Can Singapore thrive without art? Creatives Pooja Nansi, Amanda Chong, Nicole Midori Woodford & Karen Tan discuss

The nature of the arts is a contentious one in Singapore. At the height of the Covid lockdown in 2020, a nationwide poll by The Straits Times found that Singaporeans ranked artists first in the list of least essential jobs. This naturally caused an uproar among the creative set, citing that art existed in all forms, and it was Spotify, Netflix, Tiktok and various sources of entertainment that kept us going.

While many did point out the practicality of essential jobs, what would a world without art look like? Artists are the original enfants terribles, straddling the line between provocateur and creative expression, their practice used as ways to tell stories that we didn’t know needed telling.

Fast forward to 2025: As the nation prepares for its 60th birthday, it has been announced that Singaporeans aged 18 and above will receive the SG Culture Pass – $100 in credits to attend local arts and heritage activities. Perhaps, this show of solidarity indicates that the arts are essential and integral to Singapore’s identity – more so than we think.

While art might provoke the status quo, it also helps to preserve history, build identity, create soul, and gather communities. We speak to the women who have helped shape and cultivate Singapore’s thriving artistic identity, whether it’s by wielding their pen/camera/voice, or the provision of a safe and inclusive space.

Meet the women

• Pooja Nansi: Poet, educator & festival director
• Amanda Chong: Lawyer, poet, playwright & advocate
• Nicole Midori Woodford: Film director, writer & editor
• Karen Tan: Co-founder of The Projector

The journey of a creative

What is the biggest misconception people have about your role as a creative? And do you face any challenges as a woman in your field of work?

Nicole: The biggest misconception is that it is akin to having a “hobby”, when it is actually my profession. I do get some friends or relatives thinking that this is a glamorous career, but it’s more sweat and tears, and less red carpet glitz.

Karen: People assume that running a cultural space is all passion and no business. The reality is that to sustain an independent space like The Projector, I spend as much or more time figuring out the commercial aspects than conceptualising content and experiences.

Amanda: Before I published in 2016, I worried that my confessional poetry collection would only appeal to women. I had to question my own internalised assumptions – why is it that when women write about love, we assume it is a mere frivolous diversion, whereas when men (like Shakespeare) write about love, we think of them as representing the universal. Since then, my mission has been to keep telling women stories, until women’s experiences are properly recognised as “universal”.

Pooja: Don’t all women face challenges just on the basis of being women in any field of work? But try being a woman and a racial minority. In my experience, you can’t win if you don’t point it out; you can’t win if you do either. So instead, you have to be twice as excellent to overcome any and all bias. The lesson you will learn very quickly, however, is that no matter what you do, haters gonna hate. So you must find a reason to do the work to the standards you uphold for yourself and for your communities.

What themes or issues in Singapore resonate most with your work, and why?

Amanda: I am interested in dissecting the shifting substrates of power in society, especially in relation to gender. My plays #WomenSupportingWomen and Psychob*tch also feature ostensibly strong female protagonists who run up against the constraints of gendered expectations and norms.

Pooja: I am a child of immigrants. My parents came to Singapore in 1983, so a lot of my work tussles with identity, alienation and notions of belonging, and how these manifest when individual nuances come up against big national narratives.

Karen: A recurring theme in my work is reclaiming space – physically and socially. In Singapore, where land is scarce and narratives can feel tightly controlled, it’s important to make room for alternative perspectives and counter-mainstream culture. The Projector has always been about that – offering a space where people can engage with stories that challenge or inspire.

Nicole: The unique differences – and sometimes divide – between each generation. I like to explore these in my stories because I find parallels with my own personal experiences that I carve inspiration from.

On Singapore’s arts and culture identity

How would you define Singapore’s arts and culture identity?

Amanda: Singapore has been defined by a single story for most of our independence – how we moved from third world to first in a generation. We need a plurality of voices to tell their Singapore stories, so that we can see more clearly the diverse strands in the fabric of our society, and collectively negotiate and renew the ideals that Singapore stands for. This is how we can create a “ground up” rather than “top down” sense of national identity.

Pooja: I think it’s much more useful to experience the myriad of work happening on the ground, and get a sense of our cultural identity organically, than try to define it in a sentence. I do think we need more stories and narratives that present lesser known – but no less real – aspects of Singapore to the world. More working class narratives, more queer stories, more stories that don’t just present us as a playground for the rich, because we are so much more than that.

