Keynote: Thinking Through Arts Education in Our Time

Kwok Kian Woon, Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts Singapore

What does it mean to be educated as we move into the second quarter of the 21st century? There are diverse ways to address this central question as we define our collective mission in transforming arts education. Grappling with the challenges of the present entails both interpreting our past and imagining the future. In doing so, we begin by reflecting on three areas of concern encapsulated in the name of our new university: first, the very idea of a university; second, the arts as a sphere of human life and contemporary society; and third, the location of Singapore in Southeast Asia and the world. Our reflections are not meant to arrive at fixed principles or detailed policies but to develop insightful perspectives and working propositions – to be further questioned and deepened as we build an inclusive and vibrant community of practice with our peers from everywhere. 

 

Panel 1: Core Priorities in Arts Education Today

 

In these complex times, it is worth contemplating what is at stake in arts education. What are the longstanding assumptions that are now called into question? What is our thinking about the requisite skills and desired attributes of our graduates? In a crisis-ridden era of climate change, pandemics, and polarisation, how do we define our educational mission and our public purpose? How does the speed, scope, and scale of technological change impact society and community, economy and industry, and cultural life and personal development, and in turn our policies, pedagogies, and programmes?

In this panel, senior institutional leaders reflect on the many demands that call out for attention and share what they see as mission-critical priorities. What is our capacity for translating these priorities into strategies and action plans? In the process, how do we work more effectively within and across disciplinary, institutional, and national lines to advance our shared mission?

Panellists:

  • Rustom Bharucha, Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy; former Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
  • Steve Dixon, President, LASALLE College of the Arts, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts Singapore
  • Mary Seah, Principal, School of the Arts Singapore
  • Tan-Soh Wai Lan, President, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts Singapore
  • Peter Tornquist, Dean, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore

Moderator: Kwok Kian Woon, Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts Singapore

 

Panel 2: Practice, Pedagogy, and Research — Evolving a New Agenda

 

Higher arts education has typically been organised along disciplinary lines, but creative work and artistic practice often cross specialised domains. In this panel, leading arts educators discuss questions such as the following: What are enduring discipline-specific traditions of teaching and learning, including apprenticeship and studio practice? Undergirding the wide spectrum of disciplines, what are common or intersecting concerns — for example, craft, materiality, aesthetics, art history, ethics, and the workings of industry and the market? What is the impact of technological advancement, generative AI being a paradigmatic challenge today? What capacities are needed beyond specialised skills? What do terms such as “transdisciplinary”, “multidisciplinary”, and “interdisciplinary” mean in practice, pedagogy, and research? What are urgent research areas — and the larger research agenda and culture we want to build? What collaborative strategies are needed to gain substantial traction in arts practice and discourse, and in curriculum development and pedagogical innovation?

Panellists:

  • Patrick Flores, Deputy Director, National Gallery Singapore; Professor of Art Studies in the Department of Art Studies,
    University of the Philippines
  • Cissie Fu, Head, McNally School of Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts
  • Rebecca Kan, Associate Dean, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
  • Paul Lincoln, Head, Visual and Performing Arts, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
  • Low Cheaw Hwei, Chairman, Design Education Advisory Committee; Head of Philips Experience Design, Philips ASEAN Pacific
  • T. Sasitharan, Co-founder & Director, Intercultural Theatre Institute

Moderator: Roger Nelson, Assistant Professor of Art History in the School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University

Back