Singapore's oldest arts school is celebrating its 70th anniversary with a class reunion on canvas. The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) is organising an exhibition featuring 83 works by alumni such as Thomas Yeo, Han Sai Por, Chng Seok Tin and Yeo Chee Kiong.
The works will also be on sale, with prices starting at $1,000. Nafa hopes to raise about $400,000 for needy students at the school. Nanyang 70 Years After opens on Saturday at the Nafa Galleries in Bencoolen Street.
And as it celebrates a milestone birthday, the school is proud of being old school.
Its president, Mr Choo Thiam Siew, 57, says: 'The school has an image of being traditional but that is our heritage and it's a plus point. We are definitely not stagnating but are using the wealth of knowledge we have to move on.'
The alumni list, which includes theatre director Goh Boon Teck, composer Zechariah Goh Toh Chai and artists such as the late Anthony Poon and Tan Kian Por, reads like a who's who of the arts scene.
The school has also nurtured no fewer than 11 Cultural Medallion and 11 Young Artist Award recipients.
Former student and artist Hong Sek Chern, 41, whose latest series of Chinese ink paintings depicts HDB flats and MRT tracks like a labyrinth, says her education at Nafa from 1992 to 1996 has been invaluable.
She received the Young Artist Award in 2000 and won the UOB Painting Of The Year competition last year. 'There is so much to excavate and to re-examine in our history. At the moment, Nafa is still one of the few schools in Singapore where you can learn the techniques of Chinese ink painting.'
The school's artistic lineage, dubbed the 'Nanyang style', encourages the depiction of local subject matter using a blend of Western and Chinese techniques. Many of its students, including pioneer artists, have made a career with that painting style.
Take, for instance, Cultural Medallion recipient Lee Hock Mock, 62, who uses Chinese ink painting techniques to paint Singapore's national flower, the orchid. Lee, who graduated in 1970, says: 'At that time, we were schooled mainly in Western techniques. But we were encouraged to depict things close to home.'
Nafa is not just celebrating its past but also looking forward to the future. Mr Choo says the school, which currently offers diplomas as well as degrees in collaboration with local and foreign universities, is working towards becoming a degree- awarding institution. It also wants to be recognised as the leading arts institution in South-east Asia.
But in a rapidly evolving and competitive arts education industry, it can be tough to survive, he adds. He says: 'But we are confident we will stand out because of our heritage and track record.' taratan@sph.com.sg
'The school has an image of being traditional but that is our heritage and it's a plus point. We are definitely not stagnating but are using the wealth of knowledge we have to move on'
Nafa president Choo Thiam Siew
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