Monday, June 22, 2009

Singapore Arts Festival 2009 - Opening Ceremony

The event that I went to was the opening ceremony of Singapore Arts Fest at the Marina barrage that kick start the four-weeks of wonderful events organised by the National Art Council Singapore. Prior to this visit, I had not been to any arts festival and I have no idea what are the “Art” things all about. So, with my curious heart i met up with some my friends and off we go to the opening ceremony! When we first arrived at the Marina Bay MRT station, we were greeted by enthusiastic Volunteers who showed us the way to the shuttle bus. They were welcoming and were very helpful in answering some of the questions my course mates posted. After alighting, what come to our sight is another bunch of volunteers that was giving brochures and explaining today's event to some of us.
After getting the brochures, we walked in and were attracted by sound of the drums. We squeezed through the crowd to get a better view of the Chinese drum drummers and we were quite fascinated by their performances. After applauding for the wonderful performance we went to find the 'prefect place' to enjoy the show. We went up the slope only to find that there were already hundreds of people waiting there for the show to start. we have to choice but to stand at the 'not so perfect place' of facing the back of the stage. Finally, 8pm has come and the opening ceremony started!
The first performance was called Hélios II and they are a team of circus artists from France. We got all excited when we saw the gigantic Mantic coming out from one corner. Then, the mantis, carrying a team of performers started to tour around the stage, letting everyone have a good look at it. After touring around, the circus artists 'alight' at the stage and start to perform stuff like juggling and gymnastics. For 45minutes, we were looking at the team of fantastic performers from France and suddenly there was sound of firecrackers! We immediately look at the direction where the sound is and was pleasantly surprised that there were fireworks to mark the end of the opening ceremony. We quickly took out our cameras to take photos and for the moment that the fireworks appear, there were flashlights here and there to capture the breathtaking view.
Audience at the event.

Performers from Hélios II.

Chinese Drums Drummers
Me & my Friend








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Tourism Benefits




For every other event, the benefit most sought after is the money that the event generates. However, for the Singapore Arts Fest, I think that the benefit that the whole event wants and got is the interaction between people from difference culture and beliefs to come together for the most experiential art event in Singapore; the cultural exchange that cannot be brought by money. The event brought people from different region of the world with the same passion on Arts, the reason behind this was to let them understand the differences between each other and accommodate them, and then use it, to further enhance their knowledge. Moreover, as the event becomes a significant affair in the art’s calendar, it encourages the continuation of our local art event, preventing it to get lost in the gradually hectic world.
For the economic benefits, the event brought in about 500,000 visitors consisting of many tourists. This brought in extra tax revenue for the government as they have to pay some taxes as they come into Singapore and when they spent here. Another source of income that the event produces is the number of jobs created for this event. As an event that is so big, it is of course labour intensive and requires a number of manpower to help out. This aids in the creation of jobs opportunity and help the people, especially at times like this. Business opportunities that follows an event are significant. The sales revolving around the tourism industry like the hotel and tour operation will be increase due to the rise in the number of visitors to Singapore. Supporting services like the F&B and attraction will also profit from the event.
On top of everything, Singapore will gain more recognition as the city that understands and promotes Arts. Furthermore, with the Singapore Art Fest, I am sure that more people will be able to get know of Singapore.






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Main Purpose of Singapore Arts Festival

The initial purpose of the Singapore Arts Festival is to promote the arts of different culture. As we all know, Singapore is a multi-racial country and the need for understanding of each culture is vital, therefore, the National Arts Council organized an event to celebrate the local art activities of different community in the country.
Then, the event developed into an affair that provides a platform for Singapore artists and international artists to showcase their art work and in hope, cultivate the imagination and creativity of Singaporeans, young and old. Besides that, by inviting international artists to join in the fun at the Singapore Art Fest, the SAF also hopes to break the wall between the differences in geographic region and explore the wonderfulness of the arts. In order to achieve the goal, the Singapore Arts Fest has made lots of its performance free, hoping to bring arts to the convenience of all.
Credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KcUvpmyYcBKfXSleuUys2PsBYRWNJ-UzX87ax61-29Yqt3qGiXyJx-BuHzGaL1NcweUpgtKXQVKFBIfgiQt71i6nrLBRXmK1Y5Raz_72XI69-LGSJoCVQbjnt6gdH54q8R0dQOm-wO8/s400/racial+harmony_rz.jpg
Read more at: http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/aboutus/
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Sunday, June 21, 2009

