• The Substation disagreed with NAC likening its operating model to that of other major arts companies
• The Substation said it should be compared with other arts centres such as the Esplanade
• However, NAC said that the Esplanade is held accountable for outcomes that are not asked of major companies such as The Substation
• The council said that it had offered The Substation S$100,000 each year for the next two years
• The centre had asked for S$500,000 to make up for loss in rental

SINGAPORE — The spat between The Substation and the National Arts Council (NAC) continued on Friday (March 5), with both parties taking issue with each other’s statements over the arts centre’s closure.

NAC said earlier this week that The Substation had wanted to return as the sole tenant to its premises at 45 Armenian Street following renovation works, so that it could generate revenue from venue hire.

Now, The Substation on Friday is describing the statement as “incomplete”. It also disagreed with how NAC had compared the centre’s financial operating model to that of other major arts companies such as dance or theatre groups.

The Substation reiterated that it is an arts centre — like the Esplanade — arguing that the “essence of an arts centre is autonomy of physical spaces, such as a theatre and gallery for artists to make their art and interact”.

Vacating its premises would mean halving its manpower and drastic cuts to its programming budget and bandwidth. This, The Substation said, would “severely impact” its mission to nurture younger artists and be a “drastic divergence” from its original mission.

“In other words, The Substation will no longer be The Substation as we know it,” the independent art centre’s board said in a statement to the media.

The centre, which has been a springboard for some of Singapore’s acclaimed artists, had announced on Tuesday that it would permanently shut after more than three decades of operation.

It had made the decision after NAC revealed that the premises would be converted into a building occupied by several tenants after refurbishment works are completed in 2023.

The council on Friday, however, disagreed with The Substation’s comparisons of itself to the Esplanade.

Instead, NAC said that The Substation should appropriately be compared against other major companies, some of which also operate premises and arts centres but do not rely on government funding to the same extent. By contrast, the Esplanade is held accountable for outcomes that are not asked of major companies, the council added.

Major companies refer to established arts organisations that receive funding under NAC’s Major Company Scheme. NAC’s website states that companies under the scheme “reflect Singapore’s cultural diversity and identity” and “contribute substantially to the development of Singapore’s cultural landscape”, among other things.

These include theatre company Drama Box and visual arts centre Objectifs which, like The Substation, are recipients of NAC’s grant for major companies.

NAC added that beyond the grant, it had offered The Substation another S$100,000 each year for the next two years during the renovation period for 45 Armenian Street.

“However, the board of The Substation requested for S$500,000 per year, the equivalent to the rental income that they would have foregone. NAC could not agree to this,” the council said in its response.

On Tuesday, NAC had said in response to The Substation’s announcement of its closure that the centre’s operating model was “neither feasible nor sustainable in the longer term”.

The council had noted that government grants form on average 45 per cent of The Substation’s income from the financial years 2017 to 2019. Another 41 per cent of its income is through rental income earned from its subsidised space at Armenian Street allocated by the council.

WHAT THE SUBSTATION DISAGREES WITH

The Substation also took issue with several other points raised by NAC in its earlier statement from Tuesday.

What NAC had said: The Substation’s expenditure on programming has been “a small proportion” of total operational expenses, at 23 per cent on average from the financial years 2017 to 2019.

What The Substation said: Its programming costs as a proportion of total operational expenses was 35.7 per cent, and not 23 per cent, on average for the same period. The Substation’s figure was derived after removing finance and selling, general and administrative expenses from the total operational expenses.

What NAC had said: In contrast to its programming expenditure, The Substation incurred more than S$1.5 million in salaries and other manpower costs between the financial years of 2017 and 2019.

What The Substation said: The amount quoted by NAC was incurred over a period of three years. On average, this was just over S$500,000 per annum between the financial years of 2017 and 2019. It believes that it pays fair wages to its 11 full-time employees and “certainly do not overpay them”.

What NAC had said: NAC had “invited the current board (of The Substation) to co-create the vision for the renovated arts centre with us”.

What The Substation said: NAC’s letter to its board on Feb 17 did not refer to “co-creation”. Instead, it said that The Substation, as a co-tenant, would “be consulted to provide inputs for the future of 45 Armenian Street in relation to its precinct”.