UOB funds S-E Asian arts course, artist residencies at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in five-year tie-up

SINGAPORE – A new South-east Asian arts module that will enrol over 700 students annually, travel grants for underprivileged students and art residencies.

These are some programmes that will be funded by the United Overseas Bank (UOB) at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa), in an inaugural five-year tie-up to further Singapore and South-east Asian art.

First announced in November 2023 during the 42nd UOB Painting of the Year award ceremony at Victoria Theatre, details were confirmed on April 15, when the gift agreement of an undisclosed sum was signed at Nafa.

The new online course, called the UOB Introduction To SEA Arts, will be compulsory for all first-year Nafa diploma students from August 2025.

It promises to help students better understand regional creative and cultural influences and broaden their thinking about art and its possibilities, correcting the Western bias prevalent in much of art education.

As part of the module, Nafa will also set up a SEA travel grant to enable 30 underprivileged students each year to travel for overseas exchange, taking them to other regional cultural hubs in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

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