Astronaut Space Helmet (Papier Mâché)
The next Apollo mission: To find a rocket shuttle big enough to send this many astronauts to space…
Blog
Ask Vanessa: Do you help to prepare my child for art in primary school? — 9Feb 2014
Singaporean parents are not having it easy. Cost of living is rising, schools are getting competitive (some less competitive), and housing much scarcer and expensive. We fret about milk powders, gym training, right brain development, pre-school admissions, and getting ready for primary school while still in pre-school!
For that, every parent deserves more than just one Mother’s or Father’s day off a year!
In this blog post, I’d like to discuss a common question I get from parents: “Do you help to prepare my child for art in primary school?”
Such questions really put me on the spot. Let me explain why.
Art is bigger than the classroom.
Schools follow an extensive art curriculum, covering a broad range of art topics, from art forms and principles of design, to elements of art. Students are also exposed broad ranges of skill training in art techniques, visual inquiry, communication, research and processing. If you’re interested, read about the primary school and lower secondary art syllabus.
But art is more than that. Art is imagining, exploring, interacting, and immersing.
Every student’s art learning journey in Artary brings them through creative and engaging themes, experiencing art through imaginative play and immersive music pieces, learning facts and knowledge about their artworks every week. Students learn as much about their art as about the world around them.
We believe in preparing our students not just for the classroom, but for the world around them.
Artary goes beyond the primary school syllabus.
Artary’s programmes focus not only on the variety of art theory, but also the depth of training provided.
Our students undergo a diversified and structured programme to acquire and master sets of practical art skills that build a strong foundation in art. For example, brush stroke techniques recur frequently during the programme, to provide students ample practices to be masterful in handling the brush.
Our goal is for all students to be skilfully equipped to practice art on their own, over and beyond what they learn in school.
To us, art is all about the experience.
Artary has always been about providing the best art experience. The experience of students is so important to us that our art sessions are conducted in very small groups, so that every student not only receive close guidance, but luxurious opportunities to participate in group discussions and to share experiences with their peers.
With a good foundation from Artary, our students often relate proudly the confidence they exhibit in absorbing during their lessons in schools, and the ability to appreciate and approach the school’s art projects with vastly different perspectives from their classmates.
So, no. We do not prepare your child for art in primary school. We’re preparing them for something bigger.
Sincerely,
Vanessa
Ask Vanessa is a new blog series where Vanessa shares insights into children arts education, parents’ questions, best practices and tips. Follow Artary’s Facebook page or our blog for more updates.
Crocodile-Infested Artary — 13Oct 2013
Asian Crocodile (Papier Mâché)
Artary Partners with Wyeth Nutrition — 13Aug 2013
Artary partners with Wyeth Nutrition to bring art to more children and youths in Singapore.
Visit our Partnership feature for more information.
Artary’s mission is to provide the best art experience. In August 2013, Artary partners with Wyeth Nutrition Singapore, and the S-26 series of products, to bring art to more children and youths in Singapore. Wyeth Nutrition, formerly Pfizer Nutrition, is part of Nestlé S.A. Wyeth Nutrition develops premium-quality nutritional products scientifically-designed to meet the needs of infants and young children, as well as pregnant and lactating mothers.
With purchase of select Wyeth Nutrition S-26 products, consumers can participate in the redemption of Artary’s Art Workouts, designed to nurture a foundation of love of art in children. Consumers can also stand a chance to win sponsorship in Artary’s Art Prism programme, a full art development programme for children from 4 to 8 years old.
Kang Kar Mall NTUC (Hougang)
Harnessing the Power of Technology — 17Jul 2013
Artary provides the best art experience to children and youths through four core components: High quality holistic art training programmes, qualified and caring mentors, immersive environment for learning and an efficient administration and customer service.
We want to share some ways where Artary has harnessed the power of technology to tackle some of the most difficult challenges we face. In this blog post, we will focus on solutions for administration and services.
Student Services
Quality of programmes are only part of the consideration when enrolling into any school or studio. Students will come into contact with different services of the studio: programme renewals, rescheduling of art sessions, progress feedbacks etc. A professional, efficient administration and support is essential to an enjoyable enrolment experience.
We had two simple goals in mind: To provide convenient access to student services from home, work or anywhere, and to provide accurate personalised information in real-time to benefit our students. The results are two complementary technological-driven solutions designed to put the power and convenience into the hands of parents and students: Artary’s Online Self-Service Portal and the Self-Service Station machines.
Self-Service Portal
The online Self-Service Portal provides an intuitive user experience for parents and students to access a myriad of student services, such as registration of trial sessions, online payments for programme renewals or rescheduling of classes. The Self-Service Portal can be accessed through any modern web browser, smart mobile phone or tablet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Immediate Trial Confirmation — There should be no barriers between children and their love for art. Artary has gone over and above the industry norms to offer full-duration art sessions at no cost. And we’re not stopping at that. Our Self-Service Portal allows students to browse the available trial classes in real-time, decide a suitable timing for the class, and receive instant confirmation for a reservation, without the hassle of multiple emails or calls. This allows us to reach out to as many students as possible, at anytime of the day. We are the first art studio in Singapore to offer this unparalleled level of convenience. See the Self-Service Portal at work →
(Instant art trial session confirmation on the Self-Service Portal)
Rescheduling of Art Sessions — Artary’s “no questions asked” rescheduling policy provides students the flexibility to opt for another session in the same week. The portal allows students to browse and review available sessions for the week, and to reschedule sessions through the Internet. We hope that the efficiency and the convenience of information on-demand will help parents and students better plan and react to the demands of their busy lifestyle.
Self-Service Station
You may have noticed the Self-Service Station in our studios. Behind the polish on the screen is the power under the hood. The Self-Service Station is a fully automated, self-help service platform aimed to provide almost every service functionality to our students with just a few clicks.
Programme Renewals — With the Self-Service Station, parents and students can renew art programmes, select art session dates, and make payments in minutes. The facility allows students to omit select sessions, automatically calculating prorated renewal fees. Self-help payment provides convenience with speed, greatly reducing the payment waiting times by up to 40%. Students can also instantly request other services such as progress reports or change of timings from the machine.
Human Resource Management
Every week, hundreds of students come into Artary for the best art experience. Each mentor provides close guidance in very small groups of four students. Managing the human resources to support enrolment of this scale is a monumental task.
With so many mentors each week, a unique solution must be created to support our resource planning requirements. Our resource planning software allows intelligent resource allocation, fully integrated into our payroll system. Mentors receive their schedules electronically, and can manage and track their assignments through a modern web browser or mobile phone.
Mentors also communicate through an integrated communications board to share thoughts about themes, artworks, class control and other strategies. Bringing communications online with this level of convenience keeps the entire team together through near real-time updates and sharing.
Our Commitment to Quality
Harnessing the power of technology allows our team to focus more on what is important to us: The best art experience.
Our willingness to innovate and invest in technology underscores our dedication to quality in all we do. Imagine how much more we do for our art programmes.
But these radical solutions demand more than just foresight, systematic planning and technical expertise. Substantial financial investments and human resources must be committed to make it work for our students. We engage and work closely with technology partners and industry experts to develop and deliver the best solutions for the benefit of our students.
We stand firm in our beliefs that our students deserve the best. This is just the beginning. Technology will be but one of the first ways we hope Artary will champion the new way forward for the rest of the art institutions in Singapore.
Featured on TV. Stay tuned! — 23Nov 2012
The studio has been transformed into a film site. We’re going to be featured on TV! Stay tuned!
