PurpoSEFul: Freesia Tong

The SOTA Endowment Fund (SEF) was established to address the need for long-term sustainability in providing our students with bursaries, scholarships, and other financial assistance. A SOTA student spends on school necessities such as school fees, books, art form materials, transport, meals, and school uniforms. Through the years, many members of the SOTA community have participated in campaigns organised by the school or initiated their own fundraising projects. Regardless of its scale, these purposeful contributions towards the SEF play a significant role in nurturing cultural leaders of tomorrow.

In this new #PurpoSEFul series, we showcase how the SOTA community supports each other, thank the individuals who have contributed to the SEF, and encourage others to step forward and make a contribution too. We kickstart the series by chatting with Year 5 Visual Arts student Freesia Tong, designer of the adorable artworks found on our fundraising page!

"Hi Freesia! Could you share about what motivated you to participate in this project and design the artworks?"

Hello! I am really thankful to be given this meaningful opportunity to create artworks for the SOTA Endowment Fund website! The SEF is very important in ensuring that all SOTA students have access to a quality arts education, and I’ve definitely been positively impacted by it too, given the holistic education that I’ve been exposed to.

In 2020, I participated in the fundraising concert “Sunburst” and performed with two of my friends, and collaborated with some Muscular Dystrophy Association Singapore (MDAS) members to produce artworks that were auctioned. This entire experience was one that I hold close to my heart until today, and it made me realise how blessed I was to be able to give back to the community. I also became more aware of what the SOTA Endowment Fund is and how it can change the lives of students who have a passion for the arts. Thus, when I learned about this project, I was really excited to apply my skills in digital design and translate them into meaningful artworks.

Held from 2017 to 2021, Sunburst was a fundraising event organised in support of MDAS and the SEF, where SOTA students and alumni collaborate and perform with MDAS members in a meaningful concert.

"Could you share about the inspiration and meaning behind the artworks?"

I strived for an “imaginative” illustration style to represent the hopes and aspirations that are fulfilled because of the SEF. I designed icons that depicted ‘food’, ‘transport’, and ‘art and academic materials’, which represent the different areas that the fund assists students with, and one that represents the sense of community in SOTA, all while including elements that are unique to SOTA culture. I also used a bright, warm colour palette to evoke a sense of fulfilment and happiness. I have a tendency to use lots of texture in my illustrations, so that’s what I did for the designs too!

For the ‘food’ icon, I depicted a bowl of fishball noodles from SOTA’s canteen. I remember it being the very first meal I had as a Year 1 student in SOTA, so it was an iconic food choice for me. The second design includes an illustration of the MRT, which is the mode of public transport many students take to school every day. You can also spot the sign “Dhoby Ghaut”, which is where our school is located at! The other designs encompass numerous art and academic materials, like books, resources, and uniforms, which the SEF helps to fund. The graduation cap in one of the designs also represents a sense of accomplishment and confidence after we have achieved our goals. It also represents how a holistic arts education nurtures students to become leaders.

The final design is especially special – it represents a sense of togetherness and inclusivity in SOTA. There are symbols like the paintbrush, pointe shoes, and music staves (just to name a few), which represent the different artforms we have here in SOTA: Visual Arts, Dance, Literary Arts, Music, Theatre and Film. Four SOTA students are featured together in this dreamlike space, while the word “SOTA” is painted across in bright orange, bringing all the elements together.

"What was the process of working on the artworks like? Any challenges or interesting experiences to share?”

The whole process was very enjoyable! I worked on the designs during the June holidays last year, so it gave me something meaningful to do while I was at home. Initially, there were times when I struggled with conceptualising my ideas and expressing them in the designs too – it took me quite a while to settle on an art style that wasn’t too ‘kiddish’ in nature (my digital artworks are a lot like children’s book illustrations).

Overall, it was fun to experiment with simpler compositions, a more varied colour palette, and different textures in these designs, while also furthering my passion for design and digital art.

“Thanks for chatting with us, Freesia! What would you say to those who may be interested in donating to the SOTA Endowment Fund?”

For many other students like me, a holistic arts education not only gives us the freedom to express ourselves creatively and independently; it also helps us realise our dreams and possibilities. Thank you giving us the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop as individuals and future cultural leaders!

SOTA believes that no child who is talented and shows passion in the arts should be deprived of an education anchored in the arts due to financial disadvantage.

Each #PurpoSEFul contribution to the SOTA Endowment Fund will go a long way towards helping us make an arts education accessible for all students, especially the the less privileged.

To Donate to or find out more about the SOTA Endowment Fund, click here.
We thank you for the generous support!