Giving to the arts has become more personal as growth in the number of individual patrons surpassed that of corporate donors last year.

At the Patron of the Arts Awards ceremony on Tuesday night, the National Arts Council honoured 353 corporate and individual donors for their contributions to the arts last year.

Of the award recipients, 88 were individuals, a more than 70 per cent increase from 51 individual recipients last year. The number of corporate award recipients rose by 17 per cent from 227 last year to 265 this year.

Such robust growth reflects the overall flourishing of arts giving last year, which drew $35.3 million in total contributions. The amount exceeds the $31.2 million in arts sponsorship in 2011.

Those honoured at the ceremony included first-time recipients such as W Singapore - Sentosa Cove and repeat donors such as German speciality chemicals company Lanxess and Singapore Press Holdings.