Major Programme Partner
Shiv and Roopa Dewan
Registration
Strength Through Art is open to all students aged 13 and above in Singapore. For programme enquiries, email outreach@nationalgallery.sg
stART Initiatives
stART x schools
Strength Through Art (stART) is an art and wellness programme started in 2021. This multi-session workshop is designed to strengthen students’ visual and emotional literacy through guided dialogue, reflection and inquiry using artworks from the National Collection.
Rather than teach students what to make, stART focuses on how to explore, experiment and transform emotions into creative expression.
stART x Fei Yue Community Services
In collaboration with Fei Yue Community Services, stART Here: From Every Vantage Point creates an art engagement platform for youths who may feel overlooked, isolated or disconnected. Through the programme, NEET youths explore their feelings through artmaking — their lived experiences becoming the content, and themselves the creators and meaning-makers.
Rather than operating through a treatment or problem-based lens, the programme foregrounds capability, creativity, and shared authorship.
Watch the videos here:
stART x Institute of Mental Health
stART from Within is a special edition of stART for youth participants with lived experiences, engaged through the Institute of Mental Health to contribute artworks for the Biennial International Congress on Mental Health 2026. They are also invited into the Gallery as viewers, thinkers, and makers.
Rooted in the belief that healing and meaning-making can unfold beyond medical settings, this initiative reflects the value of cross-sector collaboration across arts and health. The programme offers a culturally safe space in the community for creativity to support mental health recovery and identity building. Without pressure to explain or perform, art allows space for reflection, imagination and connection.
View some of the artworks from the collaboration here:
Key features
Participants are guided to identify their emotions and develop strategies to cope with negativity through 6 sessions of artwork discussions and artmaking. The activities empower adolescents to turn their creativity into opportunities for self-care and equip them with basic knowledge of emotional first aid.
Learning outcomes
- Develop visual and emotional literacy
- Build emotional resilience
- Strengthen self-regulation skills
- View the stART programme logic here.
Focus areas of stART
- Name: Identify your emotions
- Frame: Notice how your emotions affect you
- Reframe: Uncover new perspectives and find strength through art
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stART Resources
- Playbook
- Care Collection Cards
Strength Through Art Playbook
Emotions take us on a journey of self-discovery. Participants can transform their thoughts and feelings into art through the Playbook. They are invited to express themselves when faced with challenges in whatever way feels right to them; be it write, sketch, or doodle.
