Our beautiful GUITAR PICK KEYCHAINS (can be used as real guitar strummers to:) and COLOURFUL MARKERS!

Get any of these now as a gift of appreciation when you donate $2!

All proceeds go to The Little Arts Academy.

The Little Arts Academy

The Little Arts Academy (LAA) is the outreach and education initiative by The Arts House created to ensure that beneficiaries of the Business Times Budding Artists Fund have access to a sustained and systematic education in the Arts. The well-equipped facility at PoMo opened in November 2008 and is specially designed to support the LAA’s multidisciplinary curriculum covering Music, Dance, Theatre, Multimedia, Culinary Arts and Visual Arts. A key feature of the LAA’s programming is its ability to give students opportunities to stage public performances.

Mission

To provide a creative learning environment and a broad-based arts curriculum where all children can discover their artistic potential and develop skills and personal values that will enable them to transcend personal, social and financial circumstances.

Vision

To be recognised internationally as an academy where all children can enjoy a better start in life through an arts education regardless of personal circumstances.

Values

Compassion
Courage
Respect

We believe in…

1. Equal Opportunity

Through the Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF), the Little Arts Academy works with government agencies, schools, children’s homes, volunteer welfare organisations, charity organisations and non-profit organisations in identifying children from economically-distanced families who need support to realise their potential in arts. The BT BAF offers subsidies for all children to receive training and believes that no child should be left behind in arts education.

2. Open Doors

The Little Arts Academy will work with all individuals and companies who share the same belief – that art has the potential to help those in need and that every artistically talented child should be given the opportunity to nurture that talent to its fullest, regardless of the child’s financial background. Their assistance will help keep the school sustainable in supporting those in need.

3. Giving every child a stage to perform.

Where most educational institutions emphasise graded qualifications, The Little Arts Academy focuses on providing performance platforms for our students to build their confidence, develop their performance skills and encourage compassion through sharing the joy of the arts with all.

4. Children helping children, artists giving back

In our belief of education as an occasion to give back to the community that has nurtured us, The Little Arts Academy will invite gifted and talented children to share their experiences with our students through junior master-classes at The Little Arts Academy. Through similar platforms, The Little Arts Academy will invite scholars, artists and established practitioners to share their love of the arts with our students.

The Business Times Budding Artists Fund

Launched by The Old Parliament House Ltd and adopted by The Business Times in 2005, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) originated from a conviction that no child with strong interest and potential in the arts should be deprived of the opportunity to develop his or her talents due to a lack of financial resources. The BT BAF encourages the development of creativity amongst the young and is critical in providing opportunities for disadvantaged children to discover hidden artistic talent and to develop their self-worth. Since 2005, the BT BAF has reached out to more than 7,000 disadvantaged children between the ages of five and 12 years through a variety of programmes comprising arts camps, workshops, and signature performance events. From 1 October 2010, the BT BAF has extended its reach to economically disadvantaged youths who are between 13 and 19 years of age. For more information on BT BAF, please visit www.baf.sg.

The Arts House at The Old Parliament

Occupying the almost 200 year-old building that was the former Parliament House and Singapore’s first Court House, The Arts House since its opening in 2004 has been offering its visitors a broad spectrum of activities ranging from contemporary arts & entertainment events to lifestyle options, while at the same time playing an active role in developing Singapore arts & creative scene.  From 2011, The Arts House will focus on the development of literary arts in Singapore, supporting and presenting programmes and events that aim to give a wider and multi-disciplinary experience. For more information about The Arts House, please visit www.theartshouse.com.sg.

Have you ever dreaded going for your piano/ ballet/ drama/art classes? Well, there are many young children who do not even have the chance to attend those classes that you dread going to. Many are endowed with wonderful gifts in the arts, but unfortunately their family do not have the means to support them in their pursuit of their love.

Our group, d’ARTs, strongly believes that EVERY CHILD DESERVES A CHANCE TO BE AN ARTIST. Whether is it visual, literary or performing arts, they stimulate and moulds the prepubescent into someone who will be ready to take on the world in their later stage of life. There must be an avenue for these children to shine!

Who we are: d’ARTs is a Citibank- YMCA Youth for Causes group consisting of 4 highly dynamic individuals who come from different performing arts CCA groups, currently in Hwa Chong Institution (Junior College). The team comprises of:

team leader Christina Ong

volunteer management director An Jiaqi

logistics director Eleanor Chua and 

publicity and media director Halynne Shi.

Beneficiary d’ARTs is working with: the Little Arts Academy. the LAA believes that every child should receive equal opportunity to realise his or her artistic potential. Hence it offers Music, Dance, Theatre, Multimedia, Culinary Arts and Visual Arts classes to mostly primary school children from low income families, and stages public performances to promote awareness of these underprivileged children. 

Each year, The Business Times Budding Artists Fund needs to raise $800,000 to fully-sponsor the arts training of about 500 underprivileged children at The Little Arts Academy. However, currently the LAA is running on a 20% DEFICIT each year.

Hence, our group aims to raise $20, 000 for the LAA through street sales and a funfair in August.

Part of the $10, 000 will be used to buy a drum set for the children, who are currently using  the drumsets of the students of their drum teacher (who is a volunteer).

Please support us by:

1. being a volunteer

2. purchasing our merchandise

3. or simply making a donation that comes from your heart

You can make a difference in the lives of these children!

Hey everyone, we’re d’ARTs!

From left to right: Halynne, Christina, Eleanor and Jiaqi

We are a group of students from Hwa Chong Institution(College) embarking on our Youth For Causes 2011 project!

Please support us by visiting this Tumblr as we’ll be keeping you informed on our exciting updates:D