SCCC marked its 5^th anniversary last year and I am heartened by the continuous support from our arts and cultural partners. As we moved into the post-pandemic new normal, the celebrations were made more meaningful with the return of our onsite events.

Our annual signature programmes such as Cultural Extravaganza and youth festival RE•MIX enabled us to collaborate with the arts and cultural community to showcase our unique local Chinese culture. Our 5^th anniversary finale  event was the large-scale Mandopop concert Sing•浪 attended by nearly 6,500 patrons. It brought local veteran and budding musicians, and traditional arts groups, on the same stage at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

We were delighted to welcome key members of the local Chinese community to usher in the Year of the Rabbit at Spring Reception 2023 jointly organised by SCCC and Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations. As part of our Chinese New Year offerings, we launched Tugether, a rabbit-themed art installation at the Roof Garden. We also invited singers Annette Lee and Benjamin Kheng to give their take on local Chinese culture through an original music video We Are…. These two projects went on to win a gold and a silver award at the Marketing Interactive MARKies Awards 2023.

Our other endeavours to produce high quality content have also received recognition. For instance, in February, our SINGAPO人 exhibition received a gold award by Design for Asia (DFA) under the “Service and Experience Design” category.

Our commissioned short film Aunt Lotus & Her Dream Bicycle which premiered at Cultural Extravaganza 2022, has been selected for screening at international film festivals in Venice, Bali, Seoul and Tokyo. 

We also hope to support more local artists in their endeavours. Under our Artspace@SCCC scheme, we have showcased the works of young artists such as Wang Shijia in her Life is Sweet: Ang Ku Kueh Girl exhibition and Koh Kuan Eng in his Boh Beh Zao: Dialect Illustrations exhibition. These exhibitions later travelled to other external venues like Ren Ci Community Hospital and Ren Ci Nursing Homes. 

We believe it is important to cultivate youths’ interest and appreciation for our local Chinese culture. Using the SINGAPO人 exhibition, our Education team has conducted guided tours and school holidays programmes for students of all ages. More than 7,000 have participated in programmes that feature local Chinese food, music, festivals and practices. We have developed travelling exhibitions showcasing our local food and dialect cultures and brought them to schools, malls and libraries. Our online video series also serve as educational resources for both parents and teachers.

In the coming years, we aim to continue enriching our programmes and become a leading advocate for local Chinese culture. We hope to have the continued support of the Chinese community as we embark on this exciting journey ahead .