NAFA Convocation 2012.

At the NAFA Convocation 2012 held at the Singapore Conference Hall on 25 August 2012, 584 diploma students and 115 degree students received their certificates conferred by NAFA and its partner universities in the UK. This year marks the graduation of the pioneer cohorts from BA (Hons) Spatial Design offered in collaboration with University of Central Lancashire, UK; BA (Hons) Fashion and BA (Hons) Fashion & Marketing offered in collaboration with University of East London, UK; and BA (Hons) Creative Industry Management offered in collaboration with University of Essex, UK.

18 outstanding students from their respective programmes were presented with Best Graduate Award and two of them, Elizabeth Soon Liqian from BA (Hons) Fashion programme and Wong Qin Kai from Diploma in Music Performance programme were conferred top awards, the Embassy of Peru Award and NAFA President Award, respectively. The fourth Distinguished Alumni Medal was bestowed on internationally renowned contemporary artist, Ming Wong.

Ms Grace Fu, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, 2nd Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and 2nd Minister for Foreign Affairs graced the morning session as Guest-of-Honour. The afternoon session was officiated by NAFA alumnus, Mr Thomas Yang, Creative Director, DDB Worldwide Singapore.

From left: Australian indigenous visual artist Bindi Cole; Australian indigenous curator Djon Mundine OAM; Director, Institute of Southeast Asian Arts and Art Galleries, NAFA, Ms Bridget Tracy Tan; Counsellor and Consul-General at Australian High Commission in Singapore, Mr and Mrs Crawford Lyall.

Shadowlife: works by contemporary Australian Indigenous artists

Organised by NAFA in collaboration with Asialink, Shadowlife is a touring exhibition of works by nine internationally acclaimed contemporary Australian aboriginal artists, Vernon Ah Kee, Bindi Cole, Brenda L. Croft, Destiny Deacon, Fiona Foley, Gary Lee, Michael Riley, Christian Thompson and Ivan Sen, and one non-Indigenous collaborator, Virginia Fraser.  46 photo-based works of photographic prints, videos, films and installation are showcased in Singapore for the first time, after Bangkok and Kaohsiung.

The exhibition was opened by Mr Lyall Crawford, Counsellor and Consul-General at the Australian High Commission in Singapore on 24 August 2012. In conjunction with the exhibition, a floor talk with Australian co-curator Djon Mundine OAM and artist Bindi Cole was held on 25 August where they shared the concepts behind the exhibition and the creative process as a practicing indigenous Australian artist respectively. The exhibition is on at NAFA Galleries 1 & 2 till 30 September 2012.