Sonny Liew

The arts scene in Singapore is buzzing, what with Sonny Liew’s haul at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for his graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye. Many are excited about what this could mean for the local illustration community that has been blooming steadily since the Organisation of Illustrators Council (OIC) was formed in 2006. Through their concerted efforts, Singapore’s skilled illustrators are receiving more attention than ever.

For instance in 2016, LASALLE had the pleasure of partnering OIC to present the inaugural Illustration Arts Festival (IAF) – a two-day platform for illustrators to share and discuss their practice with fellow like-minded individuals. The event was such a success that it was bookmarked for another outing this year.

Just ask Zenith Chan and Jennifer Chua, current BA(Hons) Animation Art students who had a booth at the Artists Market of IAF 2016. According to them, the turnout then was huge, so much so that this has fanned their anticipation for this year’s edition of the IAF. Together with classmates Caroline Loh and Sarah Cheok, the team of students formed Woodlanders, and will be presenting their work again this year. They shared that IAF was a good opportunity to gain more exposure for their original work.

“At games or anime conventions, people go there looking for merchandise of their favorite characters or series. But at IAF, it’s all original art. Of course, with fan art there already is a catered market so you can say it’s less of a risky venture as compared to putting out your original work. But then again, as artists, we’d always want to show more of our own creations because it’s something we’re proud of,” said Zenith and Jennifer.