STAR-POST (Art) January 2020 FINAL_STAR Post Art Jan 2020 | Page 56

Contemporary
Art Practices in
Schools!(CAPS!) 2019
C
APS! 2019 comprised an Artists’ Talk and a
series of four exciting workshops and open
studio sessions. Over the 5-day workshop, our
art teachers had opportunities to experience
contemporary inquiry-based approaches to art
making. They investigated ideas, materials and
technical processes under the mentorship of
Singapore contemporary artists – David Chen,
Michael Lee, Sam Lo and Zul Othman.
David’s workshop revisited some of the fundamentals
of art-making through the exploration of over-arching
concepts such as observation, transformation and
translation. Using inquiry-based tuning exercises, teachers
examined some of the most basic concepts of art and
recaptured some of the nuances of creation, such as the
potential of colour, form, viewer experience, etc.
In Michael’s workshop, philosophies and methods of self-
care in the context of art educators in Singapore were
explored. Discussions began with the observation that
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teacher-artists in Singapore are overworking to near-
burnout juggling art teaching duties, professional
art practice and personal life. Other topics discussed
included -- What do today’s teacher-artists need—or
want? How does one perform self-care under the
pressures to perform? What would make the life and
work of teacher-artists in Singapore more tolerable?
Guest-presenters invited to share at this workshop
included – Yoko Choi, Pixie Tan, Tan Guo-Liang and
Renée Ting.
Sam Lo together with sculptor Daniel Yu took the
teachers on a journey of exploring the fine art of
sculpting through “Art Toys”. Through this immersive
and hands-on workshop, teachers experienced
storytelling in the process of ideation and creation.
They were also introduced to and got to work
with a range of moldable materials that were fun,
manageable, and easily accessible for both private
practice and classroom settings. The studio was
abound with excitement as our teachers explored the
endless possibilities.
For the teachers who joined Zero’s workshop, they
were guided through the fundamentals of graffiti
painting. Teachers enjoyed learning the basics of
letter styling, urban character design and collaborative
approaches in a graffiti mural production. They got
their hands dirty and experienced first-hand the unique
mannerisms of pressurized aerosol paints. Using the
spray can, they learnt of the frustration artists faced
with this less than orthodox medium of art.
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