Helping children express their hopes and dreams through art

Mr Emmanuel Laine, Deputy Director of Alliance Française

Mr Ben Puah, the artist who conceptualised the Colours of Life initiative 

Participants of Colours of Life – Singapore our Homeland 2015 exhibition,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good evening to all. 

1. I am delighted to officiate the opening of the Colours of Life – Singapore our Homeland 2015 exhibition this evening. More than 50 paintings by children from the Singapore Children's Society and the French community in Singapore are featured in this exhibition, responding to the theme of “Singapore Our Homeland 2015”. 

2. Now, do not go away with the impression that all of these are child's play. In fact, Ben shared with me that it is much harder to draw on a small canvas than on a big one. If you remember, children usually draw on the drawing block and if they do not get it right the first time, they can always start again. You can imagine, what they have done on this small little canvas, is actually a very difficult task for the young ones. So, I took some time to look at every piece, and I was really impressed by the work of our young talents, from the variety of techniques used to the various subjects that they have painted. In fact, Ben correctly mentioned that 10 years ago when he started this, he did not see so much of the Marina Bay Sands or the Singapore Flyer in the paintings. Today, there is a lot more of these. As we always say, art is a reflection of the artist, in this case the young ones, their hopes and dreams and aspirations for Singapore. So, congratulations to our children. Today they are very well-represented by Amber and Cecilia. Well done, to our young artist friends here!

3. When Amber introduced herself to me, I said to her, “Yes, I remember your art piece.” This was because Amber drew Ya Kun, a cup of coffee, a simple piece but I'm sure we can all smell the aroma now. Yet, it was the narrative that added so much colour to the art piece. She mentioned that in her home, every day they will wake up and everyone will look forward to a cup of coffee. Then the narrative continued, that simple joy comes from having coffee with her family. She ended with three simple words “This is home.” It is truly heartfelt. Cecilia drew a beautiful piece of the Marina Bay Sands, and you can ask her about the techniques she used. Both pieces are very well done. 

4. The Colours of Life initiative, launched in 2005 at the Alliance Francaise, is a wonderful platform for artistic expression by our children. It presents a rare opportunity for them to share their artistic perspectives with children from other nationalities, through a common platform. Children from all walks of life are bonded by a common passion, to express their hopes and dreams through art. Thank you to Emmanuel for availing such a wonderful place to our children. To them, some of them as young as seven years old, this is really an art gallery. You are really giving hope to our young ones to believe in themselves. And we all know that art is beautiful in the sense that it transcends all boundaries and language. 

5. Providing them with a platform like this will help to nurture our community of young ones, inspire confidence, self-expression and self-discovery. In today's rapidly changing and complex world, these skill sets are very important for them to be instilled when they are young. The sharing of these individual expressions through this platform also provides the opportunity for us to forge closer ties and access to art. As Emmanuel mentioned, it is also for the people of Singapore and France to come together and forge better understanding and strengthened bilateral ties. 

6. In the Ministry, we find that it is extremely heartening to see the community and private sector coming together to support the arts in celebration of our young nation's 50th year of independence. At the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, we will continue to actively partner the private sector, the people sector; for example Singapore Children's Society, and the community to form greater access and appreciation of the arts. On behalf of the Ministry, we hope that for the new year ahead, many more people, young and old from different walks of life, will continue to pursue and sustain their passion for the arts, to journey towards a more fulfilling life and through that we hope to forge a more inclusive and gracious society. 

7. Finally, thank you to all the teachers and my heartiest congratulations to organisers Ben Puah and Alliance Francaise. And to all our young artist, congratulations on the successful exhibition of a beautiful and soulful artwork. On this note I wish you all a very enjoyable evening and officially declare the exhibition open. 

8. Thank you.