SINGAPORE — After coming on board in October, The Substation’s new artistic director Alan Oei finally revealed plans to develop the arts centre into a “research and developmental space”. Also announced this week were the recipients of the annual President’s Design Award and the annual South-east Asian Writers Award for Singapore, which has been given to writer JM Sali (see stories).

Elsewhere, conductor Darrell Ang was nominated for a Grammy for best orchestral performance for his CD recording with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; the defunct online theatre review site The Flying Inkpot announced it will be transferring its archive to Centre 42; and the National Gallery Singapore reported it drew more than 170,000 visitors during its two-week opening celebrations.

Meanwhile, this year’s Singapore International Film Festival wrapped up last Sunday; but the saga involving the National Arts Council and the arts community regarding censorship and funding continued, with poet Jee Leong Koh putting up a Facebook post urging artists to reconsider their engagement with the state with regards to arts funding. MAYO MARTIN