Uses different marketing tools other than traditional mediums such as TV or newspaper. In addition, it advertises through popular social networking sites like Facebook, creating a fan page where events and news are updated regularly.

The caption on the posters caught my eyes one day while I was walking down Raffles City Shopping Centre. There were at least 20 of them lining up along City Hall to Douby Ghout, flapping in the wind. “Singapore Art Festival 2009” the posters read. I have been living in Singapore for the past 7 years, but never once have I attended any art related festival. I told myself that I would want to experience at least one performance of the month long event.

Soon after, I picked up a copy of the brochure, highlighting some of the events and where they can be found. Inside the brochure, there was a welcome note by the chairman of National Arts Council, saying that there was 600 performance and activities in both indoor and outdoor venues, around downtown Singapore or heartland.

I think they want to engage more Singaporeans in appreciating art. Some years back, when Esplanade first started, I remembered many Singaporeans were skeptical, especially those living in the heartland. They feel that not many Singaporeans would patronize the place, much less attend the art performances or events. That was the time when the government wants to raise Singapore’s standard and awareness in the global art scene, attracting other talents to move to Singapore. Many years have passed and now Singapore is slowly creating a brand name on the international performing art scene. The SAF 2009 has renowned artistes from overseas as well as local.

There were also a lot of news updates that I found on the official website, www.singaporeartsfest.com

The main page categorizes the events into 6 categories – Dance, Music, Theatre, Fest Connect, Visual Art and Outreach. From the website, I can find a lot of useful information pertaining to the whole event. The 1^st stop that I went was the promotion. It’s important to know where I can find good deals, especially with so many performances to choose from. http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/promotions/

However, most of the promotions seem to be targeting tourists rather than locals. Hotel stays discounts, Lounge and bars, business travel magazines. The only one that applies to me is that I can get a free Hereen Privilege card if I present my Artsfest ticket or Artfest Club card, but no information is given on what I can do with the privilege card. In addition, I found more information on the festival through Facebook, a popular social networking website. People were joining the group, posting information on where to get the tickets, comments and reviews on the performances, announcing new information, allowing people to mingle on the cyberspace; connecting them to feel a bond. Some of the fans on Facebook will start discussing a topic and this in turn generates more publicity for the performance, providing a free advertisement. Other fans will form groups buy tickets to watch the performances together, something they wouldn’t have done if they can’t find friends to watch with them. I also saw people trying to sell off tickets that they couldn’t make it on Facebook. In a way, Facebook has opened a new avenue for many art lovers, as they can get the information real time, fast, no closing hours, connecting both locals and foreigners. Personally I feel that with the power of Facebook, many more people are being attracted to the buzz about Singapore Art Festival.

As the opening day approaches, more posters as well as advertisements inside newspapers, television appeared around Singapore. It was as though Singapore was being transformed into a giant event venue.

I read from the papers that the opening was held at Marina Barrage, located near to Marina Bay MRT (which ironically is not near a marina or a bay). Even though it was raining heavily that day, thousands of people came and attended the event. The opening act, Helios II, represents the god of sun. I read that it wants to create a new birth out from chaos, creating a harmony out of lights and music, giving audience a trip back to the ancient times where myth and supernatural rules the world. It fuses together acrobatics, music and spectacular pyrotechnic displays into a 45 min act, dazzling thousands. However, I feel that the place was not an excellent choice location as it is not easily accessible for many. Even though the organizers provided shuttle bus transport services, but a location which is nearer to the city or say a MRT would be better as it allows people to come and leave easier, thus reducing the congestion. I understand that one of the sponsors for this event is Public Utilities Board (PUB); hence they probably want to showcase their new project, the Marina Barrage to the public, both locals and foreigners.

It was crowded on the train. There was several tourists peering at their Singapore maps, waving and gesturing, a family of four were sitting next to me, and a lot of youth, who I think are going either for shopping or attending the festival. My destination – Orchard. The weather today is so hot that any hotter, I will be melting.

