After More Than 3 Decades, Arts Centre The Substation Will be Closing Down; NAC “Deeply Regrets” Decision

Update on 3 March 2020, 4:56pm: In an earlier draft, it was erroneously mentioned that that NAC offered The Substation to be the sole tenant of the space. That is not true and we’ve since made the amendment. We apologise for the error.

Yes, you read that right.

One of the most iconic art centres in Singapore, The Substation, will be shutting its doors. It currently occupies the space at 45 Armenian Street, and will close down in July.

Maybe they are going through another renovation. Maybe they will come back.

Well, that’s both a yes and a no.

While the area is indeed going through another renovation, The Substation won’t be coming back after that.

“The closure of The Substation is to some extent inevitable,” said Raka Maitra, Artistic Co-Director of said arts centre.

“Why liddat?” Art lovers cry as their hearts break as one.

It all started with a discussion with the National Arts Council (NAC).

Discussions with NAC Fell Through

Like every other building in Singapore, The Substation had to go through renovations every now and then.

45 Armenian Street is a site that has been earmarked for renovation from July 2021.

Although NAC suggested that The Substation might return to 45 Armenian Street as a co-tenant after two years, The Substation put up a Facebook post that suggested otherwise:

The Substation has requested to return as the sole tenant to the premises at 45 Armenian Street, but NAC thinks that it was “neither feasible nor sustainable in the longer term” as “the space would be of greater benefit to the broader arts community, when made available to other arts groups.”

But Why Can’t The Substation Relocate?

45 Armenian Street is an iconic location for The Substation. It was there that The Substation made a name for itself in Singapore’s indie arts scene, and the address has defined the art centre and its rich history.

It even took its namesake from the place itself: 45 Armenian Street used to be the home of a power substation.

For 30 years, The Substation stood strong and prided itself on being Singapore’s first independent arts centre that gave its artists total freedom.

As you can see, 45 Armenian Street is more than just a mere address. It is the foundation, the root of The Substation. The essence of the arts centre is captured in that space alone; no other place could replicate that rich history.

This playground of the artistic community used to gather large crowds along 45 Armenian Street. It was a safe, free space for artists to wear their hearts on their sleeves and create wonders without fear of inhibition.

Plus, even if The Substation returns to the location as a co-tenant, they will be unable to control the building facilities. This lack of control would go against the core vision by its late founder Kuo Pao Kun: for the artists to be free.

Wait, you may ask confusedly, isn’t the Substation just another arts centre?

Ho ho! News flash: no, it is not.

For you to fully understand The Substation’s purpose, you have to dive deep into its history.

History of The Substation

The Substation was set up by the late Kuo Pao Kun, an iconic playwright that left a significant influence on the arts industry in Singapore.

Kuo bounced from country to country before he settled down in Singapore in 1965 with his wife, Goh Lay Kuan, a dancer-choreographer.

After decades of experiencing the dilemmas of an artist, Kuo decided to come up with a solution. He decided to open an arts centre to nurture local artists and give them space to express their creativity.

The arts centre was named The Substation, since as previously mentioned, the former space was occupied by a power substation.

Since he was converting a power substation into an arts centre, the mathematician in you would have probably taken out your calculator to crunch in the digits. After all, something like this sounds expensive, right?

And you are right! That’s why it was a huge blessing that in 1989, the Ministry of Community Development awarded the arts centre S$1.07 million for renovations.

The renovations completed in June 1990 and the arts centre was opened 3 months later.

Kuo was the centre’s artistic director from its founding to 1995 before he was succeeded by T. Sasitharan.

After handovers, Woon Tien Wei and Raka Maitra are the current artistic directors of The Substation.

How Can You Say Goodbye to The Substation?

The Substation plans to organise a soft launch of its archive later this year. There will also be a week of specially designed events as well.

More information will be revealed on their website soon.

And while it is incredibly sad to see such a wonderful place go, those who have been to The Substation will definitely keep fond memories of it.

Feature Image: Facebook (The Substation)