Monday, November 24, 2008
Tourism roles and economic value
The Biennale is the largest international contemporary visual arts exhibition that is held all over the world and normally lasts about 70 days. Biennale is Italian for “every other year”, which means the event happens every 2 years. The last Biennale was in 2006.3.1. Event as Attraction
The event itself is an attraction because the Biennale has been held in many countries and it is internationally recognized by all the art fans all over the world. People from all over the world will come to see the exhibitions because the event has become an attraction itself. It does not require much marketing because the artists are willing to travel from far to the event destination just to be part of the event. The Biennale in 2006 attracted more than 883,000 visitors from world-wide to see the 95 artists’ works and 38 art collectives from 38 countries and regions. From this, we can see that Biennale itself is an attraction and definitely has a high demand in the art industry.
This event also generated high media value and audiences, which helped to open Singapore to the world. The event brought high visitor arrivals and increase the spending of the tourists as the event is long and they will extend their length of stay in order not to miss any of the programs.
3.2. Event as Animator
Most people will feel that art exhibitions will be boring and uninteresting. However, the planners did well in their marketing efforts by making the experience more tangible. They have many programs like the Kids’ Biennale, art competitions, races, tours and talks. Most of the programs are targeted at the younger generation because they want to educate the younger generation and develop their art talents. The tours and talks can guide the people visiting the exhibitions so that they will not feel too bored when they are looking at the exhibits.
With clear explanation of the exhibits, viewers can have a better and in-depth understanding of the exhibits and learn to appreciate the art. The races conducted for the youth is also a good way to make the event less mundane by bringing them through the venues, which can arouse their interest in this event and visit the exhibitions. The planners did a great job in making the art exhibition a fun-filled event instead of the past mundane visual experience only.
The Biennale this year was held in various venues such as City Hall and Raffles City Shopping Mall. The City Hall used to be a place where war agreements were signed and court hearings held. However, it is to be Singapore’s National Art Gallery by 2013. City Hall was the main venue for this event as most of the exhibits are displayed there. By having Biennale at City Hall, it creates awareness of this place to the people, especially the younger generation, to visit this place and get to know the history of this place. In all, the Biennale was successful because it can change the image of the uninteresting art exhibition, to a fascinating experience with arts.
3.3. Event as Image maker
As mentioned above, the Biennale was successful because it is able to shape the image of the art festival in the peoples’ minds and change their negative perception of arts event. In the past, Singapore did not have the image as a place for arts.
The Biennale shapes the image of Singapore as a place for arts when they held the event here. It is indirectly telling the world, come to Singapore for this art festival, Singapore can be a place for art too! Part of the efforts was by the government, by educating the younger generation to appreciate art and developing art talents in Singapore. Hence, the Biennale in Singapore also included many aspects of education, so as to teach the future generations.
3.4. Event as Place Marketing
The City Hall is soon to be Singapore’s National Art Gallery. By holding the event there, it can help City Hall to create the image in peoples’ minds first before it is converted into an art gallery. The event indirectly tells everyone that the City Hall building is not the place for war agreements and court hearings in the past, but a place for art exhibits to be showcased. After shaping the image of the destination, the government will have no worries about after converting it to an art gallery; nobody will know about it or visit it, because in their minds, the City Hall building has became an art gallery.
In addition, the theme for this year Biennale is Wonder[17]. There are many rooms in the City Hall and there is one exhibit in one room. It gives people a mysterious feeling because you don’t know what to expect in the next room. Every room is a wonder in different ways and visitors can feel the different meanings of wonder in the artists’ works. The image of these solemn rooms can also be changed when they induced the ‘wonder’ theme into it.3.5. Event as Catalyst
The Biennale was a good example for an event as a catalyst. This is because the event can boost the economy of Singapore by bringing in more tourists and generating more tourist receipts. As mentioned, Singapore did not used to have the image of art. After this event, I am sure that many of the artists will also recognize Singapore as a place not only for business, but for art too.
The event also will stimulate more business and trade opportunities in the art industry, which will boost our image. It is the first step that we will take to move towards a more artistic image. The next step is followed by the Singapore’s National Art Gallery and there may be more opportunities. The Esplanade is also an art centre which is located in the city. All these factors and opportunities will then shape Singapore into an art centre in future.
3.6. Economic Value
The Biennale in 2006 brought in a cumulative media value for print of approximately $19,300,000 and over 103,000,000 audiences worldwide. The tourist arrivals and receipts it can generate will greatly boost our economy and bring up the low-peak season during September to November. Moreover, the image that the event helps to shape Singapore is a value that cannot be calculated. The future opportunities that are brought by the event also cannot be computed, but they definitely will benefit us. Hence, the economical value of this event is huge to Singapore.