“plATE” by Tan Sai Yong

This June, Orchard Road is set to be adorned with 70 culinary-themed art pieces created by students from Singapore’s pioneer arts institution, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). It is a partnership initiative by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and NAFA in support of Singapore being the host city of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019, which will be held in Asia for the first time this June.

The artworks on display are anticipated to generate an air of excitement, engage Singaporeans, and welcome the internationally-renowned chefs, F&B industry professionals and visitors who will be in Singapore to partake in this highly-established global restaurant awards platform.

The art pieces, which are on display on glass shards along Orchard to Somerset from now till 27 June, were conceptualised and produced by over 50 second-year NAFA Fine Art students. STB’s decision to partner NAFA for this initiative stems from an aim to fulfil a larger cause as part of STB’s efforts to groom budding local creative talents and provide them a platform for greater public exposure.

To inspire the students to create their art, STB organised visits for them to restaurants in Singapore which were on both The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants lists. They include Corner House at the Botanic Gardens, Odette at the National Gallery and Jaan at Swissotel the Stamford. At these visits, students were able to interact with chefs, observe them at work and speak to them about their culinary journeys. Thereafter, the students were left to ideate and create pieces inspired by their interactions with the chefs and restaurant visit experiences. The resulting artworks are a mix of eclecticism, surrealism, and photorealism across a series of mediums – from oil on canvas to watercolour and mixed media.

Venue: Orchard to Somerset

When: 3 - 27 Jun 2019,

By: NAFA