Raffles Institution 2025 Y6 GP Infopack Arts and Culture

RAFFLES INSTITUTION YEAR 6 GENERAL PAPER – ARTS & CULTURE INFORMATION PACKAGE 2025 EU(s) Pg Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions Past Year Examination Questions 2 4 Section A: Foundational Concepts 1 What is art? 1 and 2 8 2 Why we need arts in times of crisis 1 and 2 12 3 The many meanings of culture 6-9 18 Section B: Investing in the Arts 4 The role of the arts in making a nation a home 3, 5 22 5 For artistic millennials, making a living out of the arts is a craft in itself 2, 4-5 26 6 Singapore cultural statistics – Arts attendance & revenue 5 32 7 COVID-19 has shown Singapore digital arts and humanities are quite the essential service 5 34 8 Art education holds some lessons on the way we teach 5 and 9 37 9 The full measure of an arts education 1 and 5 40 Section C: Regulating the Arts 10 Should we censor art? 3 and 10 43 11 Art vs government in Singapore 3 47 12 Samsui Woman Kerfuffle shows negative attitudes towards the arts 3, 4, 8, 9 53 13 Artists rally around Alfian Sa'at after Ong Ye Kung cites his poem during Yale-NUS debate 3, 4, 10 56 14 Generative AI a minefield for copyright law 3, 4, 10 58 Section D: Different genres of the Arts 15 High and Low Art 1, 4, 8 61 16 Music helps us remember who we are and how we belong during difficult and traumatic times 2, 4, 10 63 17 How NFTs are fuelling the digital art boom 4 and 10 65 Section E: Threats to Culture and Arts 18 Give the Easter Islanders their statue back – it doesn’t belong in the British Museum 8-10 70 19 The dos and don’ts of cultural appropriation 8 and 9 72 20 Why are languages worth preserving? 8 and 9 76 21 How technology is used to preserve endangered languages 8 and 9 79 22 How data threatens shared mass culture 6-9 82 23 The destruction of peoples and identities in war 6-9 87 24 Why do protesters destroy art? 1,3, 9, 10 90

Arts & Culture EUs & EQs Page 2 of 92 Enduring Understanding(s): What will students understand as a result of this unit? Definition & characteristics of the arts EU1: Fundamentally, art is an expression of human creativity, and one of its greatest values lies in the intangible socio-psychological benefits it provides to the individual – both artist and audience. EU2: Our artistic tendencies are expressed through various branches of creative activity – termed “the arts” – including visual (e.g. painting, sculpture, architecture), performing (e.g. theatre, dance, music) and literary arts (e.g. poetry, prose, drama). EU3: There are often parameters placed upon the arts by entities (e.g. the state, religious authorities) due to perceptions that they pose a threat to es tablishment values and ideologies. Conversely, they may be used by these same entities to entrench established values and ideologies. EU4: The creation of art and the perception of “meaning” in art works can be influenced by globalisation, modernisation, and even advancements in technology and communications. This may result in tensions between tradit ional/“conservative” and more contemporary/“radical” perceptions of the roles and “value” of art. EU5: The sustenance and development of the arts require funding, with investment in them possibly reaping economic and other benefits. This funding, however, may be limited or inconsistent due to perceptions that the arts are a frivolity and an extravagance. Defining characteristics of culture and how culture is related to the arts EU6: Culture comprises both observable and unobservable elements like identity, customs, beliefs, ideas, and history of a particular people or society, which in turn shape how we perceive ourselves, society, and the world. 8 EU7: Culture is learned and shared, but can also alter over time in response to changes in the material and nonmaterial environment. EU8: Aspects of culture can be expressed through the arts (as well as other markers such as architecture, language, food) that a people or society regard as distinctive and important markers of the group/s they belong to. EU9: In embodying aspects of culture, the arts play a key role in shaping culture and identity, be it in recollecting the past, showcasing the current societal mood and psyche, expressing future hopes or building connections. EU10: Cultural conditioning, biases and circumstances can therefore make what is considered art highly subjective. Nevertheless, arts practitioners sometimes seek to provoke thought by pushing socio-cultural boundaries and may, in the process, gain prominence and/or suffer the consequences of this. Essential Questions (EQs) 1. What is art? What purposes does it serve? 2. Are some forms of art superior to others? 3. What is the value of arts and culture to the ordina ry person or society at large, especially in the light of societal or global changes? 4. How and why is culture affected by changes? Does it become diluted or does it adapt in its various forms?

Arts & Culture EUs & EQs Page 3 of 92 5. Is there value in preserving culture in its various forms? 6. What threats are there to cultural preservation? 7. How and why do entities with power and influence seek to curtail – or use – the arts? 8. How, if at all, should governments support the arts and culture? Why so?

Arts & Culture Past-year Questions Page 4 of 92 2025 RI Y6 “ARTS & CULTURE” INFOPACK PAST-YEAR EXAMINATION QUESTIONS (1a) ARTS – Cambridge 1. Consider the argument that there should be no censorship of the arts in modern society. (Cambridge 2023) 2. ‘Dramas on television or film are never as effective as a live performance.’ Discuss. (Cambridge 2022) 3. Examine the claim that music without words lacks both meaning and appeal. (Cambridge 2022) 4. ‘Films are concerned with escaping from the prob lems of everyday life, rather than addressing them.’ Discuss (Cambridge 2021) 5. ‘The arts are nothing more than a luxury.’ How far is this true of your society? (Cambridge 2021) 6. ‘An appreciation of music is vital for a fully rounded education.’ How true is this of your society? (Cambridge 2020) 7. Does violence in the visual media portray reality or encourage the unacceptable? (Cambridge 2019) 8. Can fiction teach us anything meaningful about the real world? (Cambridge 2019) 9. ‘Works of art which have been removed from their country of origin should be returned.’ Discuss. (Cambridge 2018) 10. In your society, to what extent is it acceptable for public money to be used for the acquisition of works of art? (Cambridge 2017) 11. Examine the role of music in establishing a national identity in your society. (Cambridge 2017) 12. ‘Any adaptation of a novel for a film, television or the theatre is never as effective as the original.’ Discuss. (Cambridge 2016) 13. To what extent should the arts in your society focus on local rather than foreign talent? (Cambridge 2015) 14. ‘For the majority of people, the Arts are irrelevant to their daily lives.’ How true is this of your society? (Cambridge 2014) 15. Do films offer anything more than an escape from reality? (Cambridge 2014) 16. ‘Unlike the Arts, such as writing or music, Mathematics lacks the capacity for creativity.’ How far do you agree with this statement? (Cambridge 2013) 17. ‘People in the Arts, living or dead, receive far more recognition than those in the Sciences, even though it is less deserved.’ Consider this claim. (Cambridge 2012) 18. ‘Only modern architecture and modern art have a place in today’s world.’ How true is this of your society? (Cambridge 2011) 19. ‘The book has no place in modern society.’ Discuss. (Cambridge 2010) 20. Would it matter if all the perfor m i n g a r t s v e n u e s i n y o u r s o c iety, such as concert halls and theatres, were closed down? (Cambridge 2010) (1b) ARTS – RI 1. ‘The arts should not rely on government support.’ Comment. (RI 2024 Y6 Pre