UOB inks 5-year strategic partnership with NAFA to champion Southeast Asian Art

UOB and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), University of the Arts Singapore (UAS), sealed a five-year strategic partnership on 1 April 2024. This partnership was formalised at the UOB-NAFA Agreement Signing Ceremony, held at the With All My Heart: Kit Tan 全心全意：陈月丽 exhibition, on 15 April 2024 (Monday).

The partnership will champion Southeast Asian art through three key programmes at the academy:

1. the UOB-NAFA Artist-in-Residence programmes at NAFA Singapore and NAFA studios at Cité internationale des arts, Paris;
   
   
   1. Across five years, UOB will support two eminent artists each year, to take up the UOB-NAFA Artist-in-Residence programme, offered at Cité internationale des arts, Paris.
   
   
   2. In parallel, UOB will also support two artists for the UOB-NAFA Artist-in-Residence in Singapore each year, across the next five years.


2. the Southeast Asian Arts Forum and its affiliate events;
   
   
   1. Organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Arts at NAFA, the annual forum has seen over 2,250 participants since its launch in 2019. UOB had supported the forum and its associated programmes since its inception and will continue to do so, maximising the efforts towards this regional assembly of seminal artists and art educators.


3. the newly-launched UOB Introduction to Southeast Asian Arts module;
   
   
   1. This unique Southeast Asian Arts module taught at NAFA will impact more than 700 students a year, broadening their perspectives on regional creative and cultural influences, and expanding possibilities in their creative outputs.
   
   
   2. As part of this module, NAFA will establish a UOB Southeast Asia Travel Grant to enable 30 underprivileged students every year to travel for overseas exchange.

In addition to these programmes, UOB and NAFA are also discussing extended project partnerships such as the UOB World, which brings in new audiences from the region to the Southeast Asian Arts Forum through virtual capsule exhibitions, artist dialogues, and other engagement activities.

Mr Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and CEO, UOB, said, “UOB is committed to fostering meaningful connections through art, which resonate beyond our business endeavours. We are excited to partner NAFA to continue championing Southeast Asian art, enriching lives and strengthening communities across ASEAN through the transformative influence of art.”

“We are grateful for partnerships such as this with UOB which represent a shared commitment to arts education and talent development in the region. The Southeast Asian region is a vibrant mosaic of heritage and culture, inspiring diverse and dynamic artistic expressions. We remain dedicated to grounding our students’ learning in this cultural richness, firmly establishing NAFA as a beacon and gateway for Southeast Asian arts,” added Mrs Tan-Soh Wai Lan, President of NAFA.

This strategic partnership underscores UOB's crucial role to support art in Singapore and Southeast Asia, and serves as an inspirational nod to the NAFA community, highlighting the value of their creative contributions. Through UOB’s sponsorship and advocacy, it enables NAFA to continue enriching lives and communities through education and practice, while empowering their students to grow and excel as future changemakers, helping Singapore cement its footing in the international art and creative landscape.