This is obvious if we probe deeper into the Singapore Biennale, the first international contemporary art event in Southeast Asia.

The theme for the Biennale is “Belief”, a wide enough catchment for artists to explore and perhaps question the status quo. For instance, Singaporean artist Amanda Heng’s artwork comes in the form of a mock travel agency, complete with video and publicity material that promote tours of Chinese cultural collections.

Playing on an ironic observation of tourism, Heng’s work re-visits personal archives and considers their cultural significance in modern Singapore. It also shows how the process of creating a culture is always in a state of transformation which defies institutional control.

And here’s the paradox of Singapore promoting the arts: A city-state that has been on the fast track of economic growth, that has often bulldozed left-of-centre thinking in favour of conformity, now wants to be seen as a global city for the arts.

And the government is putting its money where its mouth is. This year, its budget allocated for the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts came to S$545 million. This is in line with its vision to build a creative economy, a gracious community and a connected society with a Singaporean identity rooted in our multi-cultural heritage. Of this amount, S$27 million is set aside to implement the Creative Industries Development Strategy, which aims to double the GDP contribution of the creative industries from three percent today to six percent in 2012.

For the Creative Industries Development Strategy to be realised, a critical mass of artists, thinkers and thinking audiences need to be nurtured. This, however, is not the case, at least not in the foreseeable future because the country’s education system is found wanting.

Over the years, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has taken many new initiatives to encourage creativity, thinking and independent learning. This includes the SEED-learning programme at primary level and project work at secondary level.

However, apart from these government initiatives, there is more that needs to be done. A cultural shift and mindset change is crucial in affecting a deeper and more effective change in the learning and teaching environment in local schools. Systems have changed but the people involved in it must believe and be able to cope with these changes as well.

In an interview with art-e, Noorlinah Mohamed, president of Singapore Drama Educators Association, said:

I am a product of the Singapore education system. As a student, I remember feeling judged when I asked a question, not only by my teacher but also by my peers. What if my question is wrong? What if it sounds stupid or makes me look stupid? Ah ya, don't ask, we might have to learn more things? Why ask, everything is in the book, don't you read? Looking back, I realise now that curiosity, which is so innate in a child, is often snuffed out by the need to do it right.

This is the problem many students face under the local education system. Students often feel inhibited to raise a question for fear of being judged. There is a pressure within the classroom to conform and do things right. Surely, this runs contrary to the spirit of the arts.

The upshot: It’ll probably take at least another generation before Singaporeans are equipped with the right kind of intellectual understanding and stimulation to appreciate the arts.

Lin Wan Xin is a second-year student under the BA (Hons) Arts Management programme at LASALLE College of the Arts.