As part of the Resilience Budget announced on 26 March 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) will invest $55 million through an Arts and Culture Resilience Package (ACRP) to support the local arts sector in the wake of cancelled events, a situation that has seen an estimated loss of over $27 million, with over 2000 individuals affected, at time of publication. The funding seeks to save jobs and support upskilling and digitilisation of the sector. 

"Since the onset of COVID-19, we have heard many calls for help from the arts and culture sector (...) That is why the Government came up with the Resilience Budget, to support workers, stabilise businesses, and build economic and social resilience in these unprecedented challenging times," Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu said. 

Read about the measures below. 

Jobs Support Scheme for major companies and leading arts groups

The government will co-fund 25% on the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages of each local employee on their Central Provident Fund (CPF) payroll for nine months. This level of support will be increased to 75% for the month of April. All arts and culture organisations which are employers and who pay CPF contributions, will be eligible. 

Rental waivers for tenants on MCCY-owned properties

Eligible tenants, including commercial retail, F&B tenants, Volunteer Welfare Organisations, Social Service Agencies, and Registered Charities on MCCY-owned properties, will receive two months of rental waivers under ACRP. In addition, all non-residential tenants on government-owned properties who do not qualify for the two months of waiver will receive 1 month of rental waiver. Tenants will be informed directly by their respective landlords of their eligibility.

Capability Development Scheme for the Arts (CDSA)

The National Arts Council has previously announced a one-time grant, the Capability Development Scheme for the Arts (CDSA), to support the arts community. Under the ACRP, the CDSA will be enhanced to raise the maximum funding quantum for organisations and SEPs, and cover a wider group of Self-Employed Persons. This will cover course fees as well as absentee payroll or training allowance of $10 per hour (up from $7.50 per hour). 

Digitalisation Fund 

The fund will include a Digital Presentation Grant for the Arts (DPG) to support the presentation of new or existing work from May 2020 onwards by arts groups and practitioners, including SEPs, in digital form or via digital medium. Successful applicants will receive up to $20,000 per project. The fund also sees Commissioned Work and Partnerships, which will support large-scale projects such as the digital presentation of key festivals, as well as the digitalisation of museums. 

Find out more here.