SINGAPORE: The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is re-evaluating its position over a Chinatown shophouse mural depicting a young samsui woman smoking due to recent public feedback, after earlier handing the landlord a deadline to erase the cigarette from the artwork.
In response to CNA’s queries on Saturday (Jun 22), URA said that all proposals for murals on conserved buildings must be submitted to both the building owner and URA for approval before works can begin.
However, the mural on the conserved shophouse at 297 South Bridge Road was completed without prior approval and URA said it had informed the building owner to submit the mural proposal for assessment.
“After consultation with local stakeholders and relevant agencies, the proposal was not supported as the depiction of smoking on the unauthorised mural is not aligned with Singapore’s anti-smoking policy,” said URA.
“In light of recent public feedback, URA is re-evaluating its stance on the mural.”
The initial order by URA to erase the cigarette came to light after the mural’s artist, Sean Dunston, highlighted the incident on Instagram two days ago, sparking plenty of debate and discussion online.