Why is this interesting? - The Singapore Creativity Edition

Colin here. Singapore is one of the most interesting business and growth success stories in the modern world. In a few generations, and without significant natural resources, it has become a banking, technology, and trade hub. 

Much of this success can be attributed to the vision of Lee Kuan Yew, who presided over three decades of development, and whose vision, both micro (the perfectly manicured garden canopy from the airport into town) and macro (attempting to create housing policies that ensured integration amongst the country's many ethnic groups and an emphasis on English education), set the stage for where the country is today. The rise wasn’t without human rights concerns: The caning of criminals and super-strict laws made headlines around. 

For all the rapid progress, the big critiques of the country have been around their strict laws and corporal punishment, as well as the feeling of sterility and predictability it can project. As Cynthia Rosenfeld recently wrote in Surface: 

Since gaining full independence in 1965, Singapore has become a manufacturing, trade, and financial powerhouse, as well as a symbol of Eastern wealth. It’s little wonder it serves as the backdrop to Kevin Kwan’s thinly fictionalized materialist memoirs, the most famous of which became the film Crazy Rich Asians. The tiny nation on Peninsular Malaysia’s southern tip has also gained notoriety for extreme treatment of minor transgressions, public gum chewing, petty vandalism, and recreational drug use included. The country’s entrenched top-down, management-centric mindset hasn’t exactly made it a ripe breeding ground for creative fields.

Why is this interesting? 

The hyper-strict culture outlined above is on the outs, and the green shoots of creativity are rising. It isn’t fully manifested yet, but there are signs that policy, education, and social undercurrents are moving in the right direction. Whereas with previous generations success for one’s children meant doctor or lawyer, the scope of acceptable employment is expanding. Amongst those, entrepreneurship is starting to be supported. Mark Chong, a professor at Singapore Management University, a mini Harvard that trains many of the country’s future leaders, told me over coffee that the way entrepreneurship is covered in the press and in homes has recently changed for the better. It’s no longer something that only happens at the fringes, but rather seen as additive with some level of social capital attached. 

Of course, tech startups and venture capital do not make a creative culture. Getting there is about the country moving further to balance its creative imports with creative exports of its own. Here, again, it’s not hard to find examples that point in a positive direction. Design Orchard, a boutique on the main shopping thoroughfare Orchard Street, offers wares from young Singaporean designers displayed with the same refined framing as the luxury boutiques just a few doors down. But it’s not all roses: Some creative fashion business owners I talked to in other parts of the country mentioned it’s hard to break through with handmade things and sell in a culture that is still obsessed with labels and prestige.

But even for the hyper-rich titans of industry, creativity and the arts are being prioritized: Places like the School of the Arts train the next generation of actors and dancers. And, as wealth grows and homegrown culture becomes a priority, the quality of performing arts has also improved, seen with the programming of Arts House, which hosts international stars like Ryuichi Sakamoto alongside hometown playwrights. 

Another facet of creativity can be found in the innovation in Singapore’s green architecture: Buildings are covered in living plants and are much more sustainable, while also pushing the bounds of traditional aesthetics that the country had in its first wave of growth. The country is being held up as a model of thoughtful urbanism. 

In the end, it’s not all black and white: As if the country is waking up from a spreadsheet and rigor-driven culture. Creativity has always been present in various forms in Singapore, with the culinary scene as the most notable example. The next step is turning these pockets into something more sustained: A crawl, walk, run type of evolution. 

And judging from my personal experience, there’s still some way to go to get to the gallop. A creative talk I gave at the aforementioned SMU was peppered with brusk questions of ROI from very serious students. Some of my informal and non-statistical canvassings resulted in raised eyebrows and dismissals at suggestions of a nascent creative culture. But when you spend time in the entrepreneur-focused members clubs, overhear conversations at coffee shops, and visit design studios and creative agencies, there’s a strong sense that the nation is in the early stages of building a creative culture that could, in time, be a meaningful export and compete on the world's stages. (CJN) 

Airplane of the day: 

A Cessna 210 after landing on an airstrip just off the coastline of Namibia. (CJN) 

Quick Links:

• The lonely and dangerous life of the Filipino seafarer (CJN) 

• The best of Farnam Street 2019 (CJN) 

• You can’t make this stuff up: 'Intended to induce awe': codpiece thrusts itself back into fashion (NRB)

Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)

PS - Noah here. Friend of WITI and one of our favorite Australians, Lexi Peters, has a birthday coming up and asked friends and family to donate a few dollars to the WIRES Emergency Fund to help rescue + rehabilitate burned koalas, kangaroos, and other wildlife. She’s good people and it’s a good cause.

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