In a drastic turn of events following the announcement of The Substation’s permanent closure in March, the arts centre is slated to be converted into an arts company focusing on original programming development.
In a statement on Friday (23 July), The Substation said that two of its board members, Wahyuni Hadi and Jean-Louis Morisot had collaborated to conceptualise a new Substation — branded Substation 2.0.
The reboot seeks to “reconcile The Substation’s historical artistic mission with the long term challenge of financial sustainability”, said The Substation.
The strategic vision of The Substation 2.0, it added, is to “create a path for emerging independent artists of all disciplines through incubation and mentorship”.
The Substation 2.0 also aspires to be “the home for the arts through meaningful engagement of the artistic community”.
Additionally, the proposed new arts company strives to “create a regional presence in Southeast Asia through engaged partnerships and collaborations”, said The Substation.
“A number of the individuals behind both proposals will be invited to participate in various capacities in Substation 2.0, and we are happy that they have expressed support towards The Substation and its continued future,” The Substation added.
Wahyuni said that The Substation “will return to its roots and defining mission, realigning them to our new circumstances”.
“The Substation’s purpose over the next few years will be to re-establish and redefine The Substation as the home for independent artists in Singapore, independent of our original building, while expanding our collaborative partnerships locally and in the region,” she said.
“The Substation still has an important role to play in the Singapore arts scene, and we are grateful for this new beginning and the support the community has shown,” Wahyuni added.
Wahyuni, a former Programme Manager at The Substation overseeing film, music and literary arts programmes, has spent a large part of her career promoting Singapore and Southeast Asian cinema and independent arts.
A film curator and arts manager specialising in the management of film and art projects, among Wahyuni’s notable accomplishments include heading the Singapore International Film Festival in 2009 and later from 2014 to 2019 as its executive director.
She was formerly co-director at Objectifs Centre for Photography & Filmmaking where she had started Objectifs Films and currently sits on the Board.
In 2013, Wahyuni published the book Behind the Camera and co-produced the film Ilo Ilo.
She also served as Commissioning Editor for MediaCorp’s arts channel.
Morisot, who joined The Substation board in 2016, is the co-founder and director of Fondation la Roche Jacquelin, a non-profit foundation for the promotion of Southeast Asian art in Europe.
Based in rural and historical Anjou, the foundation organises art residencies for Southeast Asian visual and performing artists and writers.
From 2010 to 2018, Morisot was chief operating officer and co-founder of Proa Partners Pte Ltd, an institutional long-only fund manager based in Singapore and investing in Asia ex-Japan equities on behalf of international endowments and foundations.
As COO, Morisot built the company’s business, regulatory and technological infrastructure and was its head of investment research. Jean-Louis previously worked as a managing director in global investment research, Goldman Sachs.
Based in Singapore since 1994, he currently sits on the board of iA Independent Archive, an arts resources space founded by Lee Wen built around a collection of archival material pertaining to ephemeral art in Singapore and the region.
Noting that it has also heard the views of the community, The Substation said that a proportion of the arts community believed that it should not be closed permanently, even if it could not return to fully occupy 45 Armenian Street or to continue in its present form as an independent arts centre for multi-disciplinary experimental arts.
“While the decision to close is one The Substation Board collectively made and believed was the right thing to do, we also acknowledged that many in the community felt otherwise and sought an opportunity to drive The Substation forward.
“We were heartened by this spirit of communal responsibility and initiative,” it said.
The Substation said that it will apply for funding support from the National Arts Council “in addition to using this time to recalibrate and plan”.
“The new team will also begin the process of seeking private sector and community support in its new form,” it added.
The Substation is a recipient of the National Arts Council’s Major Grant 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020.
The Substation’s chairman, Chew Kheng Chuan said that The Substation 2.0 “represents a necessary radical evolution of The Substation in order to be sustainable in the longer term”.
‘I am certain that the small committed team that has come together to lead Substation 2.0 forward will give it their all, and all of us on the current Substation Board have told them they can count on us to support them in any way we can,” he added.
The Substation’s artistic director, Raka Maitra said: “I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead The Substation as its Artistic Director during this period of critical transformation for The Substation.”
“The Substation has always championed independent artists and in doing so, has created a space for new kinds of art works in Singapore. We remain committed to being an incubator of new talents and presenting works that inspire and create dialogue,” she added.
A dancer with a strong focus in classical Indian dance and martial arts, Raka was an associate artist with The Substation from 2007–2011.
On top of her role as Artistic Director of Chowk Productions, which she founded in 2014 with the support of the National Arts Council’s Seed Grant, her works have been regularly commissioned by the Esplanade and have travelled extensively internationally.
Raka’s notable works include The Hungry Stones, The Blind Age, The Second Sunrise, from: The Platform and the Pallavi Series. In the words of Dance Europe, “Maitra is without doubt a dancer of the 21st century”.
Raka was appointed Co-Artistic Director of The Substation in 2020 and will continue as Artistic Director from August 2021.
In the earlier announcement of The Substation’s closure, it was reported that the NAC was intending to take back the space for renovation works.
The NAC justified its decision on the basis that The Substation was becoming increasingly “financially unsustainable.”
The arts centre—founded in 1990 by a prominent figure in theatre, the late Kuo Pao Kun—said that the “difficult” decision was made by board members after lengthy discussions with the NAC and members of the arts community.
Not long ago, it was announced publicly that The Substation would have to vacate its premises at 45 Armenian Street by July this year to allow for much-needed refurbishment and renovation on the building.
However, once the renovations are complete, the NAC said at the time that The Substation would be able to return to the building as a co-tenant, instead of occupying the building in its full capacity as before.
The inability for the centre to return fully would mean that The Substation “will lose a fundamental part of its identity and heritage”, according to the statement.
