THE man who brought Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush and Kiwi soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to Singapore thinks that the arts scene here needs a reboot, if it is to make it to the next level and become a regional centre of the same status as Beijing or Tokyo.

Mr Barrett Wissman, 46, the businessman who created the Singapore Sun Festival, now on at various venues, says: 'It's frustrating. To make Singapore an arts hub, it's not going to happen with 50 different, little festivals.'

'I see many small festivals here, all getting a certain amount of funding. Instead of doing that, why not focus on something of real importance?'

He is the chairman of International Management Group (IMG) Artists and founder of the Sun Festivals in California, Italy and Singapore.

An unbureaucratic, bold and focused approach is needed, he says.

There is a tendency for administrators to be bogged down by the details and hence take a safe, general approach to arts support, he says.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times' Life!