A new multi-disciplinary arts space to empower persons with disabilities (PWDs) was officially opened on 14 October 2022 by Guest of Honour Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law. Over 80 guests were present at its opening including Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Social and Family Development.

ART:DIS Singapore, a leading non-profit organisation in Arts & Disability dedicated to providing equal access to arts education and professional development in the arts, expands its services with a third centre, opening more pathways in the arts for persons with disabilities.

“Providing inclusive access to the arts has been outlined as one of the key recommendations of the Enabling Masterplan 2030. Today, ART:DIS empowers over 450 persons with disabilities through our various arts programmes and developmental pathways. Our new centre with professionally equipped art spaces will enable us to deepen the capabilities of the disabled community and grow audience appreciation for more diverse representation in the arts,” said Angela Tan, Executive Director of ART:DIS.

Located within Bukit Merah Community Hub, the new space was developed with access needs in mind, and to meet gaps in the disability sector following extensive community consultations facilitated by consultant Arch’Lab, where over 100 individuals and stakeholders were involved in 18 focus group discussions.

CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), the philanthropic arm of CapitaLand Group and Singapore Pools provided foundational gifts to ART:DIS in renovating and developing the third centre.

Key features at the new centre include:

• A 32-seater Black Box for the creation and incubation of new works by persons with disabilities. The space will also foster inclusive artmaking through masterclass workshops and community events that enable both disabled and non-disabled people to come together to collaborate and participate in activities together.
• A Recording Studio that supports the creation of audio-based works including podcasts and music album recordings for singers and musicians. It also enables creative access workers to record audio descriptions for the visually impaired.
• A Community Space to enable disabled and non-disabled individuals to collaborate and add depth and richness to ongoing conversations about inclusivity and diversity.

With the above-added spaces, ART:DIS is now better equipped to support artists with disabilities in their professional development. From enabling them to test-bed their productions to empowering them to create their own content and providing avenues for them to engage with the larger community.

Yuki Neoh, who is a mentee of ART:DIS’s BEYOND DIS:PLAY mentorship programme, is currently at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland pursuing a BA Performance in British Sign Language and English after being awarded the National Arts Council’s Arts Scholarship. Just prior to her departure she devised and performed an autobiographical piece Liminal Space, which details her search for identity between the Deaf and hearing worlds. She was also a participating artist in an ART:DIS residency, and performed in Tell-Tale Signs, a project that shared stories from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community about their living experiences in Singapore.

Mr Tan Seng Chai, Executive Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation, who is also Chief Corporate and People Officer of CapitaLand Investment, said: “To build a caring and inclusive community, CapitaLand Hope Foundation has been supporting ART:DIS since 2017 to ensure that children and youths with special needs have learning opportunities to reach their full potential and empower them to live independently while advocating for equal opportunities for them. By making this project possible and enhancing the development and enrichment of talented individuals with special needs, we aim to achieve social integration and build a resilient community, where different sectors of society can come together to foster greater inclusiveness through arts.”

Sky Shen, who is also another mentee of ART:DIS’s BEYOND DIS:PLAY mentorship programme, had the opportunity to work with critically-acclaimed Creative Director and Composer Philip Tan on his debut EP Wheel You Love Me? Set to release in November 2022 with three music videos, ART:DIS’s recording studio enabled Sky to realise his aspirations of becoming a professional singer-songwriter despite the various physical challenges he faces as a person with muscular dystrophy.

Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Pools, Mr Lam Chee Weng, said: “Our support for ART:DIS started since 2018, and this latest collaboration is in line with Singapore Pools’ aim to make an impactful difference within the community. We hope this Centre is a space where members of the disabled community can pursue their artistic talents to realise their aspirations through arts. It is heart-warming to know that many of the artists with ART:DIS have continued to achieve much, both locally and abroad.”

Download the press release here