SIFAS was established in 1949 with 12 founding members including S. N. Durai,
​K. P. A. Menon, V. Govalam, K. C. Natarajan and Dr. E. A. Shankar.  

Its aim was to provide a cultural grounding to complement the colonial education system and to help the new generation Indians born in Singapore a means to stay in touch with their cultural roots. In its early years, it focused on staging plays by Indian playwrights. The first Bharatanatyam classes were started in 1951 and our first tutors came from Malaya and worked part-time. The Academy started with six students. Its first public performance was Sacrifice, an English-language play by Rabindranath Tagore, followed by a series of Tamil-language dramas.

SIFAS was nurtured by many performing stars like Dr. M Chotta Singh, Mrs. Sharada Shankar, Mrs. Rathi Karthigesu, Pandit Ramalingam and M. V. Gurusamy.

SIFAS recruited Shankari Krishnan, a graduate of Kalakshetra, who developed the curriculum for music and dance, along with examination criteria and guidelines in line with accrediting bodies in India. During that period, Rathi Karthigesu, an accomplished Bharatanatyam performer, served as a Vice President with her husband Justice M. Karthigesu serving as President. Rathi's brother, Padma Selvadurai, then took on the role of President of SIFAS for more than a decade. Under his leadership, a key objective of SIFAS was to promote Singapore through its productions and to showcase Singapore as a regional centre for performance and display of Indian fine arts. 

Premises

The first known address for the Society is 132 Rangoon Road, the residence of S. N. Durai.

In 1964, the Society acquired a flat at St. Michael’s Road, but its tenure was limited. In 1973, it had a new home at Branksome Road, which was donated rent-free for two years by R. Balasubramanium. Classes continued in private premises until its move to Balestier Road in 1982 where it took over the Rumah Miskin Police Station building.

​Making a full circle, the Society moved back to the Rangoon Road area, at 2A Starlight Road (in the former Rangoon Primary School building). The building was allocated by the National Arts Council (NAC) to SIFAS in recognition of its contribution to Indian Fine Arts. The Society has been housed there since 1993. 

 Timeline

1949

SIFAS is founded with 12 members.

1952

First classes begin in a private home

​1959

​SIFAS Academy is inaugurated by then Minister of Culture S. Rajaratnam.

1964

SIFAS moves to another home in a private property in Branksome Road.

1973

SIFAS moves to premises at St Michael's Road, its first proper home.

1982

The Society moves to premises at Balestier Road.

1986

“Kala Ratna”, an annual award scheme was instituted to recognise distinguished individuals who have made significant achievements and contributions to Indian Arts in Singapore. The First Kala Ratna Award is conferred on late Dr. M Chotta Singh.

17 July 1993

SIFAS’s new building at 2A Starlight Road is opened by then Minister for Information and the Arts, Brigadier-General George Yeo.

1999

SIFAS celebrates its 50th Anniversary.

2003

The SIFAS Festival of Indian Classical Music and Dance is launched in Khoo Auditorium.

22 July 2014

The first Satellite centre is launched by SIFAS as a joint venture at Tampines Changkat Community Centre.

A Note from K. P. A. Menon, Co-founder of SIFAS
​
Harmony through the Arts
The Indian Fine Arts Society of Singapore, born in 1949, is a strapping youth of twenty-five this year.  By its activities during this quarter of a century, the Society has become an institution in Singapore. But to justify its existence in Singapore, the Society must work for the solidarity of the people of Singapore.

I remember with pride that the Society started with a membership including Chinese, Malays, Europeans and Indonesians. The bye-law allowing anyone interested in Indian Fine Arts to enrol himself as a member of the Society is the key-stone of the edifice. While politics divide people, arts bring them closer together. The IFAS must aim at bringing in artistes of other communities to participate in its programmes, while its own members must be encouraged to participate in the programmes of other communities. This will pave the way for each community getting interested in the fine arts of other communities. Can a more feasible step be thought of for the promotion of communal harmony in this young Republic!
​
As one who had a share in the creation and bringing up of the Indian Fine Arts Society of Singapore, and as one who loves the Society, I exhort each and every member of the Society to work strenuously, through the medium of Fine Arts, in the building of a well-knit, single, cosmopolitan nation of the multi-racial population of Singapore. 

Published by SIFAS, celebrating SIFAS' 25th year anniversary, 1974