Asianness, education, pragmatism : the history of creativity in Singapore

This research paper first started out with an interest in the scene of art education in mainstream schools of Singapore, as a subject that has been rather marginalized since the independence of Singapore. This, in turn, led on to the interest in ‘creativity’ as a concept that had been even more marginalized and misunderstood due to the lack of significance that had been placed upon it. This was to change after 1985, as policy makers identified creativity to be a key skill to be developed for the 21st century economy. This culminated to the publishing of the Renaissance City Plan in 2000, with a “renaissance” city vision where the “spirit of creativity” should be cultivated. This research will show how creativity had changed in value and importance since the independence of Singapore to 2000. The paper will also seek to reveal how creativity had grown to become a problematic concept in both the culture and education sphere, complexed by pragmatism, Asianness, and various agencies.Bachelor of Arts in Histor