Issue 9: Encouraging Cultural Creators in the Singapore Tamil Literary Arts Scene
Issue 9: Encouraging Cultural Creators in the Singapore Tamil Literary Arts Scene
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Pre-Panel Discussion
1. What is the current scope for Tamil arts and culture involvement in Singapore?
• Scope for arts and culture involvement is limited due to a lack of recognition. Vasantham remains as the primary medium for recognition.
• Television has dominated the scenes, making drama and stage media less important. Commercialisation of television programmes has resulted in lack of fulfilment of objectives and forceful incorporation of educational components.
• Movies are deemed to be a medium to promote engagement in arts and culture. However, the commercialisation of movies to primarily entertain its audience have diluted the objective to promote arts and culture.
• Tamil songs from India are deemed to be very catchy, empowering and allows youths to connect to their roots and identity in a passive manner.
• Circumstances are not supportive for students as their parents tend to prioritise academics. Also, schools have become more demanding in terms of schedules as students are required to engage in co-curricular activities and projects on top of their academics.
2. What is the status of the Tamil literary arts scene?
• Few students are actively involved in reading and writing as written works are not as wellreceived by the public. Most students prefer to engage with the language via cultural means i. e. music, dance and dramas.
• The Tamil literature studies in Junior Colleges is adapting to the modern culture and time, thus making it more relevant to students.
• Many people who create short stories or novels come from India i. e. expatriates as they have had better and greater contact with the Tamil language. However, their writings may not be relatable to the Singaporean context.
• Some students feel that their Tamil language is not strong enough to create literary content.
• Some students perceive the Tamil literary arts as‘ uncool’ or‘ not trendy’. They feel that many people are not in this field, thus individuals are not brave enough to enter the field on their own.
• Technological advancement has made videos very accessible, thus people find it more convenient to view visual content instead of reading books.
3. Are parents supportive of their child’ s involvement in arts and culture?
• Some parents value their child’ s academic grades over their involvement in arts and culture, especially since the latter can take up a lot of time.
• Some parents are protective of their child’ s social circle and are afraid that their child will engage with negative company.
• Some parents feel that there is not much knowledge and skills to be gained from pursuing the arts, especially skills that are relevant to securing a spot in University or a job.
4. Is there sufficient government and public support for upcoming writers?
• National Arts Council is providing financial support for upcoming writers, but there is reduced support from the community.
• Not many publishers are willing to publish new writers’ works, especially due to commercialisation. New ideas may not make its way to the market due to such barriers.