng Soon, Mrs Wong-Lee Siok Tin (GM/Singapore Broadcasting Corporation), Yeo Seng Teck (Trade Development Board) and Vincent Yip (ED/Science Council). ACCA members chaired its Committees on Heritage (Tay Kheng Soon), Literary Arts (Prof Thumboo), Performing Arts (Robert Iau), Visual Arts (Yeo Seng Teck) and a Working Group on a “New Cultural Development Agency” (Arun Mahiznan). Ministry of Community Development manned the Secretariat for ACCA with Ng Yew Kang and me as Secretary and Assistant Secretary respectively.

The ACCA met eleven times between Apr 88 and Apr 89 while its committees, 25 subcommittees and working groups met 129 times. Over 200 people including artists, art promoters and historians were involved while 150 written submissions were received from the public. 

The key ACCA recommendations that have materialised include the establishment of the “[Singapore] National Arts Council”, the [Singapore] National Heritage Board [Trust]”, the construction of a new performing art centre at Marina Centre, a modern National Library building on Queen’s Street, and a Fine Arts Gallery in St Joseph’s Institution. The recommendation to allow students to offer Dance, Creative Writing and Theatre Studies has found fruition with the recent set-up of the School of the Arts (SOTA). ACCA also validated the initiatives we introduced earlier including the Theatre Residency Scheme, the Arts Housing Scheme and the conversion of SJI into an art museum.

The recommendations that have not materialised are the establishment of a Children’s Museum (Tao Nan School has been used for the Asian Civilisations Museum), a Literature Board, a Southeast Asian / Natural History / Ethnology Museum, a sculpture park on the Bras Basah Park on which now stands the Singapore Management University. I am not sure about the History of Singapore Museum. There are components of Singapore history in the new “National Museum” but it has become better known for European fashion design exhibitions, art films and touristy events like the Night Festival. I wonder where we can find galleries on important personages like the late S Rajaratnam and EW Barker. I saw an excellent (I’m told “temporary”) exhibition on the late David Marshall in the National Library a few months ago and hope such informative exhibitions will find it way into a full-fledged History Museum eventually.

ACCA gave me the privilege of working once again with DPM Ong. I worked with him in 1975 as a young Administrative Officer in the Ministry of Communications to which he was first posted as Minister. I worked with him again when I became the General Manager of the Singapore Arts Centre Company Limited from 1992 to 97. Mr Ong’s passion for the arts was manifest through his various appointments.  I can’t help thinking of him as the most significant prime mover for the arts in Singapore, having put into place all the essential building blocks - festivals, foundation, awards, the NTUC Cultural Unit and of course, his magnus opus, The Esplanade Theatres.

All the key papers deliberated by ACCA were penned by civil servants including Ng Yew Kang and I who wrote many of them. I sometimes wonder how different it would be were the papers penned by non civil servants. Would the course of arts development taken a different turn?  After all, the value of non-Government ACCA members was to offer a perspective different from us civil servants.

visual arts in the esplanade

On 16 November 2008, I organised a tour of the artworks in the stations of our Northeast Line.  It is so wonderful how art has been integrated into the walls and floors of the stations and I so admire LTA Project Architect Andrew Mead for his great success in this endeavour. Unfortunately, we could not do for the Esplanade what he did for the NEL stations.

Art-in-Transit Tour by Andrew Mead

Brother Joseph McNally, supported by a band of architects, lobbied for a modern art gallery in The Esplanade.  They felt that visual artists had been short-changed as St Joseph’s Institution was not suitable for a modern art gallery partly because its ceilings were too low.  I had secured SJI and the Catholic High School buildings for the museum in the late-80s, arguing that SJI itself  was six times larger than the 800 sqm National Museum Arts Gallery in the old National Museum which was due for renovation.  

