Shell Celebrates 3 Decades of Support for the Arts with Latest Scholarship Awards

SINGAPORE, 28 August 2007 – Shell today celebrated three decades of strong support for Singapore Arts when it awarded the Shell-NAC Arts Scholarship to its latest recipients at the Creative Industries Scholarships Award Ceremony.

The longest-standing Distinguished Patron of the Arts (16 awards, on top of five Patron awards), Shell has been instrumental in nurturing the Arts in Singapore since the 70s.

“Shell is proud to have played a significant part in the development of the Arts in Singapore, helping to nurture and sustain its growth through the years.  Initiatives such as the Shell Friday Lunchtime Cultural Programme and the Shell Discovery Art Exhibition Scheme were part of our early efforts at helping to build a vibrant arts scene in Singapore.  Through the Shell-NAC Arts Scholarship, we believe we have contributed to the emergence, development and success of local arts talent,” said Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Chairman, Shell Companies in Singapore.

“We feel we have exceeded our objectives of opening new opportunities for Arts development in Singapore, and are confident that together, our scholars will take the achievements of Singapore Arts to an even higher plane,” Mr Lee added.  He observed that today, Singapore has matured into an energetic and thriving Arts hub, evident by the activities available, the presence of the Esplanade and the coming School of the Arts for creative young talents.

Mr Lee noted that many of the scholars have benefited from their studies and grown to become leaders in their fields, some even making their mark on the world stage.  They include the likes of The Necessary Stage’s resident playwright Haresh Sharma (1994), internationally-acclaimed violinist Lee Huei Min (1996), and visual artist Donna Ong (1999).

Mr Lee Suan Hiang, Chief Executive Officer, NAC, said of Shell’s support for the Arts, “The local arts scene has benefited and, indeed, blossomed, as a direct result of Shell’s commitment from the early days of Arts development in Singapore.  Since 1991, when the Shell-NAC scholarships started, there have been a total of 34 recipients for this prestigious scholarship.  Shell’s vital and strategic investment in these young talents has brought significant results both in these individuals and in the overall arts scene.  Most of these scholars have gone on to be ‘movers and shakers’ in the arts industry.”

Shell launched the Shell-NAC Arts Scholarship in 1991 to commemorate its centenary in Singapore.  Through the years, it has helped to develop the local talent pool, nurtured promising local artists and helped them showcase their work.  For the past 17 years, it remains the only scholarship to offer a substantial award of $100,00 and to cover a wide range of artistic disciplines, including the visual arts, film-making, theatre, dance, music and literature.

This year, scholarships were awarded to Ms Foo Yun Ying and Mr Joshua Tan Kang Ming.  The former will be pursuing a post-graduate Diploma/Masters in Performance Studies & Choreography at the London School of Contemporary Dance, and the latter a two-year Masters programme in Orchestral Conducting at The Juilliard School in New York.

Mr Tan, a conductor, violinist and music educator, commented on how the Shell-NAC Arts Scholarship has helped him realise his dream of a professional career in music, “This scholarship really helps to ease the financial burden of my post-graduate studies, and will allow me to fully concentrate and put all my energy into music-making.”  He is impressed with the achievements of previous scholarship recipients and hopes he will be able to contribute equally after his studies.  Ms Foo wants “to be able to touch the audience and create an impact in their experience of watching a dance performance.”

Shell’s support for the Arts aims to help develop the local talent pool, nurture promising local artists and help them showcase their works.  It also wants to promote Arts appreciation among the general public to enlarge the local support base for the Arts. Besides the Shell-NAC Arts Scholarship, Shell has also contributed to the vibrancy of the local arts scene through these programmes:

• Shell-MOE School Band Fiesta in the Gardens: Since 1996, this programme has offered promising school bands the opportunity to perform in public, according them public recognition and reinforcing their interest in the Arts.
• NAC-Shell Community Arts Series: Launched in March 1999, through which Shell worked with various civic/community organisations, such as Community Development Councils, to bring the Arts into the heartlands.

In recent years, our contribution to the strategic development of the Arts in Singapore was underscored by our chairman Mr Lee Tzu Yang’s appointment as a Board member of the NAC and The Esplanade Co. Ltd, as well as chairman of the coming School of the Arts in Singapore.

ENQUIRIES:
Mr Oh Yam Chew
External Affairs & Communications
Shell Companies in Singapore
Tel.: +65 6384-8943/9764-0193
E-mail:  Yam-Chew.Oh@shell.com