Renamed Arts House Group Prioritising Fund-Raising for Programmes and Venues

The Arts House Limited (AHL) will be renamed the Arts House Group (AHG).

- Ong Sor Fern

The change is part of an overall strategy to boost the entity's profile and cement its identity as both venue manager and arts programmer, says executive director Sharon Tan.

"The front-facing name is important. It has to stand for what we do and who we are. It is not frivolous. Part of it is also to differentiate us from The Arts House at the Old Parliament because the confusion really kills us," Ms Tan adds.

AHG is often conflated with the venue The Arts House at the Old Parliament, which it runs.

The group manages five other venues: Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall; Drama Centre; Goodman Arts Centre; Aliwal Arts Centre; and Stamford Arts Centre.

It is also responsible for organising two national flagship festivals: the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) and Singapore Writers Festival (SWF).

The Arts House, christened as such in 2004 after a $15 million renovation, last went through a major revamp in 2014 when it merged with Arts Festival Limited.

Over the years, it has struggled to find an identity and niche in an increasingly crowded and sophisticated arts landscape.

The merger with the arts festival came on the heels of a report by a 17-member committee convened by the National Arts Council (NAC) to review directions for the then-floundering festival.

It was meant to offer the festival more independence to programme and a base of operations in the heart of the city to engage audiences all year round.

The implementation of this vision has been patchy, interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the unexpected death in 2022 of executive director Tan Boon Hui only a year after he was appointed.