Page 14 - Year in Review 2018/2019

ALUMNI HOMECOMING 2018:

BACK TO SCHOOL

NAFA was abuzz with excitement and activities as close to 100 alumni from various
programmes, graduating between 1950 and 2018, gathered at their alma mater’s
grounds on 15 September. Returning for the Alumni Homecoming 2018: Back to
School reunion event, the former students were able to connect with teachers and
schoolmates and reminisce about their school days.

A series of activities was organised to engage alumni with different
interests. There were campus tours, including the NAFA Arts
Preschool; an art bazaar; and a delightful Ocarina music performance
by alumnus Tan Qing Lun and Ocarina House. For those choosing
to be more hands-on, they participated in masterclasses on portrait
sketching and figure sketching. Veteran artist Sim Pang Liang
also held a Creative Calligraphy Demonstration. To capture alumni
memories, there was a post-it wall mural set-up, along with
photo-taking at the Nanyang 80 Coffeeshop and Moving
Memories installation.

The event also made it into the Singapore Book of Records!
The whole community came together to paint Singapore’s longest
batik measuring 300 metres by 0.94 metres within nine hours.
Conceptualised by NAFA’s alumnus Kamal Dollah, the painting
embodied NAFA’s founder Lim Hak Tai’s learning principle
on ‘Expression of Local Tropical Flavour.’ The artistic design
encompassed the impressions of local flora and fauna, cultural
diversity, changing landscape of Singapore and other Nanyang
style figurative representations. Kamal and his team spent about
two weeks preparing for the batik painting and were joined on the
day by around 1,000 participants, consisting of NAFA’s alumni, staff
and students, as well as members of the public.

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