National Arts Council seeks operator for new 1,000-seat Tanglin theatre

He added that not many local groups have the “firepower and the weight” to take on such a project and may need to partner or collaborate with an international operator or a consortium of several local organisations. 

Still, such partnerships could give homegrown arts groups access to international networks and expertise, said Ms Usha Chandradas, co-founder of online art magazine Plural Art Mag. 

“Local partners that come on board get a chance to see what business looks like from the international organisations’ perspective,” said Ms Chandradas, who is also a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).

For Dr Wong, such global partnerships could help local arts groups take their works overseas.

“Works are commissioned and they’re premiered here, and then they are toured out to the region and the world,” he said. 

“So, it’s not just international acts coming into Singapore, but that the operator has networks … to bring local works out from Singapore to the world as well.”