In a landmark gift, The Ngee Ann Kongsi donated $50 million to LASALLE College of the Arts to expand its campus and centralise facilities. This is to better serve its 2,700 student population and the public's ever-growing appreciation for the arts. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Heng Swee Keat, attended the cheque presentation ceremony on 14 November and applauded both historic institutions for “coming together to make a very meaningful contribution to Singapore’s future and her future generations.”

Representatives from The Ngee Ann Kongsi and LASALLE College of the Arts with Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, at the cheque presentation ceremony for a landmark gift for the future of the arts.

LASALLE will develop a new building adjacent to its existing campus

The Ngee Ann Kongsi today announced that they will donate S$50 million to LASALLE College of the Arts – their largest-ever, single donation to date – to develop a new building for the College.

In a time when Singapore’s literature is thriving, Programme Leader of LASALLE’s MA Creative Writing programme Dr Darryl Whetter asks an apt question in this opinion editorial: “When a country claims its writers, how much of that citizenship is real or fiction?”

Although contemporary art lags behind business and commerce in terms of popularity for international students, LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore has found a niche and is growing. The institution’s president, Professor Steve Dixon, explains to The PIE why fine arts is bourgeoning in international education.

Diploma in Fine Arts alumnus Benedict Yu is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores Eastern philosophy, psychology and human behaviour. His most recent series titled Are You Coming Home? deals with ‘transnationals’, ‘third-culture kids’ and ‘hidden immigrants’ – terms used to describe individuals who lack a distinct sense of cultural belonging as they have lived abroad for extensive periods of time.

In 2015, LASALLE College of the Arts became the first home-grown Singaporean institution to receive the EduTrust Star—the highest accolade of quality awarded to a private education institution in Singapore. Today, LASALLE was awarded the EduTrust Star for the second time running, affirming its high standards and commitment to excellence.

The scope of her vision may be small but her dream to be recognised professionally on stage is huge. Despite being diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition that will eventually lead to total blindness, Diploma in Performance graduate Claire Teo remains steadfast in her pursuit of an acting career.

Understanding that rejection is part and parcel of the industry, and that people may hold prejudices against her disability, she is nonetheless positive about her future. She looks forward to helping marginalised individuals find voice and acceptance within society.

In an exclusive interview with Lianhe Wanbao, Ms Jane Ittogi, a member of LASALLE's Board of Directors, shared on her passion for community arts and how the power of the arts can enable people to accept differences, listen with humility, acquire life skills and build self-worth.

Ms Ittogi also talked about working with abstract ink painter Henri Chen Kezhan to establish a partnership with LASALLE to conduct professional art courses in the Singapore Prison Service.

BA(Hons) Fine Arts alumna, Jacey Lim Jia Qi, is the youngest artist till date to have won the Affordable Art Fair’s Young Talent Programme. Her first solo exhibition, titled Concrete Encounters, is on showcase at ION Art Gallery and features 13 new prints inspired by Singapore’s housing landscape.

Initially apprehensive about the medium, Jacey has since embraced printmaking as part of her practice and is even indenting her own unique mark on it by going against convention.

Self-doubt often hinders one’s growth but for graduates Danial Ariffin and Shafiq Haziq, they have managed to overcome their insecurities via the arts. They graduated with BA(Hons) Music and BA(Hons) Musical Theatre degrees respectively at LASALLE’s 33rd Convocation, and shared more about how the arts transformed their lives. Danial is presently kept busy with arranging music for various events, while Shafiq is set to star in an upcoming musical.