Their request came to nought as we were too pre-occupied with the needs of the perfoming arts.  Still, I aspired to integrate art into the structure of the Esplanade – its walls, waterfront floor tiles, bathroom tiles. I had seen this done in art centres in Australia where visual artists had a role in the development of a performing arts centre. I initiated a Visual Arts Advisory Panel in 1994 comprising Connie Sheares, Eng Seok Chee, Susie Koay and other curators. We spent a few afternoons talking to artists to identify suitable ones. Although the report was approved by the Steering Committee, it was not implemented after I left the Company in 1997 due to financial constraints.

Han Sai Por showing off a marquette of "Seeds"

Nonetheless, we did acquire a few pieces of performing arts-related artworks – “In Sync” by Sandy Wong and Ming Wong’s “Before the Opera”. Singapore Technology Automative (STA) offered to donate a collection of four sculptures “Seeds” by Han Sai Por to the Esplanade on the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 1996. The works were unveiled in October 1996. Han’s “Seeds” are now displayed at four corners of the Esplanade waterfront garden whereas I had envisioned them in a cluster “rolling off” the side of a grassy slope.

 

Sandy Wong-Shin's In-Sync

Late Singaporean calligrapher, Pan Shou also dedicated a classical Tang style poem to the Esplanade. On 19 May 1996, he presented the calligraphy to Minister George Yeo at an exhibition at the National Museum.  The calligraphy was to be cast in stone and placed in a public location when the centre opened.  

With family of Pan Shou at Presentation Ceremony, National Museum

The Esplanade management is supporting visual artists by staging rotational exhibitions in the Main Concourse and in the Jendela, a gallery which was carved out of part of the Concert Hall.  The suspension of three-dimensional art pieces in the series of light cones above what we nicknamed “Theatre Street” of shops, is a surprisingly nice touch.

Art suspended within light cone above "Theatre Street"

esplanade theatres – breaking new grounds in the arts

In Aug 1996, the ground-breaking ceremony for the Esplanade was officiated by former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan.   The sun shone bright on this long-awaited occasion.  Team members – construction workers, advisory panel members, architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, arts managers, everyone -  gathered in anticipation of his arrival and the ceremonial first shovel of earth.  

SAC PWD Team at Groundbreaking

The occasion was festive, enriched by the colourful artworks decorating the site’s hoardings, all entries from a student art competition “Young-at-Art” organized by a very capable Chew Su Yin.  Prior to his address, DPM Tan toured the art works sharing words of encouragement with students as he made his way around the hoardings. The competition logo was designed by graphic designer Vincent Shum while artist Goh Ee Choo assisted with the competition procedures.  The competition was sponsored by Nippon Paints.

Director of Education John Yip launches Young-at-Art Competition.

DPM Tony Tan touring students' art on art centre hoardings

I heaved a sigh of relief when the ceremony was over as it freed me to proceed on the training attachment that Robert had offered me. Although he had suggested a six-months overseas attachment, I opteded for shorter training stints as my children were in Secondary Four and Primary Six that year.  He offered to release me from the Groundbreaking Ceremony but I felt I could not abandon my team on this important occasion.

 

 

Judges of Young-at-Art Competition - (L to R) : DPA's Koh Seow Chuan, Anthony Poon, Lesley Ho, Robert Iau, Juliana Lim, Teo Emg Seng

The heavens opened with a torrential downpour the instant our Guest-of-Honour left in his car, after the reception.  We  joked that someone must have cast the onion-and-chilli spell.

 

 Young-at-Art teeshirt

 

 

 

 

 

the esplanade theatres “taking shape” – lo mai kai, dumplings or durians

 

The design of the performing art centre was unveiled at an exhibition called “Taking Shape” on 21 July 1994.  Minister Yeo opened the exhibition where he also announced the name for the centre “The Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay”.

 

Minister Yeo with Malaysian dance scholar Mohd Anis at "Taking Shape" Exhibition

The exhibition held at the Ministry of National Development Building, Maxwell Road was open to the public and attracted over 1000 people. Another 300 attended an talk by the architects. Feedback was encouraged and suggestions for handicapped access and landscaping were taken into consideration as we progressed the Esplanade’s design. 