The 8P's in an event

1. Product
The product that the both the Arts Festivals offers is the experience and atmosphere. As the Art Fest is something that you mainly see (theatre performance), hear (musical) and feel (fireworks), it’s hard to get a lot of tangible product out from it. The experience that one gets at the festival is when they look at the performance, and understand the hard work that performers put into. The experience of amazement on seeing how a beautiful piece of work is put together. For a goal of every event, it’s the atmosphere they are seeking. I think that is one reason why Singapore Arts Fest have a lot of free event for everyone that is interested to get involved. Besides that, for the performances that require money, the atmosphere of having the people that understand the show as you do is a feeling cash cannot buy.
I think that the Singapore Aft Fest did better in term of its product. It offers a wide variety of performances, including a whole lot of outdoor events that startle public crowds like us. For the Singapore Arts Fest, i think they did better in letting the audience have the feel of the atmosphere because they offers a variety of shows ranging from indoor to outdoor while the Galway Arts Fest focus mainly on the indoor performances.
2. Place
The Singapore Art Fest is scattered all over Singapore during its one month of event. From the Esplanade theatre, National Museum of Singapore, Raffles City, to Yishun and Tampines open field, the Singapore Arts Fest is indeed a festival that brings fun and art into our community. Similarly, the Galway Art Fest is also spread throughout the city of Galway during the fortnight of July. From the Festival Big Top (a wide open space area), Town Hall Theatre, to hotels, Galway Art Fest caters to many visitors of different range.

For both events, they did well because they are not stationed at a particular spot and this can helps visitors know more about the city. Although it is not convenient to travel, but as both cities are smaller in scale, the visitors would not have a problem travelling around!
Credits: http://www.vpshields.ie/images/sce/GAF%20Tent.jpg
http://itclub.vs.moe.edu.sg/cyberfair2005/images/esplanade.jpg

3. People
The people at a festival includes the performers, the co-workers and the audience. They are important as they form a big part in shaping the whole event experience.
For the event I went to for the Singapore Arts Fest, the volunteers were very helpful and friendly. For example, when we reached the marina bay MRT station, there were some volunteers around and were very welcoming. They showed us the way to the bustop that we can take the shutter bus to the marina barrage, it is this feel of welcoming that makes us feels that the event is wonderful, even before we see it. The performers were perfect! They put up a fantastic show for us and trust me when I say they look really amazing up on the stage and it is them who made Art Fest what it is.
Audiences at the Singapore Art Fest was pretty well-behave. Let’s see the video and compare them with the audience at Galway Arts Fest!









Let’s just say they all like to take pictures! =)

Credits:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GvRsM92i6E&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiNk5oRQjOg&feature=channel_page

4. Programmes
The programmes organize by Singapore Arts Fest mostly revolve around dance, musical, theatre, visual arts and public events. ‘Cullberg Ballet’, ‘Moscow State Chamber Choir’, ‘Electra’ and ‘TransportAsian’ contain famous art works by countries like Sweden, Japan, Moscow and Southeast Asia. With the activities from throughout the world, it is prove that Singapore Art Fest is indeed a fantastic event that aims to let the visitors have a taste of the different culture in a one stop event. With over 50 different events to choose from, visitors should be worried, worried that they cannot chose from the long list of marvellous events! For the opening, Singapore chose to held it at the Marina Barrage and with the Helios team from France and breathtaking firework performance, mark the start of the 4-weeks event in Singapore.

