BUY a winning artwork from the 13-19 Art Prize, and you’ll be raising funds for underprivileged children. The works are priced from as low as S$150, and were created by teenagers aged between 13 and 19 from various schools.

Your purchase will support The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF), the newspaper’s 19-year-old charity. It helps children from low-income families pursue arts courses, in the belief that the arts help nurture their creativity and confidence.

For sale are paintings, sculptures and digital artworks, all expressing different facets of creativity and imagination. From vibrant landscapes to thought-provoking abstracts, each artwork tells a unique story and offers a glimpse into the young artists’ minds.

These works can be purchased on the TRCL website from now till the end of March. TRCL is a non-profit that administers the BT BAF.

As it is a “silent auction”, all you have to do is register your bid amount for the works that you like.

If the opening price for a work is S$250, you can bid that amount or anything above that. At the end of the auction period, the work instantly goes to the highest bidder. It will subsequently be couriered to you.

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If you’d like to see the works up close before making a purchase, you can visit the exhibition at Tekka 1001 at Tekka Place (opposite Tekka Market), B1-01/02, 2 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218227, from now till the end of March. The exhibition is open daily from 11 am to 9.30 pm.

Chong Huai Seng, advisory committee chairman of the 13-19 Art Prize and co-founder of the private art space The Culture Story, says: “I commend all the young artists who participated. Their adventurous spirit in exploring new artistic media shows no bounds. The contest attracted 188 entries and represented a diverse and vibrant array of talents.”

For the youths taking part, the 13-19 Art Prize is not just a competition; it’s an opportunity to express their dreams and aspirations. 

Among the winning artworks is Dreams, a gorgeously executed painting of a young woman asleep with a rabbit, amid lush surroundings.

The artist, 15-year-old Sun Jia Ze of Nanyang Girls’ High School, says: “I was inspired by the story of Alice In Wonderland and my own internal quest for solace during the more challenging months of school… The various elements of the painting, such as the flowers, fruits and cat, embody the vivid imagery of my dreams and my yearning for rest.”

Another eye-catching work is by School of the Arts student Na Byung Ha, aged 18.

It depicts Olympic champion archer An San through a lyrical blend of figuration and abstraction. In 2021, the South Korean sportswoman was cyberbullied for wearing her hair short and not appearing feminine enough.

The artist hopes to draw attention to An’s sporting achievements and “her bravery as a feminist icon opposing toxic beauty standards”.

The judges for the contest include gallery founder Audrey Yeo of Yeo Workshop, teaching head Tan See Kia of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, accomplished photographer Rosalynn Tay, well-known digital artist Shavonne Wong, lawyer and avid art collector Nicholas Song, and The Business Times lifestyle deputy editor Helmi Yusof.

Visit https://trcl.sg/13-19-art-prize/auction/ to see the artworks