Minister greets Mrs Jean Marshall while the late David Marshall tours the SAC virtually

We invited Ambassador and Mrs David Marshall who had hosted us on our Paris tour, to the exhibition and they journeyed through the centre through 3D goggles using a virtually reality programme developed by the Institute of System Sciences for us.  Robert was Director of the Institute and scientists like Peter Kellock worked with us on the presentation.

Some Singaporeans and members of the architectural community expressed disappointment with the design, perhaps because they expected a Sydney Opera House.  The massing model evoked many metaphors. Officially, the architects projected the centre as a “lantern in the park”.   However, team members had private interpretations of the design.  MWA architect David Turnbull revealed that he was trying to recreate ”crustacean images to resurrect the crustaceans that had been compressed due to land reclamation works”.  Members of the public alluded to fruits and food - banana (commercial concourse), lo mai kai or papayas (concert hall and lyric theatre), dumplings “bakchang” (waterfront wayang stage & Adaptable Theatre).   Some of us throught we saw President Ong’s initials “OTC” in the design. I think of microphones, lacy lingerie and paper-cut.  Dr Ivan Polunin will always refer to them as bugs’ eyes.  

Massing model that provoked food imagery

My daughter Liana's doodles on the axiomatic drawing of the esplanade. Like most Singaporeans, she saw food - a loaf of bread, chocolate bar, dumpling

When the roof design was released later, it evoked even more controversy. The spiky roof was thought to be inauspicious.  At a geomancy talk I attended in 2006, a speaker said that the Suntec fountain had shut down for a few months as the Esplanade roof was too aggressive.  There were other intriguing interpretations of the spiky roof.  Someone else said that the two halls were the eyes of a dragon emerging to combat the ills consequential to the closure of the Singapore River due to land reclamation.

 

 

President Ong seemed to be unfazed by the adverse public reaction, fully confident in our architect’s ability to deliver a world-class icon. Whenever we looked like we were wilting under public pressure, he encouraged us to accept the controversy in our stride, as a part of the journey of building a icon.

Through all this, what kept my faith in the roof design was the internal perspective of the floors of the theatre lobbies bathed in Escheresque triangular-shaped patterns of light and shadow.  It is a pity that due to security consideartions, members of the public are not allow access into the foyers in the daytime, to enjoy the patterns on the floor that sustained me throughout the journey. 

I had also read that the Sydney Opera House design was also not free of controversy. Utzon’s inspiration for the centre’s roof design were slices of a Mandarin orange. The NSW Government marketed it as a “lotus flower” but Sydney-siders decided that they were “sails”.  So, no matter how we market the Esplanade, it is the Singaporean public who will decide what to call it. 

Despite the initial controversy over the design, The Esplanade has become a well-loved icon among Singaporeans.  With prominent spiky sunshades, the public now fondly refer to the Esplanade as the “durian”, betraying Singaporeans’ love for food. 

 

paying special attention to the esplanade theatres

In 1992, it was decided that the development of the new performing art centre should be transferred from the NAC to a new company dedicated to its development.  The  Singapore Arts Centre Company was set up in 1992 with Robert Iau, Prof. Bernard Tan and MITA’s Col Ho Meng Kit as its founding directors.

When Robert Iau was appointed Executive Chairman of the new Singapore Arts Centre Company, he invited me to be its General Manager giving me a fresh opportunity to work on this wonderful national project.  I could continue the work started in 1985 in MCD.

 

 

 

    

   

Pioneering Team of Esplanade Theatres

During its first few months of operation, the SAC Co Ltd was housed in premises borrowed from the National Arts Council in the PSA Building, Alexandra Road.  I worked from my office in MITA on the 37th story of the same building.

Through his Singapore Land connections, Robert found and secured a duplex unit, #01-01, Marina Bayfront which become the first home of the new company.  Marina Bayfront was within convenient walking distance of both the project site and DP Architects.  Lim Chin Kheng who was then resident architect for Marina Centre Holdings was engaged to design our offices.  In 1997, our Marina Bayfront premises was supplemented by the PWD site office to which I happily moved ”to enjoy the waterfront”.