Credit: Wendy's camera





On the other hand, the Galway Art Fest provides yet another round of similar events; they have the musical, theatre &dance and visual art. But! On top of everything Singapore Art Fest offers, they have other programmes like comedy, children’s theatre and talks/literature. From the programme list, one can easily tell that they are most sophisticated than the Singapore Arts Fest and it is undeniable that Galway Art Fest provides a more interesting programmes list, however, all that programmes that they offers are mainly from the European countries. This prevented the visitors that visit Galway Art Fest from having to see what is happening to the art industry in other part of the world.
For both events, they provide a list of free event for the public to take part in together. I think that they are trying to make everyone involve in the event and have them to join in the fun in the world of the Art.

5. Partnerships
Partnerships are essential in an event because they are the ones that provide the event with money and aids in the funding process. Because both of the Art Fest and the Galway Arts Fest are ‘not-for-profit organisation’, they do not have the ability to fork out the large amount of money needed to fund the event. For example, the Galway Arts Fest needs a total of €2.25 million to produce. With the help of sponsors and partners, it can help the organiser find enough money to fund the event. By partnering another company could benefit the event in terms of the promotion. For example, partnering with some media could bring in more exposure for your event. Let’s look at some sponsors and partners of both events:










Credits:http://www.galwayartsfestival.com/dpages.php?page=190&title=Our%20Sponsors
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/sponsor/
I think that Galway Arts Festival did a little bit better because its partnership contains of a lot more media and this help them gain a wider exposure to the public compared to the Singapore Arts Fest.
Besides having sponsors, both the event had 'friends' online. They are famous internet sites and by partnering them, the events will gain more exposure.
For the Singapore Arts Fest, their friends are; Facebook,twitter and flickr.
For the Galway Arts FEst, their friends are; Facebook, myspace and bebo.

6. Promotion (Communication)
For the promotion of Singapore Art Fest, banners and posters was put up around corners of Singapore, but not extensively. For those who like watching TV (like me), it is not hard to see that the Singapore Art Fest have not done many advertising on the TV which is considered the most powerful advertising tool. However, I understand that advertisements have been made on newspaper to inform the public about the event. But this I feel, is not enough, as the newspaper only capture information but not the sound and visual excitement that will get the people excited.
On the other hand looking at the Galway Art Fest, there were even write outs on the internet news website and newspaper about the event and the programmes that were lined up. However, like the Singapore Arts Fest, few advertisements were made on the TV.



Poster of the event:

In addition in promoting their event through the use of the media, both the events had partnerships with famous internet sites like Facebook, twitter,flickr, bebo and Myspace. This allows more individuals to know about the event and for this, i think both organisers did great.

For both of the event, they had their official website that allows interested parties to gain access to the additional information like the programme list and what the event is all about. This is a good way to advertise the event as it is a one stop site for the public to know more.
For other promotion efforts, Singapore Art Fest did pretty well. Offers and discounts were given if one presents their Art Fest ticket to the collaborating retail shops and hotels.
Discounts were also given to many like students, club members and group bookings. This discounts effort helped in getting more people to the event as prices are cheaper. However, for the Galway Art Fest, no discounts was given to any and this may cause the event to lose potential visitors as prices can go up to as high as €44.50.


