Juliana Lim is an influential arts manager and administrator who helped to bolster Singapore’s arts scene from the ’70s to the ’90s. Working in organisations such as the Ministry of Culture and Singapore Arts Centre, she led important initiatives such as the creation of arts grants, artist assistance schemes and the Arts Housing Scheme, which housed many arts groups affordably in the mid ’80s. She also led the creation of Singapore Heritage Week and the Heritage Trail, and the compilation and publication of Zubir Said’s musical scores just before his death. Currently the Community Connections Director in Singapore Pools, she set up the OperaViva club in 2009 to promote the appreciation of Baroque, New and Asian opera in Singapore.

Born in 1950 in Singapore, Juliana Lim grew up listening to Latin masses at her church choir conductor father’s knee and singing in church choirs, which exposed her to choral and classical music. She became further interested in the arts while studying literature at Marymount Convent and Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in the ’60s.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons in Sociology) from the University of Singapore in 1973, Lim’s first working experiences were with the Singapore Administrative Service in a series of ministry postings. She worked at the Ministry of Education in 1974, followed by the Ministry of Communications from 1974 to 1976, and the Ministry of National Development in 1977. In 1978, for her fourth posting, she was sent to People’s Association where she became Assistant Director of Programmes, beginning her 18-year career in arts management. During this time, she worked as Secretary of Singapore Cultural Foundation Management Committee (1981–1990), Assistant Director at the Ministry of Culture (1981–1984), Deputy Director (Cultural Services) of the Ministry of Community Development (1985–1990), Deputy Director (Corporate Services) of Ministry of Information and the Arts (1990–1993), and General Manager of the Singapore Arts Centre Co Ltd (now The Esplanade Co Ltd) (1993–1997).

During her time in the arts, Lim organised numerous cultural and arts events including the Chingay Parade; festivals of choral music, instrumental music, Chinese instrumental music; the UOB Painting of the Year competition; and the Singapore International Jazz Festival. She also became heavily involved in fundraising for the arts especially while she was with the Singapore Cultural Foundation and initiated numerous arts grants. During what she calls her “golden years” in the mid ’80s, struck with how short-lived events were and how much work it took the artists to create them, Lim turned her focus to assisting artists with various assistance schemes to help them further their art-making. One of these was the Semi-Residential Status in Theatre Scheme initiated in 1987 to give promising arts groups four assured performing seasons a year gratis in the theatres.

Concerned about arts housing, Lim also started and implemented in 1985 the Arts Housing Scheme to give arts groups space at affordable rents. Under this scheme, disused buildings were secured for use as performing arts centres. Many arts groups benefited from the scheme, resulting in new arts spaces such as the Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre, Stamford Arts Centre, Telok Kurau Arts Centre, Cairnhill Arts Centre, Hong Lim Community Centre and The Substation.

In the same vein, Lim also proposed the development of the Heritage Trail. This led to the use of historical buildings to house arts and heritage organisations. As a result, today, the Singapore Art Museum resides in the former site of St Joseph’s Institution, and the Perenakan Museum calls a newly restored Old Tao Nan School building its home. She also pioneered the Singapore Heritage Week and organised the first few Singapore Heritage Weeks with participation from the Ministry of Community Development Arts Division, National Library, National Museum of Singapore, National Archives and Oral History Department.

Lim was General Manager of the Singapore Arts Centre Co Ltd (precursor to The Esplanade Co Ltd) from 1993 to 1997. In total, her involvement with the arts centre spanned 11 years, from 1986 in the Ministry of Community Development when the first theatre consultant was appointed to develop the centre’s user brief, to 1997. Aside from the challenges faced in presenting the schematic design to the public, her best memories of the project are of the stimulating dialogue sessions between Singapore and Asian artists, architects, acousticians and theatre consultants, all inspired by the vision of creating a world-class performing arts centre.

In 1982, Lim published Singapore Artists, the first coffee table book on Singapore artists, who were chosen by a committee chaired by Liu Kang.

Although Lim resigned from public service in 1997 to join Singapore Pools as a Director of Public Affairs & Corporate Social Responsibility, the arts enthusiast continues to frequent arts events and volunteer in the arts. In 2009, she started the OperaViva Club to promote appreciation of Baroque, New and Asian opera in Singapore. She still serves on its board of directors today. She is President of the Richard Wagner Association (Singapore), and in 2016, co-produced Singapore's first full-length staging of a Wagner opera, The Flying Dutchman.

Singapore Arts Manager (1980s-90s)