Toa Payoh’s Firsts – Ground and Facade Art (Updated)
Toa Payoh hailed as the center of many of Singapore’s firsts. It was where ground-up effort Residents’ Association pioneered, where the neighbourhood police system was first employed, where the first cooperative supermarket in Singapore, NTUC Welcome, laid its groundwork, where the first Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station was built, where places of worship were first erected, amongst others.
The town represented the foundations of what Singapore has developed itself to become what she is today.
This project focuses on recalling memories when Toa Payoh was rising as one of the pioneer satellite towns.
The town was developed based on ‘The Neighbourhood Principle’, which groups several neighbourhoods around a Town Centre. The aim of this project was to engage the community to remember through the drawing and painting of the diverse people that first populated Toa Payoh.
Places of worship were also needed to meet their respective religious needs, and industrial estates and factories were required to provide for more employment opportunities. These needs gave a purpose for the government to develop many of Singapore’s firsts in Toa Payoh. These images were meant to spur a sense of pride in the community and to help them recognize these efforts through the drawings and paintings of these buildings.
Our drawings of pioneers included Samsui Women, Kampung Neighbours, Farmers, Gambier Plantation workers. We set them amongst the backdrop of the drawings of pioneer buildings such as the HDB housing estate, places of worship, factories, and the stadium, among others.
The residents were asked to come for the drawing and painting workshops which were conducted over a few sessions.
In the first session, residents were introduced to the Pioneers of Toa Payoh and given samples to use as reference to draw on. Our artists were on hand to teach drawing skills.
In the second session, residents were introduced to (Modern) the HDB, Temples, Buildings, Stadium, Playground, which they then drew and painted.
In the third session, our artists scanned and recreated the resident’s works from paper into computer and format it on the computer for printing it onto large canvas pieces, with a transition from Old to New concept.
After this final session, the artists will then to send the digitalized artwork to the respective canvas printers and People’s Association arranged for contractor to hang the art pieces thereafter.
On 14 June 2015, about 40 to 50 residents turned up at Toa Payoh Central Atrium to participate in our Toa Payoh Façade art project. They drew on the templates created by SCYA. Everyone came and had a great time, senior citizens, families, grandparents with their grandkids.
In August, a presentation will be held to showcase the beautiful art work created by the students and residences of Toa Payoh.
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Singapore Contemporary Young Artists 