NDP 2023 tote bag to feature artwork by people with disabilities
Each tote bag will feature one of four different artworks created from the 140 art pieces drawn by 21 artists with disabilities and SG Enable volunteers.
SINGAPORE: The National Day Parade (NDP) 2023 pack was unveiled on Thursday (Jun 15) and it showcases designs created by more than two dozen artists.
This year's pack is a tote bag that features one of four artworks - the result of a collaboration between the NDP 2023 Executive Committee and SG Enable, the focal agency for disability in Singapore.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the NDP 2023 Exco has worked with SG Enable to exhibit artwork by people with disabilities on NDP collaterals.
The four artworks comprise 140 art pieces drawn by 21 people with disabilities from different social service agencies and special education schools, and four SG Enable student volunteers from Institutes of Higher Learning.
The designs were seen by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat who greeted and thanked artists at the Enabling Village's UOB Ability Hub in Redhill on Thursday.
Commemorating the artwork, Mr Heng, who is also Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, said: “National Day is a special occasion not only for Singapore to celebrate our independence, but also for Singaporeans to come together and deepen the bonds that unite us.
"It is inspiring to meet artists of different ages and special abilities who came together to design the artwork for this year’s NDP pack. Their creative designs capture how diverse fabrics of Singapore are woven together and connect us, enabling Singapore to thrive and bloom in the world.
Noting this year's NDP theme of “Onward as One”, exco chairman Colonel Terence Ho said the initiative exemplifies the NDP23 exco's commitment to strengthening social fabric and fostering inclusivity in Singapore.
THE ARTISTS BEHIND THE DESIGNS
The artists behind the designs said they drew inspiration from the various facets of their lives.
For example, Muhammad Rizq Daniyal Muhammad Lutfi, 11, has been interested in trains since he was as young as five, at times asking his parents to bring him to Jurong MRT station just to film trains.
It's no surprise that his drawings included MRT lines and the train door, which were part of the overall design. Daniyal, who has an intellectual disability and is a student at Grace Orchard School, co-created the design with five artists over a three-day workshop earlier this year.
His team's design, themed "connectedness", was inspired by the MRT map and portrays crisscrossing lines representing the MRT network, as well as landmarks drawn in bubbles.
For Sri Ramachandran Vijayan, two national icons spurred his drawings, which were included in the "Fabric of Singapore" artwork.
"I saw the fountain at Jewel Changi Airport as well as the Merlion and I thought it was really nice and really beautiful and I wanted to put that into the design," Mr Ramachandran, who is deaf, told CNA through a sign language interpreter.
The 18-year-old Lighthouse School student said that he was happy and surprised that two of his drawings - the scales of the Merlion, and a rendition of the fountain at Jewel Changi Airport - were selected to be in the overall patchwork he created with five artists.
Another artist said her team focused on diversity and what each team member loved about Singapore, resulting in an artwork delineated by Singapore's borders that contains odes to the diverse community here.
Describing the piece, SG Enable volunteer Justine Anne Yeo Jia Lyn said: "The diversity artwork encompasses a majority of parts of Singapore, so like the greenery, the buildings, the transportation, the people and housing. Things that we're grateful for and things that really define home for us in Singapore.
"And making it all come together is really our interpretation of our home, our Singapore. I think that's what's really special about the design."
Ms Yeo, a 20-year-old student at Nanyang Polytechnic, said the artwork was her way of giving back to the country.
"I think it's just our ode to Singapore... what Singapore has done for us, like given us such a nice home and everything. It's our way of giving back, to see our designs being carried around by other people, they are carrying our interpretation of Singapore and everyone else's, and I hope that they relate to it."
Another piece, which came in the shape of Singapore's national flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim, is aptly named "Blooming Singapore".
One of seven artists involved in its conception is Mr Lim Kay Choong, 34, who shared the significance of his participation in the process. Mr Lim has a physical disability and goes to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Singapore).
He drew the Singapore Flyer and the airport control tower for his team's design.
"Since young I've always only looked at the National Day Parade on the TV, but this year I have a chance to be part of it, and even create something ... And this bag is going to be in many households," said Mr Lim, who added that he was excited to think that many would be carrying the pack.
NDP packs will be given to spectators attending the national education shows, NDP previews and the NDP on Aug 9, as well as those with tickets for the heartland celebrations over the weekend of Aug 5 and Aug 6.
