Encounters with people suffering from mental distress led Aletheia Tan to return back to school to pursue a postgraduate degree in art therapy. With her qualification as an art therapist, she aims to raise better awareness about the different creative channels individuals can seek out so that they need not suffer in silence.

Digital art has a long and established history. With the proliferation of social media and improvements in technology, coupled with increased digitisation brought on by the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is currently gaining widespread popularity.

Learning is a lifelong journey and for Vicknes Vinayak Veerappan, who went back to school at the age of 43, it was well worth it. “This was a rare window of opportunity to upgrade myself and reset my career,” he shared. The professional musician, who has toured with singer-songwriters J.J. Lin and David Tao, was inspired to be an educator after a positive encounter with a child he mentored briefly as a freelance instructor.

In this commentary piece published in the Straits Times, Vice-President (Academic) and Provost of LASALLE Venka Purushothaman opines that the future of education is not about technical skills alone as, from paint to pixels, technology is ever-changing.

“An arts education is more than teaching someone technical skills of how to draw, dance, act or design. It is about bringing out the creative potential in humans, from discovering new pathways to drawing new conclusions and knowing how to integrate contemporary tools and materials with traditional practices.”

Fashion, like any form of art, has the power to influence society in many ways. It can instil or challenge opinions, express any concept or experience, and is bound only by the imagination of its creator. It can also be a vehicle for social change and it is in this spirit that designer Amilani Perera embarked on her latest bold and empowering collection titled Unbreakable, which is in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund in Sri Lanka (UNFPA) – the United Nation’s sexual and reproductive health agency that is working on sexual and gender-based violence.

It took several stints in prison for Rahman Sanip to discover his artistic talent and thanks to the support of Dr S Chandrasekaran, LASALLE’s Head of the McNally School of Fine Arts, as well as the Yellow Ribbon Project, he is now pursuing a Diploma in Fine Arts education. The former drug addict is grateful for the second chance in life and is looking forward to a career as an art teacher or display artist.

Image and Sound In Spite Of is an online platform curated by LASALLE’s Senior Fellow Milenko Prvacki as a way to keep artistic conversations going even during a pandemic. 47 artists, including staff and alumni of LASALLE, as well as past participants of the College’s annual art camp Tropical Lab, took part in this project, showcasing their work-from-home creations and efforts to remain creative.

The coronavirus has not deterred 47 artists from adapting their practice to include new mediums and creative explorations. Image and Sound In Spite Of is an online exhibition curated by Senior Fellow Milenko Prvacki to share LASALLE’s creative response in a time of isolation and solitude.

For the first time since its inception, local department store BHG hired an in-house fashion designer to draw in a younger, quality-conscious and price-sensitive crowd. BA(Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles alumna Esther Choy stood out from a pool of 12 candidates and was eventually selected for her openness to commercial inputs and vibrant energy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many galleries closing. In light of this and to continue supporting artists during this time of crisis, the National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum will be spearheading Proposals for Novel Ways of Being, a series of programmes that brings together 170 artists under 12 institutions.