LASALLE x AHL: Deepening Artist Engagement

AHL is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and enriching lives through the transformative power of the arts. It plays a vital role in providing workspaces for arts groups, collectives and individual artists within our arts housing spaces and project studios based at Aliwal Arts Centre, Goodman Arts Centre and Stamford Arts Centre. AHL aims to move beyond the traditional landlord-tenant relationship to foster vibrant creative communities and collaborative partnerships that enhance the artistic journeys of its diverse stakeholders who include established major companies, Cultural Medallion recipients, and emerging artists. 

The project aims to engage students in research activities to deepen AHL understanding of the needs, concerns, and aspirations of its tenant artists. Through focused groups with respective artists students will explore how AHL could refine its offerings and initiatives, focusing on community building and collaboration in order to enable the artistic growth of the artists and arts groups.

Arts House Limited (AHL) is pleased to collaborate with LASALLE College of the Arts' BA(Hons) Arts Management students on the "Deepening Artist Engagement" project, undertaken as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between AHL and the University of the Arts Singapore.

The student team demonstrated professionalism and care in conducting the research, focus group discussions, and final report. Through thoughtful and comprehensive reviews, the students have captured valuable insights into the needs, aspirations, and challenges faced by artist tenants and highlighted areas of opportunity through actionable recommendations. Their findings will contribute to AHL's ongoing efforts to enhance tenant engagement and community-building with our arts stakeholders.

Such collaborations are important in supporting student learning while benefiting the wider arts sector. Students bring fresh perspectives that help organizations like ours identify and address existing gaps. We thank the LASALLE team and our tenant participants for their contribution and hope the project experience was as rewarding for them as it was for us. AHL looks forward to future collaboration that supports learning and knowledge-sharing across the sector.

- Sharon Tan (Executive Director) and Ju Li Yeow (Senior Director, Strategy & Planning) - 

Iman Binte Mohamad Falmi - Team Leader, Data Analyst, Transcriber, Researcher, Writer, Project Coordinator

Duong Hoang Khanh Vy - Design Lead, Researcher, Writer

Sharafah Malihah - Data Analyst, FGD Facilitator, Researcher, Writer, Project Coordinator

Phone Myat San - FGD Facilitator, Researcher, Writer

Jenelle Yap Zhi Ting - Data Analyst, Transcriber, Researcher, Writer

Anthea Frances Saw - Transcriber, Researcher, Writer, Project Coordinator

By the end of the project students should produce a Strategy Report (around 10 pages) to provide AHL with research findings and recommendations to improve tenant satisfaction and community engagement at AHL arts centres. The report should provide insights on the 1) current tenants’ social barriers and challenges in utilizing AHL spaces, 2) visions and aspirations of the future community engagement approaches and collaborative programming, 3) needs and expectations of the artists tenants on social and communal offerings as well as  4) collaborative opportunities across centers with potential linkages to AHL events.