 

 

 

    

   

SAC Co Ltd Logo

Mandate Advertising led by Chew Lee Ching won the bid to design our logo and stationery.  They proposed and we decided on a green Chinese seal style logo to reflect our Asian-ness and the gardens which we hoped would feature in our design.  

 

 

 

    

   

Joyce briefing visitors at "Taking Shape" Exhibition

 

The more interesting members of my dream team were:

Joyce Teo, Public Relations Executive. Formerly an Information Officer from MICA, Joyce is a woman of many talents – a gamelan exponent, writer, baker, certified aerobics instructress and more. Joyce conceived a “TGIW” staff newsletter and a “Dear Friend” newsletter to update the community on the project’s progress. She managed the media and anchored the “Taking Shape” Exhibition. 

 

 

 

 

 

    

  

Phan Ming Yen, Music Programmer. Ming Yen was an arts reviewer with Straits Times.  When he interviewed us on our recruitment plan, he bubbled so excitedly over the impact of the Esplanade on the arts scene that we decided to recruit him to work on our music programme.  Ming Yen founded the Esplanade magazine.  He is now Director (Social Enterprise) at the Arts House @Old Parliament and ironically, his wife Amy Ho now works with the Esplanade as Producer. Ming Yen is an accomplished pianist whom I’m targeting for a fund-raising performance.

 

Tan Ngiap Heng, Dance Programmer.  Heng acquired a PhD in Non-linear Aerodynamics and studied dance with the London Contemporary Dance School. He joined us on his return from UK but has since carved his own special career as a dance / art photographer,

 

 

 

SAC Team at Presentation by Made I Bandem

Chew Su Yin, our Arts Manager & Choreographer.  Su Yin was one of our first two BAT scholars. She is a tenacious woman who chose dance above business degree in the US.  She is now teaching Arts Administration at La Salle College of the Arts.

 

 Azniza Mohammed, Secretary & Graphic Designer.  Niza was my very capable assistant and since she had an artistic streak, was also tasked to design the company’s in-house collaterals.  Niza left the SAC Company when she had her third child and became a fund-manager with StanChart bank and UBS before joining a head-hunting company.

Every month, the team played host to the Steering Committee and the team became familiar with the protocols for receiving the President and two Ministers at our office. Their arrival was precisely timed for the Ministers to arrive well before the President’s car arrived to dock outside our office.  Since we operated in a thrifty fashion, we got our in-house culinary queen Joyce to serve up pretty and nutritious sandwiches to Committee members nourishing them through meetings that went on for several hours.  Joyce must have been amply rewarded for her efforts by the sight of President Ong relishing the sandwiches and salads and often, a second helping.   

The team was privileged to follow the Esplanade through its many milestones – the unveiling of its design at an exhibition called “Taking Shape”; the crafting of the centre’s mission statement, the choice of the name “ Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay” for the centre; the presentation of Han Sai Por’s “Seeds” sculptures by Singapore Technology Automative (STA).  We were disappointed by Government’s decision to excise the commercial complex but this paled in comparison to our sense of bereavement when it was decided to defer the construction of the three smaller theatres.

The SAC family was a happy family.  Although we operated in a modest fashion, emphasis was placed on staff enrichment and welfare.  Birthdays were celebrated and we had an annual staff outing.  I encouraged the staff to see productions ”so that no-one would become old-blood by the time the centre opened” and every Monday morning, the team met to exchange notes about shows they had seen the previous week.

When I left in April 1997, the team was 25-strong including eight programmers with intent that they should hone their skills by organizing programmes in smaller venues and start planning the opening programme. 

My stint at SAC was the happiest and most fulfilling time of my career and my life.

