During the Ministry of Education (MOE) Committee of Supply debate in Parliament, Minister for Education Lawrence Wong announced that LASALLE and NAFA will work with MOE and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth to jointly establish Singapore's first arts university.

A new university of the arts will be formed by an alliance between the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and Lasalle College of the Arts, announced Minister of Education Mr Lawrence Wong in Parliament. He further elaborated that the new arts university will be private but supported by the Government, and that both LASALLE and NAFA will retain their distinct identities.

Recently, *SCAPE invited interior design students at LASALLE College of the Arts (“LASALLE”) to re-imagine their Music Village and Dance Village as welcoming, inclusive spaces that encourage greater participation from youths of all walks of life.

The competition ran between September to November 2020, and 62 BA(Hons) Interior Design Level 3 students took part, divided across 13 groups. *SCAPE awarded first, second and third prizes to the most outstanding designs, valued at S$3,000, S$2,000 and S$1,000 respectively.

Minister for Education Mr Lawrence Wong has announced that LASALLE College of the Arts will become part of Singapore’s first university of the arts, in alliance with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA).

For the first time, LASALLE College of the Arts has been ranked in the authoritative Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. As the only world ranking compiled for art and design institutions, QS listed LASALLE third in Singapore, top 50 in Asia, and top 151-200 Art & Design tertiary education institutions globally.

Contemporary art and design collective PHUNK – which was founded by LASALLE Diploma in Design Communication alumni Alvin Tan, Melvin Chee, Jackson Tan and William Chan – have published a new monograph Control Chaos: Redefining the Visual Cultures of Asia. This book traces the ways in which PHUNK has mixed urban street culture, art and design to create a unique body of work.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have caused anxiety among young art practitioners but some are navigating the uncertainty with grit and gumption. BA(Hons) Fine Arts alumna Fatima Bano had a brief battle with the virus but thanks to the support from the College and loved ones, she was able to overcome it. Following graduation, she has kept busy by running printmaking workshops and even showcased her pieces in a group exhibition during Singapore Art Week 2021.

MA Fine Arts alumna Donna Ong has launched a new work-in-progress exhibition at LASALLE’s Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore. Titled Blueprints for the Forest, it explores people’s depictions of this terrestrial ecosystem, especially the gap between real and imagined landscapes as seen in land-scarce Singapore. 

BA(Hons) Fine Arts alumna Soo Mei Fei made history by being the first Singaporean Chinese woman to perform a full-fledged bharatanatyam on stage. The piece for her solo debut had numerous challenging elements but her perseverance and practice paid off. In the audience was veteran dancer and choreographer V. Balakrishnan who commented: “I have no words to express the standard and quality of Mei Fei’s performance. She has a very bright future.”

BA(Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles alumna Rena Kok has launched a new capsule collection that is exclusively available on an e-commerce platform managed by the Textile and Fashion Federation Singapore. As the winner of the Harper’s Bazaar NewGen Fashion Awards 2019, she was mentored by editor-in-chief Kenneth Goh and creative director Windy Aulia throughout the creation process. A bespoke designer by training, this seven-piece collection marks Rena’s first foray into the ready-to-wear market and she is excited to see where this opportunity takes her.