What challenges do creatives in Singapore face compared to those in other parts of the world?

Nicole: In such a pragmatic society like Singapore, making art or films tends to be seen as idealistic endeavours. Pursuing a career in the creative field tends to come with the question of whether is it sustainable, especially with the high cost of living today. I think it is easier to enter the creative field than before, but sadly, harder than ever to sustain it.

Karen: Rent alone can crush a creative venture before it even begins. Many artists and creatives also feel pressured to conform to commercial viability or state-supported frameworks to get funding, which can sometimes stifle radical work or experimentation that’s required for evolution.

Amanda: Quite a few of us in the literary scene have day jobs in addition to our work as writers, as it is not easy to achieve financially sustainability as a writer. The challenge is carving out space in a busy corporate life for the slow work of creation.

What’s one misconception about pursuing the arts in Singapore that you’d like to challenge or dispel?

Pooja: That pursuing the arts is for the elite few. That literature is for “strong students”. That one can’t pursue the arts just for joy or personal development, that it shouldn’t be a necessary presence in everyone’s lives.

Karen: That it’s not a viable career. It’s true that being in the creative industry here is tough, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The key is understanding the ecosystem and finding sustainable ways to navigate it. Whether that’s through alternative funding models, collaborations, or creative commercial models, there are ways to make it work – but it requires resilience, adaptability and risk appetite.

Inclusivity in the arts

Do you feel the arts in Singapore is inclusive and accessible enough to the general public?

Pooja: Inclusivity and accessibility is not a destination, it is a constant effort. Some spaces and initiatives are more so than others. But it begins with fundamental questions: Who do we want in this space? What might prevent them from showing up? How can we reduce those barriers?

Karen: Many people still see the arts as something for a niche crowd – either elite or activist – but not something for everyday Singaporeans. The key to accessibility is not just making tickets affordable, but making people feel welcome and at ease. That means more community-driven programming, better outreach, and dispelling the idea that the arts are “intellectual” or intimidating.

The future of the arts in Singapore

What do you think Singapore’s arts and culture scene will look like in 10 years?

Amanda: I hope we see stories that speak uneasy truths about entrenched norms in Singapore society, provoking us to dialogue and new insights. Ultimately, I hope that Singaporeans are proud of their artists, and see the value of their contributions to culture.

Nicole: Even though there seems to be a plethora of choices, I think that most viewers tend to look to certain trends because of how algorithms consolidate tastes. In 10 years, I think there will be more artists and filmmakers than ever, which hopefully will help to negate the era of the algorithm!

Karen: I hope to see a rise in independent, self-funded creative projects that aren’t reliant on government grant approval or institutional support. If policies don’t evolve, many independent creative ventures will continue to operate on the margins or risk fading out.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to aspiring creatives in Singapore?

Pooja: If you are making art for visibility or awards, you’ll probably find that success if you play the game right, but then you’ll also always be anxious about having enough clout. But if you make art because you believe that the rewards lie in doing and sharing the work itself, the work will create the path for you, and you will find fulfilment be a much better artist.

Karen: Don’t wait for permission. We are conditioned to seek approval – whether from institutions or “legitimacy” vs societal norms, but some of the best creative projects were started by people who just went ahead and did it.

Nicole: Young aspiring filmmakers need to really understand what it is that they want to say (or ask), and keep interrogating that idea all the way to the end of the process. Don’t take shortcuts to this process of discovery and change within yourself as a creative. The key to making great work lies in the stripping away of the layers to unravel the core of what you want to say.

Amanda: Creativity begins far before the act of creation. It begins with tending lovingly to your own personal obsessions, having an open mind to different perspectives and ideas, as well as engaging the work with other artists. Even though I’m in the literary and theatre scene, I love consuming all art forms, because the richness of other people’s imaginations and what they have to say about our country inspire me.

Brought to you in partnership with Singtel, the inspiring Innovators featured in our SG60 issue are women who are driving Singapore’s progress through their bold choices and achievements. With their stories of resilience, reinvention and selflessness, we hope to inspire and empower the next generation of women to take charge of their paths and turn possibilities into reality. Singtel wishes all women a Happy International Women’s Day and Happy SG60.

To learn more about the 60 women who have shaped Singapore as we know it today, click here.