A Vision of Hope for Ex-Offenders

By Kristine Puala Aquino

The Yellow Ribbon Project kicked off its Community Art Exhibition 2009 entitled Vision of Hope with artworks on display at the Singapore Art Museum 8Q on Saturday.

The exhibition showcases over 200 paintings and mixed media sculptures by current and former prison inmates from Singapore.

For the first time in its three-year history, the Community Art Exhibition is also featuring artworks by community members, in response to prison art and artworks from international correctional facilities such as Stanley Prison of Hong Kong and Macao Prison of Macao Special Administrative Region, among others.

The artworks are categorized according to this year’s sub-themes, which are Art, Communication, Opportunities, Resilience and New Beginning.

Jovyn Lee, a member of the exhibition’s organizing committee and Creative Arts Manager at the Singapore Prison Service said that these themes represent concepts common to everyone regardless of their background.

“Art has a powerful message. The themes of hope and resilience in these artworks are universal and not just limited to ex-offenders. Through Vision of Hope, we want to show that all of us have talents hidden in us,” Lee said.

Through the exhibition, many inmates discovered their artistic abilities and found opportunities to further their art studies. One example is artist and ex-offender Izani Sa’at, whose showcased work allowed him to pursue courses at the La Salle College of the Arts.

As he further develops his craft, Sa’at hopes to break out of his past as a former inmate. “I wish people would appreciate my work because it’s art, not because I’m an ex-offender. I want to be appreciated as an artist and a person,” Sa’at said.

The crowd of about 50 visitors filled the gallery with praise and admiration for the artists and their work. Steven Lee, a consultant and art enthusiast, said of the artists, “I really admire the path they go through. Everybody should really start from yourself to make a change.”

An art teacher who volunteered with Yellow Ribbon’s Prison Art Program was equally in awe of her students’ progress.

“In our art lessons, the inmates are able to express themselves and seeing their finished products now makes me so proud,” she said anonymously, as she was not authorized to speak to the media.

Coupled with Vision of Hope is the Yellow Ribbon Art Adoption Program, wherein interested collectors can bid online for art pieces featured in the exhibition. The proceeds of the program will go to the Yellow Ribbon Project’s selected beneficiaries.

Vision of Hope will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. everyday at the Singapore Art Museum 8Q until September 20.