Many of the recent arts prizes, residencies, grants and initiatives that support and promote artistic talent in Singapore often include an upper age limit (often 30 to 50 years old) in the eligibility criteria for applicants.

Some recent examples can be found in initiatives like the Impart Art Prize, Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize, Gasworks' Residency Open Call, the National Arts Council's (NAC) Young Artist Award and the President's Young Talents.

While I appreciate initiatives that support talent development in Singapore, I think that organisations should not single out only "young talents", as contemporary art is not just about young voices.

This current trend reflects an ageist view towards older artists and implies that only the young are "cutting-edge artists" who are worth supporting. Talent is not limited by one's age, and not all artists embark on their career at the tender age of 20.

Many artists' careers do not start in their youth; new talent can emerge at any point in life.

The age limit of the Turner Prize was lifted in 2017, in recognition of the fact "that artists can experience a breakthrough in their work at any age". For an artist who starts his career late, this means that he would be middle-aged or older during his development stage. This is the stage when artists most need the support of different agencies and organisations.

I believe that any art initiative and policy for a cohort of only the young will have a negative effect on the art ecosystem in Singapore.

Our country's foremost institutions like the President's Office and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth should take the lead to review all their initiatives and policies and make them more open and diverse.

For a start, perhaps the eligibility criteria and even the names of NAC's Young Artist Award and the President's Young Talents should be changed so that art practitioners in Singapore do not suffer from any forms of discrimination. Why "young" artists and talents, and not "new" artists and talent? The latter would be ageless and more inclusive.

If government agencies take clear and strong action, I believe the non-governmental organisations will follow suit too, and set Singapore on a path to let artists live and work without being discriminated against on the basis of their age.

In a recent opinion piece (Ending ageism - the prejudice against one's future self, Sept 30), Dr Kanwaljit Soin said: "Prejudice relies on the concept of 'othering' - seeing a group of people as other than ourselves - the other race, the other religion or the other gender. But the strange thing about ageism is that the other is us. So ageism is prejudice against our own future selves."

I look forward to a day when arts initiatives having an age limit are a thing of the past.

Chung Meng San