 

 

 

 

wishing, hoping and getting the esplanade theatres, a world-class performing art centre

In the 1980s, theatre groups had the choice of the Victoria Theatre (an 800-seat colonial legacy in the style of Her Majesty’s and Theatre Royal in Commonwealth countries), Singapore Conference Hall (a 1000+ seat convention centre designed by prominent Penang-born architect Datuk Lim Chong Keat and renowned acousticians Berenek, Bolt & Neumann (BBN)) and the 300-seat Drama Centre. The Victoria Memorial Hall hitherto used for fun fairs was renovated to house the fledgling Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 1981.  Shortly after, a decision was taken to demolish the 3400-seat National Theatre with its unique cantilever roof, for safety reasons.  Recognition of its unique architecture did not save this notable building designed by Singapore architect Alfred Wong, from its fate. 

 

We felt that our pleas for a purpose-built performing art centre were falling on deaf ears.  The short-term answer to our yearning was the Kallang Theatre which had been retrofitted from an old cinema theatre in the early 1980s.

 

In December 1984, when I was on leave, like a bolt from out of the blues,  the dailies published on their front pages, an article from the PAP publication Petir heralding the Government’s ”vision of a culturally-vibrant society by the year 1999″ which included plans to construct a “world-class performing art centre”.  It came as both a welcome surprise for me and, a shock as I was on leave and had not got any wind of this. 

 

Public service reorganisations followed soon after the announcement and and around March 1985, the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) was established under Minister Wong Kan Seng to take over arts and heritage policies from the Ministry of Culture and social welfare policy and programmes hitherto under Ministry of Social Affairs.

 

It became evident over the ensuing months that the “1999 cultural vision” was not to become an empty promise and soon, Minister Wong set up the Singapore Performing Art Centre (SPAC) Steering Committee to drive the construction of the performing art centre.  He chaired the Committee which comprised Permanent Secretary Koh Cher Siang, the late Dr. Tan Swan Beng, then Director-General Public Works Department, Liu Thai Ker, then Chief Executive Officer Urban Redevelopment Authority, the late Robert Iau and others. 

 

First, the location of the centre had to be resolved.  When he was Minister for Culture in the late-1970s, Ong Teng Cheong had earmarked a site on Marina Bay for the centre but this decision was thrown into question when URA offered a long list of alternatives including two sites on the newly reclaimed Marina South, the site of the former Empress Hotel (where the new National Library now stands) and a site in Outram Park.  URA opined that the congestion expected in Marina Bay would disadvantage the art centre.  They also aspired for the art centre to revitalise parts of the old city and or, catalyze developments on the new Marina South downtown.  Minister Wong and the Steering Committee toured the sites and after due consideration, affirmed the choice of the more central Marina Centre site.  We were relieved especially as we noted that Marina South was not expected to blossom till year 2030.

 

The Steering Committee appointed Richard Brett of Techplan as theatre consultant.  Richard Brett got to work at once and soon produced a report proposing that we build a theatre, concert hall and two studios.  During his presentation to the Steering Committee, I plucked up courage, stood up and pointed out that TechPlan’s combination of theatres would disadvantage Singaporean artists as we “would see the best of international arts in the two large theatres and the most fledgling of local arts in the studios”.  I argued for “a medium-sized theatre to showcase mature local arts productions”.  I remember Minister Wong responding that what I said seemed sensible and so, the 5th theatre (which Ruby termed “Juliana’s theatre”) was added to the user brief.

 

In 1986, the decision to proceed with the construction of the “world-class performing art centre” was enshrined in the Report of the Advisory Council for the Arts, the official Government blueprint for arts development.  The Advisory Council was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong.  Director (Arts) Ng Yew Kang and I (then Deputy Director (Arts) served the Council as Secretary and Assistant Secretary respectively and between us and our colleagues in the MCD and its departments, we churned out a slew of papers on arts, heritage, library development for official endorsement by the Advisory Council.

 

In 1990, stewardship of the project passed from MCD to the newly-established National Arts Council (NAC).  In 2002, the project was entrusted to the Singapore Art Centre Co. Ltd under the leadership of its Executive Chairman, the late Robert Iau.

esplanade theatres – i should be so lucky!

