Sands’ Regions Invest in Perpetuating a Thriving Local Arts and Cultural Scene in Their Communities

Published by Las Vegas Sands on February 22, 2024

Marina Bay Sands donated nearly $375,000 in January to the National Arts Council’s Sustain the Arts (stART) Fund to establish the Sands Innovative Arts Fund, which will support Singapore’s emerging artists and innovation in artistic endeavors. The contribution marked one of the largest donations Marina Bay Sands has made in support of the arts since its opening in 2010.

Establishment of the Sands Innovative Arts Fund kicked off the resort’s three-year partnership with the National Arts Council, cementing its commitment to becoming a platform for the arts and providing guests and community members with vibrant cultural experiences.

“The arts have the power to inspire, challenge and transform communities,” said Paul Town, chief operating officer, Marina Bay Sands. “Through the Sands Innovative Arts Fund, we are proud to play a role in shaping the future of the arts scene in Singapore. This donation reflects our commitment to fostering creativity and innovation in the arts space for future generations.”

This new initiative underscores Marina Bay Sands’ and Sands China’s commitment to promoting a thriving local arts and cultural scene and protecting assets that make their communities great places to live, work and visit – and premier tourism destinations.

Over the past year, Sands’ regions have increased support to promote and expand their communities’ artistic and cultural offerings by establishing new programs and investing in local initiatives.

Marina Bay Sands: A Key Force in Singapore’s Arts Community

Marina Bay Sands’ establishment of the Sands Innovative Arts Fund is an expansion of the resort’s wide-ranging dedication to nurturing a thriving local arts scene, encouraging emerging talent and making art easily accessible to the community. The fund aims to support emerging artists in their creative outreach to the community, as they explore new technologies and innovative ways of making art and engaging audiences. In addition, it will give small arts groups a path to long-term sustainability.

Since Marina Bay Sands’ opening, supporting the local arts has been an integral part of the resort through its ArtScience Museum, which has become a coveted platform for local and international artists.

Beyond its diverse array of installations and cutting-edge exhibitions, the museum introduced two new programs in 2023 to advance the work of Singaporean artists. ArtScience Encounters enables local artists to transform hidden and overlooked spaces with compelling art attractions. The ArtScience Residency program provides a platform for creators to grow and kicked off with a two-year residency by Singapore’s Cesar Jung-Harada, who is exploring renewable energy sources and sustainable sea transport to address the climate crisis.

Marina Bay Sands also offers the Art Path program, which features 11 large-scale art installations created by eight internationally renowned artists. The site-specific art exhibits extend from the 23-story atrium in the hotel towers to the exterior of the buildings, creating an inspiring and breathtaking path through the resort.

Sands and Marina Bay Sands have combined to invest in the advancement of local artists and their work through a partnership with Art Outreach Singapore and its membership in the Sands Cares Accelerator. This signature global Sands Cares program empowers nonprofits to build their capacity in a strategic area or develop a new initiative to make greater impact in the community.

Art Outreach completed its three-year Sands Cares Accelerator membership at the end of 2023 and focused its time in the program on growing its HEARTH initiative, which provides local artists with exhibition space where they can share and develop work along with professional development opportunities. With program funding from Sands and hands-on mentoring, guidance and support from the Marina Bay Sands team, Art Outreach has been able to establish and steadily shepherd this program as a key platform for local artists.

Beyond visual arts, Marina Bay Sands also supports a thriving local performing arts scene. In 2023, the resort revived its Sands Live entertainment showcase, which was introduced in 2014 but had been on hiatus due to the pandemic. Sands Live features the biggest stars from Asia and beyond, and 2023 performances included Asian pop megastar Joey Yung, popular Hong Kong artists Hacken Lee and Andy Hui, and Taiwanese pop singer Zhao Chuan, along with the China Hip-Hop Power Live show at the resort’s Marquee Singapore night club.

Sands China Celebrates Region’s Artists and Performing Arts

Like Marina Bay Sands, Sands China also has permanent and dedicated space for highlighting the arts within its resorts to contribute to a thriving local arts scene. The Sands Gallery at its Grand Suites at Four Seasons provides the region with a leading showcase for the area’s rich arts community and hosts numerous exhibitions and events to present Chinese culture and other attractions.

Launched in early 2022, the Sands Gallery represents the company’s ongoing contributions to the diversification of art and culture in Macao and providing a platform for collaboration among local and international art talent. Most recently, the Sands Gallery hosted the CONTEMPO X Gallery UG exhibition, which was Sands Gallery’s first showcase of Japanese artists. The exhibition highlighted the essence of contemporary Japanese art and culture with diverse artworks that provided an enriching and rewarding art experience.

Sands China also introduced the Sands Performing Arts Program in 2023 to support and strengthen Macao’s cultural and artistic growth. In its inaugural year, the program featured 10 national and international performances in music, dance and Cantonese opera that attracted more than 11,000 attendees.

“We are pleased to leverage our diverse resources through the Sands Performing Arts Program, continually bringing world-class performance art projects from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Europe, as well as promoting artistic exchange between Macao and other regions,” said Dr. Wilfred Wong, executive vice chairman of Sands China. “Our goal is to create a vibrant atmosphere for art appreciation while expanding our audience base, thus laying a solid foundation for the development of Macao’s local creative and cultural industries.”

Highlights included Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting; The Peony Pavilion, a play performed during the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award competition; the legendary Cantonese opera, Floral Princess; and Vienna-based quartet, Janoska Ensemble’s unique interpretations of classical pieces. In addition, Sands China continued its New Art Studies in Filming – Micro Movie Support Program in 2023 by hosting five movie premiers over the year and launched the second New Art Studies in Filming Macau – Micro Movie Support Program in January 2024.

Beyond on-site programs, Sands China also collaborated with the community on local arts celebrations, co-presenting exhibitions as part of Art Macao 2023 and hosting a seminar in partnership with Macau Youth Art Association, which aimed to inspire more than 100 local artists and students. The company has also supported and sponsored Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau events such as the Macau Art Festival, International Music Festival and the Macau Orchestra. Sands China also recently launched Sands China’s Community Revitalization Series – Spring Festival in Full Bloom, part of the company’s support for the Macao government’s plan to revitalize local historic cultural areas.

Sands’ and its regions’ dedication to perpetuating and celebrating local arts and cultural heritage is one of the company’s core focus areas under the Community pillar its global corporate responsibility program and the Sands Cares community engagement program. To learn more about the company’s initiatives in this area, read the latest environmental, social and governance report: https://www.sands.com/2022-environmental-social-and-governance-report/