Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre Learning Journey

As you can tell from the title, we had a learning journey at SCCC. Anthony was our guide, a very friendly young looking man. (Do remember this and i will explain further why i mentioned this observation.)

Honestly, before we stepped into the building i had a pre-conception of what the building looked like. A communist structure? I used to be from Chung Cheng Main, where we had too much money to spend and started installing 300 CCTVs, every 2m away. The last time i remember, they also started building sculptures around the school. The first time i had to go to school in secondary 1, mother and I actually drived past it multiple times because we thought the school was a temple.

Photo credit: Roots.sg

Photo: Charlotte and I in our clique!!! Back at Chung cheng.

So naturally, I'd think that was how SCCC was going to look like. However, when Anthony walked us through, it was nothing like what I thought it was going to look like. The thing that I found the most beautiful was when we went up to the rooftop garden. The rooftop garden had an architectural traditional Chinese design based on the house of an emperor's palace. Placed against an absolutely stunning backdrop, it was a lovely space for performances. Except, Anthony shared that whenever they have an event set up, it would rain. Bummer.

The space has been utilised by a few performing arts groups, such as Frontier Danceland and more. Although the rooftop garden was not built to cater to the performing arts, but SCCC had fortified their equipment armoury to prepare for such groups. With specific requirements though, performing groups would have to prepare their own equipment.

We walked down to one of the floors of SCCC where we noticed there were many sculptures. Apparently, SCCC has collaborations with the Sculpture Society, which would explain these artworks. Next, we headed to my next favourite place, the auditorium.

With a capacity of 530 px, acoustic shelf, projector, lights, recent upgraded screens and speakers, it was a charming space. I would love to perform here if I could! The stage was very spacious and we caught a Chinese contemporary group making full use of the space during their rehearsal. The auditorium had cost a whopping 115 million dollars to build, with the main vision to promote Chinese culture and identity. As a response to certain events, SCCC was established in mind to maintain the influence of the local Chinese before it got diluted.

Moving on to the multipurpose hall, would you have imagined which community frequently occupied the space? Many 'whats' echoed across the group when Anthony shared that Malay weddings were frequently held in the hall. Yes, Malay weddings at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. With a capacity of 600 pax and an in-house kitchen, it is a hotspot for many Malay couples looking to host their banquets.

Before we went into Zhong Xian Studio where Anthony gave his presentation, the tour had revealed a very obvious trait that a venue manager must have - adaptability. And organisational skills? Managing venues means an extensive number of collaborations with multiple groups, and with each group, their requirements would be very different. For a venue manager to actually be efficient, he would need to be sensitive and have the ability to forecast the needs of each group.

Back in the Zhong xian studio where Anthony gave his presentation, he shared a little about the history of SCCC and their missions. I'd be honest and say that I was quite overwhelmed by the number of things Anthony shared and had to do. It felt like he was juggling a little bit of everything - with lots of PR involved. The main goal of what SCCC sought to do was to, through engaging and accessible content, to nurture a greater appreciation of their multi-cultural identity and a stronger sense of belonging.

Anthony specialises in venue management, and he has accumulated massive experience starting in the very exciting Cirque du Soleil, before moving to Esplanade, RWS, LASELLE etc etc. He then shared about the programmes department structure where they have 4 strategic objectives and 3 areas they look at- SCCC Organised programmes, SCCC co-organised programmes and venue partnership programmes. I've personally heard a lot of programmes being held at SCCC, or even co-collaborations, so I think it's cool that SCCC is trying their best to fulfil their vision to support and grow local arts and cultural youth groups through commissions, collaborations and sponsorship.

The most recent one I've heard about that is ongoing, is a street dance x SCCC competition. One of the competition requirements includes incorporating Chinese elements, which I thought was pretty cool.

Aside from all the facts and historical tidbits that Anthony shared with us. the biggest takeaway from his sharing on venue management was shedding light on how difficult venue management was. For example, there are many partners he would have to keep track of, to maintain relationships and the venue itself when it comes to renting it out. He has to deal with both external and internal partners, and while they have to keep profits in mind, they also have to make sure that their partners are satisfied. It feels like only someone with a clear mind would be able to deal with this job! To keep track of all the equipment, venue, stakeholders - I take my hats off to Anthony.