 In their own time, art-loving politicians and civil servants working in the Ministry of Culture in the 1960s and 1970s, must have yearned to build a “world-class” performing arts centre in Singapore. When I joined the Ministry of Culture as Assistant Director (Music & Visual Arts Programmes) in April 1981, I joined their ranks, wishing that one day, in my time, Singapore would embark on a purpose-built performing art centre. 

 

 I was one of the lucky individuals to have a role in realizing the dream of the performing art centre.  The other fortunate individuals included George Yeo, former Minister for Information & the Arts (now Minister for Foreign Affairs), Tisa Ng (now CEO/ Hong Kong Arts Festival),  Goh Ching Lee (now Singapore Arts Festival Director), Khor Kok Wah (now Deputy CEO / National Arts Council), Chua Hua Meng, Lee Kut Cheong, Tan Chee Wee, Ruby Lai & Lye Kuan Loy (of Public Works Department), Koh Seow Chuan, Gan Eng Oon, Vikas Gore, Lydia Fong & Kwan Moh Yin (of DP Architects),  Michael Wilford & Russell Bevington (of MW Associates),  the late Russell Johnson & Bob Essert (of Artec Acoustics), Richard Brett, David Staples & Anne Minors (TechPlan and TheatreProjects) and many others. 

Tisa who was then working with me as AD (Arts Facilities), served as Secretary to the Steering Committee while Senior Architect Ruby Lai was appointed project manager from PWD.  

For Tisa Ng, Ruby Lai and me, our journey with the Esplanade Theatres started in early 1985 in the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) with the development of the user brief and the appointment of the theatre consultant. 

Ruby Lai, my "twin" on the Esplanade Theatres project

As the worker bees on the project, our first task was to engage a theatre consultant to help us develop the user brief for the complex and clarify exactly why we wanted to build such a centre and for what purposes it would be put.  Tisa who had met Richard York of the Barbican Art Centre when she was studying arts management at City University, UK, picked his brains on the subject.

One afternoon, Tisa, Ruby and I huddled in Ruby’s office in MND Building, Maxwell Road and after mustering up our limited combined experience and applying a load of common sense, managed to draw up a tender brief that invited submissions from theatre designers with “strong track records”.  The brief attracted a handful of consultants and after interviews by the Steering Committee, Richard Brett of Techplan was appointed to the job, not least for his ”workman- like” attitude.  That set us on our way!

Between 1988 and 1992, the performing art centre project was passed from MCD to NAC, from Tisa to Ching Lee and then to Kok Wah. The project was passed back to me in 1992 when I was appointed General Manager of the Singapore Art Centre Company.  It was uncanny as I had “lost” the project upon my transfer from MCD to Ministry of Communications & Information in April 1990.  As it turned out, the two ministries were dissolved in November 1990 and the departments that once formed the old Ministry of Culture, were re-joined to form the new Ministry of Information and the Arts (MITA) with Brig- Gen George Yeo as Minister. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Delegation led by DPM Ong Teng Cheong taking a lesson from the Barbican Centre

The performing art centre project resurfaced on my radar screen as I had become MITA’s Deputy Director / Corporate Services, responsible for MITA’s budget with overview of its construction projects including the performing art centre.   In April 1992,  I joined a delegation to UK, France and Israel led by DPM Ong and Minister George Yeo, to study art centres and museums.  Other members of the delegation were Robert Iau, Tan Kian Chew (now CEO / NTUC Fairprice) and Kenson Kwok who was subsequently appointed Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum. This tour re-immersed me into the project with the surprising outcome of my being invited into the SAC Company.

After nearly six years, I left the Company in April 1997, a few months after the groundbreaking ceremony in Aug 1996.  My association with the project continued after I joined its funder, Singapore Pools.  In 1998, we re-launched the Singapore Sweep lottery which carried the Esplanade image for nearly four years.  When the Esplanade:Theatres on the Bay opened in 2002,  I had a role in processing Singapore Pools’ annual donation to the Esplanade’s operating and programming costs until our donation programme was transferred to our parent, the Tote Board in 2004. 

Today, I enjoy the performances in the building when I can afford it.