Mr Isma Danish never lost sight of his goals despite dropping out of NAFA and LASALLE College of the Arts.
Sunday, 7 June 2020
By Fitrah Amin
For many students, art schools like the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and LASALLE College of the Arts are out of the question when looking to pursue a diploma. Not for Mr Isma Danish, however, who has studied in both institutions in pursuit of his childhood dream to study the Fine Arts. Unfortunately, he never finished his course of studies in either school.
Mr Isma, aged 24, studied in LASALLE for two years before the academic rigour became too difficult for him to handle. He decided to drop out and completed his National Service (NS) before pursuing the same diploma in NAFA instead. He says his immense passion for the arts was what led him to make this impulsive decision and he dropped out again soon after.
Mr Isma is among a small cohort of students in Singapore who have chosen to pursue an arts diploma.
According to data from the Ministry of Education (MOE), art schools have the lowest student intake amongst the other diploma-level institutions with the highest intake being a mere 1781 in 2006.
LASALLE and NAFA have average yearly intakes of 606 and 798 students respectively. Both schools offer degree programmes as well which have an even smaller average yearly intake of 471 and 24 students respectively.
“Most people still feel that the art industry is not stable and thus not practical for formal education,” said Mr Isma.
The small number of students enrolled in these schools did not faze him as he was certain from a young age that he wanted to pursue further education in the arts.
While Mr Isma is grateful for the various exposure and networking opportunities provided by NAFA and LASALLE, he believes that most of his art knowledge was achieved in his own time outside of school.
“I feel that art schools are only necessary if one lacks basic knowledge and skills in the arts,” said Mr Isma.
Finding a job relevant to his studies did not come easy. However, with the support of lecturers and friends, he eventually landed a job as a junior artifact restorer, set painter and sculptor at Sentosa Development Corporation.
Not everyone was supportive, however. Many of his classmates were surprised by his decision to drop out of school and formed their own theories as to why he chose to do so. Mr Isma pays no heed to this.
“To me, it’s enough that my close friends know the reasons behind my decision and support me,” he said.
Despite being a passionate artist himself, Mr Isma believes that art is only worth pursuing if one is prepared to commit to it wholeheartedly.
“The journey to becoming an artist or having any career in the arts is a tumultuous climb. Hence, it is only worth it if the commitment and belief is there.”
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