SINGAPORE, NOVEMBER 8, 2019 – 20 year-old Hadi currently interns for a not-for-profit arts organisation during his school holidays. In his spare time, he hangs around with a circle of friends who shares his interests in the arts, to produce and stage productions for children and youths. He achieved a grade of 3.0 in school and plans to pursue a career as a stage manager upon his completion of Higher Nitec in Performing Production at ITE Central.
This profile of Hadi encapsulates the results of an independent study conducted by Kantar Singapore which was commissioned by The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) to evaluate the impact of its children and youth arts training programmes. BT BAF was launched in 2004, and provides children and youths from underprivileged backgrounds with equal opportunities to access the arts. The Fund set up The Little Arts Academy (LAA) and 10 Square Youth in 2008 and 2014 respectively with dedicated arts centres to train its beneficiaries.
Says Ms Aminah Hussien, Head, Arts & Community Development of The RICE Company Limited (TRCL), a charity with IPC status that manages BT BAF, LAA and 10 Square Youth, “We strongly believe that an inclusivity of the arts is important for our young generation to grow and flourish. Fifteen years on, this study by Kantar is a strong testament of our belief that an avid engagement with the arts coupled with a positive and supportive learning environment cultivates creative skills and more notably, benefits a child in terms of building his or her socio- emotional developments and aspirations.”
Kantar Key Findings
A qualitative and quantitative study was conducted by Kantar in early March 2019. 27 students, alumni and parents were selected to participate in creative focus group discussions, while 100 students, 99 parents, and 34 alumni participated in the quantitative surveys.
Key findings are broadly in two areas:
• Equal Opportunity To The Arts and Discovery of Passion
The Kantar study gave insight into the importance of young people training and performing at similar facilities and platforms as their peers. Indeed, BT BAF alumni and parents of current beneficiaries affirmed that BT BAF provided the children and youths with access to the arts, which was appreciated in the focus groups that this is something which they otherwise could not afford. More than two-thirds of respondents said that the structure of the programme enabled the beneficiaries to be exposed to various art forms, and one in five (21%) alumni researched in the study said that the best thing was that the arts then became part of their life.
• Socio-Emotional Development and Raised Aspiration
The Kantar research found that the beneficiaries felt that there were improvements in their emotional regulation and expression of their emotions following their participation with the programme in addition to higher levels of confidence, self-discipline and social interaction. Further, one in ten reported that the best thing was the ‘sense of community’, thus their attitude towards school and outlook in life also improved significantly.
Says Sandra Lim, Managing Director, Public Division, “The research shows that the arts gave participants focus, motivation and meaning in life, through finding joy and having the opportunity to learn new things. It also revealed that the programme helped cultivate a range of life skills. This is evident through the Alumni whom we have interviewed, as they expressed desire and actively participate in giving back to the next generation of beneficiaries through sharing their stories and teaching in the programme”
Says Mr Alvin Tay, deputy chairman of TRCL and advisor to BT BAF, “The research affirms that BT BAF programmes have impacted and uplifted the lives of our children and youths. It validates our belief that no child, with the potential or interest in the arts, should be denied this opportunity to pursue the arts due to a lack of financial resources. A big ‘thank you’ to the team at LAA and 10 Square Youth, our trainers as well as our donors who have been staunch supporters all these years.”
The research findings were made public in conjunction with LAA’s 11th anniversary celebrations, which saw the reprisal of an original production Chutki, staged in 2013 that was written by a former student. The story was adapted from Paro Anand’s children novel Wingless, in which the protagonist, angel princess Chutki finds friendship and love in her journey to gain acceptance for being different.
Chutki was staged on 7 & 8 November at 10 Square @ Orchard Central (Auditorium) and graced by Guest-of-Honour Mr Kenneth Kwok, National Arts Council, Assistant Chief Executive (Planning & Development).