“Next Stop, Orchard”. I joined many others in alighting the station. After some waiting, there were many people queuing already in front of me, forming a crowd. Most were Singaporeans with their families, a few tourists and couple of students whom I suspect are sent here to do study reports like me. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blast of music pierces through the noisy Orchard Road. All of us thought that the performance is starting, people started to look and search where it’s going to start. The music went on for several more minutes, but there was no sign of performers. Just when people are starting to feel restless, I can see a few tall people, they must be 8 to 10 feets tall. These people were dressed in white; I counted 10 of them, walking on stiles. When they appear, cameras flashes could be heard. They’re wearing a big piece of cloth, which has very long sleeves. They walked around, among pedestrians, warping passer-bys with their sleeves. They have a leader in front, with a different costume, waving a fake knife around, which is in fact a bubble machine. Immediately, children were shouting and laughing, while their parents look amused. They also walked over the people after photo taking. The procession carried on for an hour, from Borders Bookshop all the way till Takashimaya Shopping Centre. There was also a girl carrying a board, “Singapore Art Festival 2009, Art on the move”. Along the way, there was traffic police directing traffic and staff crew to pass them water, as the temperature was quite hot. Personally, I like this type of performance, as the audience is also part of the performance, enabling them to relate better. It seems like I was inside a fairy tale story. I also feel that much can be done about the publicity. If one doesn’t look closely, it seems that the performers are a group of baskers instead of performing an art. I feel that it doesn’t bring the art on the move message across as people might not notice the girl carrying the board, as their focus will be on the performers. It will be better if the performers were giving out balloons, or festival related products.

For the stakeholders, the month long event will create awareness as well as put Singapore on the map for art. The main stakeholders for SAF is Singapore Tourism Board, TOTE Board, Shaw foundation, University of Western Australia, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Vivocity, WingTai Asia, Raffles City, PUB, Suntec Singapore, SMRT, with supports from various embassies. For Melbourne International Art Festival, the main stakeholders are Arts Victoria, City of Melbourne, Tourism Victoria, The Age, JCDecaux, with support from Melbourne Airport, British Council and Trawalla foundation.

Personally, I feel that for public agencies, the main aim of them supporting the events is that it advertises the city as a vibrant and cultural place, thus hoping to attract more tourists to visit the country. For the shopping malls, the aim is to attract people to visit their malls, thus increasing the sales of the products.

Comparing the Singapore Art Festival with the Melbourne International Art Festival, I feel that the SAF website layout looks better, providing more information and news, and also more promotions. The SAF has government agencies such as Singapore Tourism Board, embassies of various countries as supporters, whereas for the MIAF, the main supporter is the Tourism Victoria.

Both events managed to secure sponsorships from shopping malls, foundations and media station, thus enabling both to reach out to a wider audience. Also with the endorsement of the government, both festivals are able to gain access to a lot of places easier. The management team behind the events has to coordinate between the artistes, the government for licenses and venues for performance. I feel that events this large scale requires a well planned proposal in order to convince the government for support.

Both have a lot of big names, which appeals to the mass public. There was also a lot of small scale or unheard of performance. However, for a city like Singapore, we have neighboring countries like Malaysia, Indonesia which makes it a more ideal travel location than Victoria. Even though both festivals offer educational related events, such as tie up with schools, but SAF was held just before the school holiday starts and with the help from TOTE Board and MOE, schools were able to book tickets at special discounts.

Furthermore, with the global recession, the SAF is priced more competitively than the Melbourne International Art Festival, with ticket prices going at 20% cheaper than past years. I also read from papers that Mr. Goh Ching Lee, director, Singapore Arts Festival, NAC, said: "We're able to draw more from this budget this year. The costs of organizing have come down. For example, freight - we ship several hundred tones of equipment to the festival.” It was also report that for last year, there were 600,000 people attending the event, with a 74 per cent attendance. This year organizers hope to achieve 80 per cent attendance. The organizers were also confident that the current tourism downturn will not affect the festival this year as overseas travelers only form about 10 per cent of the total number of people who attend the shows.

The event was a generally a successful one and there were a lot of publicity for the event, this festival give more people a chance to experience arts. Personally, I feel thankful to have a chance to see and feel it. When it comes again next year, I will be there again.