Singapore W.O.W! A visual PAssionArts exhibition to celebrate SG50

Friends of PAssionArts

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. Thank you for having me here today, I am very happy to see so many of you, very enthusiastic and all eager to show what you have done.
   

Empowering residents, forging friendships

2. Launched in 2012, PAssionArts Festival aspired to take the arts to our heartlands to all Singaporeans. PAssionArts has since gained momentum, providing Singaporeans more opportunities to express themselves through the arts.

3. In particular, through visual arts, we see many Singaporeans creatively expressing their ideas and feelings, about the community they live in, about the society we have. Given this is our Jubilee Year, the artworks are expressions of how they feel for the nation.  With the theme “We Love Singapore”, residents from all walks of life came together and worked with professional artists to create a total of 165 large format visual art installations. More than a hundred of these works became the facades of HDB blocks, transforming neighbourhoods across the island into giant art galleries. On each façade, residents creatively expressed their wishes for Singapore, including values Singaporeans cherish, such as “harmony, unity, peace, love and security”.

4. These are not just large scale works that adorn the facades of our HDB blocks. These works represent the Singapore Story, as told by our residents. For instance, for 600 residents who worked on the façade art in Jurong Spring, they used bright colours to represent the different races coming together as one.

5. For Wee Ling, one of 50,000 co-creators for the PAssionArts Festival and a resident of Nanyang of Chua Chu Kang GRC, the art she made is something she can proudly share with her family and friends. In Wee Ling's words, “My family and I enjoyed the painting workshops at the CC. It was a good way to bond with other residents too. It was team effort. The best moment was to have the artwork displayed on the HDB block. We call it a proud moment of Nanyang. Whenever someone looks at the artwork, we will say to them my family and friends contributed to it as our way of celebrating National Day”.

6. Indeed, the arts bring people together, brought people together and will continue bringing people together. The arts renew existing friendships, and foster new ones. Let me share another example of the power of the arts.

7. Mrs Manju, a member of the Bedok Community Arts and Culture Club, has a deep passion for the traditional Indian art form of Rangoli. She was prompted to share the art of Rangoli with her neighbours by conducting workshops for the community. Some 300 residents in Bedok took part in the 25 workshops she conducted.

8. As a result of Mrs Manju's efforts, Bedok's residents developed a newfound appreciation for the art of Rangoli. The enterprising Mrs Manju even managed to involve 40 residents to work with her on the “Rangoli Thoranam Sky Art Installation”. After Singapore W.O.W.!, this elaborate 675-metre masterpiece will continue being displayed at other community events for residents. Some of Mrs Manju's students are also here today to show their support.

9. These stories illustrate how, in the arts, the process matters as much as the outcome. I would thus like to thank and appreciate all CACC volunteers. You have invested your time, energy and resources. None of this would have been possible without you. 

10. I would like to thank all our residents, volunteers and artists for working together to create these lovely and meaningful artworks for everyone. I have never failed to be impressed by these art pieces, not only are they large, which shows it took a lot of pairs of hands to bring it together, but they are very unique, and each community has their own way of telling the story of the place they live in and the Singapore that they love.
    

Partnering the community

11. Community partnerships play an important role in taking the arts and culture to everyone in our community. PAssionArts' Programmes can only succeed with the strong support from all members of our community – our schools, our artists, and our voluntary welfare organisations, just to name a few. 

12. The students from our schools help make the 140 or so PAssionArts Hotspots vibrant and exciting for all of us. This year, more than 2000 students from 150 of our schools have delighted residents with their performances. I am told that some of our budding artists are as young as 11 years old!

13. The artist community has fuelled the growth of PAssionArts. I am delighted that a total of about 100 artists, many of whom are here with us this afternoon, supported residents as they stepped into the shoes of an artist, allowing their creativity unfold into these large format visual art installations that we see today. Our artists imparted professional techniques to the residents, making the experience of our residents a much better one.

14. It is heartening that more voluntary welfare organisations want to be part of the Festival. This year, there were 800 participants, nearly twice as many from last year involved in various art programmes organised as part of the Festival. We truly hope to be able to reach out to more, and share how the arts can be for all Singaporeans.

15. It leaves me to commend the PAssionArts and the CACCs teams for taking art to everyone, everywhere, every day. We all know Home is where the heart is. And now, we know that Home is also where the art is.

16. Thank you.