In 2002 , the SJI Visual Art curriculum
10 LUMEN | JOSEPHIANS
Nurturing Artists a New Generation of by Daryl Tay
2012 marks the 10th anniversary since the launch of the Talent Art Programme in SJI . A Retrospective Art Exhibition will be held at SJI to showcase the artistic talents of Josephians over the years .
underwent a revamp and two differentiated art programmes were introduced . The Foundation Art Programme catered to boys in the main stream with the aim of broadening their exposure to the various art forms in a relatively stress-free environment while the Talent Art Programme ( TAP ) focused on nurturing the talent of boys who showed a natural flair and interest in art . Many of our Art graduates continue to pursue their passion in the areas of fine arts , architecture , design and the teaching of Art .
Till 2011 , the selection of the students into the TAP took place during the Secondary 1 Registration Day in December . From 2012 , all Secondary 1 students will take the Foundation Art Programme in the first term where teachers will observe and identify the artistically talented students . These students will come together in Term 2 for Talent Art lessons . In Secondary 2 , the truly passionate and talented students will be offered Art or Higher Art at ‘ O ’ level under the TAP .
TAP was introduced as a differentiated art programme to challenge artistically talented students with the focus on developing and instilling higher order creative and critical thinking . The framework of the TAP is modelled after MOE ’ s Art Elective Programme which is currently offered in six secondary schools in Singapore . It was formerly called the Creative Art Programme .
The successful SJI Talent Art Programme has produced fine young artists over the years . Alvin Ong ’ s ( SJI Graduating Class of 2005 ) painting garnered the prestigious title of “ The UOB Painting of the Year ” in the 24th UOB Painting of the Year Competition and Exhibition 2005 when he was just 16 years-old . Ruben Pang ( SJI Graduating Class of 2006 ) is a recent Lasalle College of The Arts graduate and is an up-andcoming artist in Singapore having had several exhibitions to his name . More recently , Meiyappan Karthik ( SJI Graduating Class of 2010 ) won the Highly Commendable Award for the Youth Section of the 2011 United Overseas Bank ( UOB ) Painting of the Year category .
On top of nurturing excellent artists , the programme has also consistently produced stellar ‘ O ’ Level results with most of its students attaining distinctions every year .
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Having the means to entirely commit my time and energy to painting , 24 / 7 , there ' s nothing more I can ask for
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