7. Packaging and distribution
For the packaging and distribution, Singapore Arts Fest package its events with many of our local attraction like the Marina Barrage and Esplanade theatre. Besides attracting crowds that are curious and interested about the venues, packaging itself with the different venues adds as a catalysis that will help lift the atmosphere to the limit! Similarly, the Galway Arts Fest organizes its activity throughout the whole city and every year without fail at their famous Festival Big Top. It;s a wide open space that allows thousands of people to stand and enjoy the performance.
For distribution, both the event did pretty well. Besides the normal by phone booking and going to the ticketing office, both event provides a online site for people to book their tickets through the internet which made it more convenient.
For the Singapore Arts festival, they corporate with SISTIC, the largest ticketing office in Singapore and can be found in almost everywhere. This made it very convenient for Singaporeans to purchase the tickets. Besides that, they also have their ticketing booth in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Credit:http://www.nickpan.com/images/20080205_sisticwebsite.jpg
On top of that, guests who are interested to go to an event last minute can purchase the tickets at the performance venue.
What Galway did extra for the booking was that they allow people to mail them their booking. However, they only had one ticketing booth for people to purchase their tickets. I feel that this is not to the convenience to all as people living too far from the event cannot get their ticket instantly.
For the promotion and distribution, I think that Singapore Arts Fest have done better in terms of sales promotion and distribution of the tickets. They had more discounts for the public and the tickets are convenient to get than the ones at Galway Arts Fest.

8. Price
Prices of events at the Singapore Arts Festival ranges from SGD 100 to as low as SDG16. However, concessions were given to many like the early bird discounts and group booking discounts. For members buying four tickets or more and before the period of 4-8th March a 30% off will be given! It is indeed a great deal as membership of the ArtFest Club is free! For members buying tickets to three to one shows, don’t worry discounts of 25-20% are still given. After the period of 4-8th March, there is around round of discounts that is up to 25% off and is open to the public! How great is that!

As a student, I will feel that the price tag of $100 is too expensive, but I do believe that the performance is worth the money.
For Galway Arts Fest, the most expensive tickets were €44.50 and their cheapest ticket was €5.00. I think that their price range is almost the same as Singapore Arts Fest, however, SAF offers a great deal of discounted prices whereas the Galway Arts Fest comes in a net prices which are still subjected to service charges through online, mailing and phone booking.
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Stakeholders!



Credits: tutor2u.net
Stakeholders are crucial in an event because of its ability to bring the event together successfully. The stakeholders includes; the host organisation, the host community, the media, the co-workers, the sponsor and the participants and spectators.

Talking about the host organisation, they are everything the event is what it is, because they are the one who planned and hold the event. Without them, there would be no event, let alone talking about the other stakeholders.

The host community is where the event takes place. They are important because they provide a place for the event to take place and for the right event at the right place, they are more effective.

The media is the one who help in promoting the event and without them, few would know about the event as only very interested parties will check out the event themselves. The media helps to reach out to wider range of people to promote public interest and provides a bigger exposure for the event.

The Co-workers are people who put up an event. They are important as they provide their professional skills to put an event together. One event cannot go without the help of the co-workers; they are the right and left hand that helps the event operate smoothly.

The participants and spectators are people who are involved in the event either by performing or watching. As an Art event, it is largely based on the audience’s sensational experience rather than on the tangible product. So performers plays a big part as they will be the one providing the experience the audience seeks for in the event. Vice versa, without the audience, the performance would not have any meaning.

Lastly, the sponsors. They are the one who will be providing the event with the funds or the product they want. For an event to happen, especially an event so big scale, many funds would be required. The sponsors would be the one funding the event and in return, gaining wider exposure for the company. For the Singapore Arts Fest, as coca cola was the official sponsors and drinks were given free to the audience.

The stakeholders of Singapore Arts Festival are:

1. The Host organisation - National Arts Council Singapore
credits to: http://www.cnb.gov.sg/events/images/National%20Arts%20Council%20Spore%20logo.jpg
2. The Host community - Singapore


Credits: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/00/1e/34/94/singapore.jpg

3. Media - Mediacorp Channel 5 and supporting TV station; Okto.

4. Co-Workers - Backstage workers (Construction, shifters, lighting, equipments, logistics and event planners), front stage workers (Emcee, ushers and security officers.)

