NAC asks young Singaporeans to tell the story

IFACCA/Artshub,
05 March 2002, Singapore

Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) is running an innovative animation competition in collaboration with Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), with the aim of encouraging young people to apply their creativity to what is often perceived as the ‘dull’ area of information technology. The ‘open application of animation’ competition accepts entries from primary, secondary and college/university students, with prizes on offer to individuals and schools, including cash, book vouchers, trophies and certificates. This year’s theme is ‘The story goes... Once upon a line’, offering competitors the opportunity to give their own unexpected twist to a favourite local or foreign story. ‘What if Romeo and Juliet had hand-phones and could send SMS to each other? What if the Siamese twins in Chang and Eng had undergone a successful operation? What if Humpty Dumpty was a boiled egg and had a great fall?’ suggests promotional material for students. But the longer-term aim of the exercise is more than just poking a little fun, explains NAC’s Assistant Director of Arts Education, Adeline Kwok. ‘The creation of animation requires the integration of IT with the creative arts, such as literature and visual arts,' she says, 'While IT is perceived as the cold, scientific infrastructure of information, animation provides the imaginative platform for seeing... Given that we are visual beings, [it] appeals to our senses immediately. Hence, we wanted to promote animation among our students... The competition is a... platform that ties nicely with one of our strategic goals, to nurture talent, develop and broaden our audience base.’ Kwok says that prior to the first competition in 2000, NAC partnered with NYP to offer animation workshops to students; now, many schools have in-house equipment and teaching capabilities in the area. ‘The development of animation is often the result of teamwork. The camaraderie and esprit de corps that is imbued in a project team will encourage experiential learning,' affirms Kwok, 'In addition... animation is an important avenue for creative expression and offers a correlation between the arts and sciences.' 'The late Canadian philosopher Northrop Frye said that science allows us to see and interpret the world as it is, while the arts allows us to imagine what the world could be. The arts and sciences need not be a dichotomy, they can have a closely intertwined relationship. In the new economy, breaking old paradigms of thought and relationships can give rise to great leaps in innovation and creativity. The development of animation is a classic case where the arts can complement the sciences.’ Further information is available online at: www.nac.gov.sg/fullnews.asp?psno=144