Foundation for The Arts and Social Enterprise Founder Michael Tay On How The Smallest Act of Giving Can Transform The Arts Scene by SGN

Michael’s passion for the arts would carry on in the later half of his career – as Founder and Director of The Foundation for The Arts and Social Enterprise, he has helped to connect many local artists to opportunities across the world. Singapore Global Network (SGN) speaks with Michael about how his passion has led him to build he bedrock for a thriving arts scene in Singapore.

Michael’s love for the arts and music began at a young age. “I started listening to jazz in my teenage years. My brother gave me my first hi-fi and he was a jazz lover, so I got to listen to his jazz records. From jazz, I went on to classical music, opera and soon, other genres of music as well, including avant-garde compositions,” he says.

Michael believes that there is something fundamentally transformative about music – he thinks it has the power to transform and energise a person, making one want to embrace the world in a new way. This belief never wavered even as he pursued a career path divergent from the arts, having served in the  diplomatic services in Japan and Korea, before his appointment as the Ambassador of the Singapore Embassy in Russia.