5. Participation and spectators- Performers, audiences at the events and community around the public events.

6. The Sponsors

Major Sponsors- Lee Foundation, Hong Leong Foundation, Coca Cola Light, Vivo City, Suntec Singapore, WingTai Asia, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Sponsors- Singapore Tourism Board, tote board, Shaw Foundation, University of Western Australia, Marina Mandarin Singapore, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Starhub Cable Vision, EZ-Link, Australian High Commission, Business Traveller, Creative Eatery, Culture France and French Embassy, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, The Heeren Shops, Italian Cultural Institute Singapore, JCDecaux Singapore, National Environment Agency, Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, Tan Ean Kiam Foundation, Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, Esplanade- Theatres of the bay, GameAxis, Goethe-Institut Singapore, Harry’s, Hasbro Singapore and Yahoo!.

The Stakeholders for Galway Arts Festival are:

1. The Host organisation - The Arts Council
Credits: http://www.artscouncil.ie/en/homepage.aspx


2. The Host community - Ireland, Galway


Credits: http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/html/features/where_to_go/images/09sept/01_galway.jpg


3. The media - Galway Bay FM, Galway Advertiser, Irish Times, IrishTimes.com, RTE, Galway Now, Connacht Tribune and Galway Independent.

4. Co-Workers - Backstage workers (Construction, shifters, lighting, equipments, logistics and event planners), front stage workers (Emcee, ushers and security officers.)

5. Participation and spectators- Performers, audiences at the events and community around the public events.

6. The Sponsor

Major Sponsors - Failte Ireland, Galway City Council, Foras na Gaeilge, Galway County Council and Culture Ireland.

Major supporting sponsors - Absolut Vodka, Edward Holdings, Radisson and Hotel Meyrick.
Supporting sponsors - Supermacs, Tig Neactain and ESB.

Patrons - Boston Scientific Ireland, Eircom, NUI Galway, Medtronic , Screenway, Kennys Bookshop, Nortel, The Front Door, Roisin Dubh, Ardilaun Hotel , Harbour Hotel , RDJ Glynn Solicitors and FCS
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Conclusion

By working on this project, it make me realise the hard work that needs to be put in to make an event successful.
To sum off, the Singapore Arts Fest is an eye opener for me and i applause for every effort put in by the event organisers and not to forget, the performers.

Credit: http://www.crossministriesdm.org/page3/files/applause.gif


References
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/flash_index.html
http://2009.singaporeartsfest.com/pdf/SAF_Guide_2009.pdf
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/event/view/name/festival_opening/
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/sponsor/
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/promotions/
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/aboutus/
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/ticketing/
http://geographyfieldwork.com/TourismProsCons.htm
http://www.galwayartsfestival.com/index.php
http://www.galwayartsfestival.com/dpages.php?page=190&title=Our%20Sponsors.php
http://www.galwayartsfestival.com/dpages.php?page=152&title=Festival%20History
https://galwayartsfestival.ticketsolve.com/
http://www.galwayartsfestival.com/dpages.php?page=170&title=Booking
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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Singapore Arts Festival



Introduction – Singapore Arts Festival
The Singapore Art Festival (SAF) started off in 1977 as countrywide event that celebrates the arts of various cultures in Singapore. It provides a platform for the diverse community to come together and display their work of arts and for them to appreciate the differences between each other. Gradually, it developed into a symbiotic event that helps in developing the passion of arts and culture in young Singaporeans.
Today, the festival remains as a stage for artists not only from Singapore, but from all over the world; breaking the barriers of diverse culture using the arts. Attracting artists from over 20 countries and 500,000 visitors, the Singapore Art Festival is the biggest event of Singapore’s art calendar.
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Galway Arts Festival



Introduction – Galway Arts Festival
going to its 31st year of celebration, The Galway Arts Festival (GAF) celebrates itself every July each year in the west coast of Ireland by the Atlantic Ocean; Galway. With only a population of 75,000, Galway is the fastest growing city in Europe and has been consider “the centre of culture excellence.” Galway transforms itself into a city of celebration every July to let the 100,000 visitors rejoice and indulge in the dazzling fortnight of arts and events.

http://www.galwayartsfestival.com/dpages.php?page=152&title=Festival%20History
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