Little artists from Odyssey, The Global Preschool are now hard at work, crafting various art pieces for a fund-raising art project. The kids from ages 3-6 will be showcasing and selling their artwork that ranges from mixed media posters, slogan badges to even pottery and vases. Using a variety of mediums, the exhibition ‘Colours of the Odyssey – Our footprint. Our future’ will be held on Saturday, 20th August 2011 at The Arts House on 1 Old Parliament Lane. All proceeds will go to Make-A-Wish Foundation Singapore.
This is Odyssey’s third year organizing this fund-raising children’s art exhibition and sale. Its inception in 2009 saw the young artists helping to raise money for Singapore Children’s Society. For the second year running, they are collaborating with Make-A-Wish Foundation (Singapore). Ms Rupal Arora, Centre Director for Odyssey, the Global Preschool, said: ‘The Colours of Odyssey exhibition is an opportunity for our students to express their thoughts and creativity through the medium of art. Our theme for this year is sustainability and through this we will not only be exploring the concepts of environmental responsibility and conservation, but also developing the important character attribute of empathy for others. We’re thrilled to be partnering the Make A Wish Foundation, Singapore, once again this year and our children are very excited to be doing their part in making another child’s wish come true.’
theAsianparent visited these young artists on Monday and saw them at their inspiring best. Working in small groups, they worked on both team artworks and individual pieces. Five-year-old Ryan Tan was working on his pottery vase and excitedly showed everyone how he has turned clay into a vase structure. He said, ‘I like helping people and this is to help sick children who have no money to buy things and go places.’ Charmingly, he added that he enjoys doing the art pieces that will help others to fulfill their dreams.
Irwin Tan, parent of Ryan, commented that the whole program is a great initiative. He continued on to say, ‘It is important for children to understand that not everyone is as fortunate as they are and that we should always do what we can to help others that are not as fortunate. In this instance, we are helping children that are seriously ill.’
Ryan is just one of the many preschoolers at Odyssey, The Global Preschool enthusiastic about the project. Here, kids are taught a myriad of art genres and mediums, as they believe art is a creative outlet for the children to convey their thoughts. Odyssey’s art specialist, Mr. Herman, trusts that art is a component in a child’s development as it helps a child to be more competent and creates an inquisitive mind.
Last year’s initiative saw more than 200 pieces of artwork exhibited with 90% of them sold. This year, the children have created more than 300 pieces and all are for sale at The Arts House. The exhibition is open to public and all sale proceeds will go directly to the Make-A-Wish Singapore. The foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions and aims to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Miss Catherine Ho, Director of Development for Make-A-Wish Singapore, says that the foundation grants at least 120 wishes each year. These wishes range from the usual ‘Disneyland visits’ and laptops or electronic gadgets requests to unique wishes such as a little girl’s desire to be an adult for a day. Miss Ho mentions that ‘so far all the wishes that are referred to us have been granted’.
Miss Ho added that Make-A-Wish Singapore is very grateful to the children and good people at Odyssey for helping them through the art initiative. She says that any donation and help, big or small, goes a long way in aiding the foundation in its efforts to help the sick children. If you wish to donate, please visit Give Singapore to make an online donation or you can also choose to donate via mail, Giro or fund transfer. For more details on donating to Make-A-Wish, please visit this website.
Photo credit: Odyssey, the Global Preschool
