‘Inculcating’ creativity: culture as public pedagogy in Singapore

Abstract

The Singapore government has long relied on the inherent public pedagogical qualities of culture in the forms of official cultural and media policies and in the unscripted signifiers of cultural conduct, such as in the public's attitude towards the arts. The prime objective is to instrumentalise citizens on how they should become both economically productive and creative whilst adhering to prescribed sociopolitical norms. The paper begins with a discussion of a 2012 debate surrounding a Singapore street artist, dubbed the ‘Sticker Lady’, who was arrested for vandalising public property with political incorrect stickers and provocative phrases. The saga sparked questions of whether Singapore is ready to embrace the increasingly open, technologically advanced and creativity-led twenty-first century. This paper argues that while the authorities are cognisant of the need to open-up society, it is finding it difficult to cede some aspects of control. Instead of making the case for a fundamental change, it argues that public pedagogical imperatives need to be better applied to realign the direction of cultural policy in Singapore. In essence, the perception of what creativity is and how it might engender sociopolitical openness is needed to ‘inculate’ a culture of creativity in Singapore.

Keywords:

• culture
• creativity
• public pedagogy
• Singapore
• cultural policy
• governmentality

Notes

1. The ban on the sale of chewing gum in Singapore was quietly amended in 2004 to allow gum of therapeutic value to be sold by pharmacists in Singapore to appease the American gum-giant Wrigley's as part of the US–Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

2. It was reported in Singapore's Today newspaper that Samantha Lo had been commissioned to produce public campaign artworks for several high-profile public establishments including: Singapore River One (for an underpass mural project); Singapore Zoo's Night Safari (on animal conservation); and Sentosa Island (on signposts similar to her stop-light stickers; Today Online, 28 May 2013).

3. Critiques of Singapore's arts, cultural and creative industries policies and their consequences have been undertaken elsewhere. See, in particular, Chong (2005), Lee (2004, 2010), Ooi (2011) and Yue (2006).

4. Singapore's Ministry of Education provides a range of resource materials on its website to assist educators to understand and implement the ‘Teach Less, Learn More’ policy. For more information, go to: http://www3.moe.edu.sg/bluesky/tllm.htm (accessed October 30, 2013).