National Arts Council Major Company Scheme (Singapore)

Deadline: 15-Jul-25

The National Arts Council (NAC)’s Major Company Scheme supports the professional and artistic development of registered arts organisations that represent excellence in their core mission.

Major Companies play an important role in the collective efforts of the Arts sector, community and Government to grow a vibrant arts and culture ecosystem in Singapore; one that enhances their creative economy, deepens their shared identity, and makes Singapore a distinctive city through artistic and programme excellence.

In line with the Council’s mission to champion an arts sector that inspires society, sparks creativity and connects Singapore to the world, the Major Company Scheme aims to develop a sustainable pool of professional arts organisations that are hallmarks of excellence. These arts organisations are expected to:

• Increase access and deepen impact of the arts to different segments of Singaporeans through quality arts content and experiences;
• Contribute to Singapore’s cultural diversity, identity, values, heritage and aspirations;
• Contribute substantially to the development of Singapore’s cultural landscape, artistic practices, professional expertise and young talent, through collaborative and capability development avenues where possible;
• Achieve sound management of resources and financial sustainability;
• Ensure strong governance in line with the Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs issued by the Charity Council.

Priority Areas

• In line with the outcomes of their refreshed Arts Plan, funding will also be prioritised for companies who can demonstrate additional efforts in these areas:
  • Community Building
    • Increase access of the arts to different segments of Singaporeans
    • Demonstrate positive social impact of the arts (e.g. in bridging diversity, or improving well-being etc) across different segments and demographics
    • Developing deeper engagement through quality arts experiences developed in collaboration with the community
  • Capability Development
    • Focusing on investment in the professional development of relevant capabilities for artists and arts companies, i.e. structured training with clear learning and outcome(s) for the industry
    • Addressing critical gaps in skills and knowledge across arts sector, such as in-demand job/skill, developing internationalisation capabilities, and/or arts leadership
  • Collaboration
    • Creating innovative collaborations (e.g., multi/intercultural or multi-disciplinary or cross-sector works) that reflect a meaningful integration of different cultures, artforms and/or sectors etc.
    • Exploring collaborations that bring about sustained sectoral benefits, transformation and/or growth. For example:
      • Increasing international exposure and/or opportunities for market development to enhance Singapore’s global arts presence and demand for local arts
      • Improving operational efficiency and sectoral capability enhancement through shared services (e.g. adoption of common metaverse or digital products)

Eligibility Criteria

• Applications for the Major Company Scheme are open to arts organisation that:
  • are Singapore-registered Public Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) or registered with the Registryof Societies at the point of application;
  • are registered Charities or Institutions of Public Character (IPC) at the point of application;
  • have received grants from NAC within the past 2 consecutive years;
  • have organised at least one public/industry-facing arts event or programme (e.g. performance, exhibition, festival, conference, workshops, including publishing an NAC-supported title) in the last 12 months
  • have an organisational structure to support on-going activities, with at least one salaried and/or fixed-term contract personnel.

Ineligibility Criteria

• For-profit organisations registered as a sole proprietorship/limited liability partnership (LLP)/private or public limited company.
• Organisations that have not satisfactorily completed and/or submitted outstanding Evaluation
• Reports and Statement of Accounts (where required) for previous NAC grants.
• Organisations that have outstanding debts with NAC.
• Organisations that are receiving ongoing organisational grants from the Government.
• Organisations that are constituted for non-secular purposes.

For more information, visit NAC.