SINGAPORE — Have you ever thought about volunteering to help out at an arts festival or event but didn’t know where to start? A new online search portal is set to make things easier for you.

The new website by the National Arts Council (NAC) is scheduled to be launched in the latter half of the year as part of its efforts to beef up its arts volunteers programme. Aside from the search portal, there will also be training and orientation sessions. The council is working closely with the National Volunteers and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) to help increase the pool of volunteers for the arts, said Chua Ai Liang, NAC director for arts and communities, citing a recent jointly-organised session attended by 35 groups and institutions.

Citing available statistics from the NVPC, she said the national volunteer rate stands at only 18 per cent of the population, of which only two per cent volunteer for arts, culture and heritage-related events. “There is more that the council and the arts sector can do to increase our pool of volunteers,” said Chua.

Volunteers, she stressed, are important. “We see them as critical assets — supporting front-of-house duties, as liaison officers or as docents in galleries and museums.” Beefing up arts volunteerism also encourages donations. “A recent NVPC study showed that volunteers are twice as likely to donate to a cause that they support,” she said.

The council is also continuing its efforts to further professionalise arts instructors in schools. By next year, all arts instructors giving workshops under the NAC-AEP (Arts Education Programme) are required to also have had pedagogical training. “While it is important that the arts instructor is, say, a skilled dancer or visual artist, the experience for the child will be much more enriching if the instructor is also equipped with specific knowledge of how to teach that art form in a mainstream school setting,” said Kenneth Kwok, NAC director for arts and youth.

Elsewhere, the council outlined other future plans, among these its concerted effort to engage younger audiences. In line with this is the soft launch in December of a new Children’s Art Centre, which will be located at the Goodman Arts Centre and run by a partner organiser.

And while traditional arts continue to be a strong focus this year, support for contemporary forms will continue. One of the NAC’s main commissioned events this year is the Singapore Biennale in October, and the council will also have a greater involvement in the running of Gillman Barracks. Last month, the Gillman Barracks Programme Office was set up to enliven the offerings at the visual arts precinct. The new office under the NAC will be overseeing programming efforts, said Low Eng Teong, director for the visual arts sector.

“We aim to step up the frequency of events and boost quality arts content to enhance visitor experience to the precinct. We are also looking to activate the outdoor spaces at Gillman Barracks with public artworks,” he said.

Low pointed to the current exhibition of Singaporean artist Charles Lim at the NTU-Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, which was previously shown at last year’s Venice Biennale, as well as this weekend’s Art Day Out open house event, as some examples of the council’s involvement.

The council will also continue to promote local artists internationally. According to Grace Ng, director of sector development (music and theatre), it is actively exploring participation at festivals such as BIGSOUND and Queenscliff Music Festival in Australia for Singapore’s contemporary musicians. And it is plugging in. “We are in talks with stakeholders to produce digital content that is shareable online,” said Ng.

“The quality and standard of our musicians have increased tremendously over the past years and it is a good time for the NAC to help our Singapore talents get their music heard on the international platform.”MAYO MARTIN