SINGAPORE – Seventeen-year-old student J’den Teo is back with his fifth art exhibition. Titled “Small Act. Big Difference. 2023”, it will feature 14 other artists, including 10 under the age of 20, the youngest being 12-year-old Nicole Wan.
Winner of the 2022 UOB Painting of the Year Andrew Huang, 19, is also taking part in the exhibition, which launched on Friday at Ion Art Gallery.
A total of 41 paintings are on sale until June 25, with all proceeds going to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF). Buyers can also purchase non-fungible token versions of 10 artworks and can opt to pay in cryptocurrency.
More than 100 youth volunteers helped to put the exhibition together.
J’den found inspiration when he went on a trip to Cambodia when he was six. Coming face to face with the realities of extreme poverty, he knew that he wanted to do his part to provide a platform for youth to do good.
He founded Tad Charity in 2017, a non-profit organisation dedicated to raising funds for the less fortunate – even if it was just in small ways.
He was a winner in the People of Good category at the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards in 2021.
His first charity art exhibition in 2017 helped to raise about $100,000 for STSPMF. He hopes to raise more than $100,000 with this fifth exhibition, through the sale of the art and copies of art books.
STSPMF was started in 2000 to provide pocket money to children from low-income families, to help ease the burden of schooling expenses.
J’den produced various art pieces for the exhibition, including two paintings of an ox. One, titled Forging Ahead, symbolises courage in the face of fear, while Overcome depicts the overcoming of one’s fears.
He said he hopes that his interest in art can inspire other youth to similarly use their skills to do good and help the less fortunate.
The St Joseph’s Institution student said he was touched by how the youth volunteers in this project stepped up to contribute to the cause.
The volunteers were recruited through word of mouth and the various talks J’den had given in schools across Singapore.
Managing the large pool of volunteers this time was a challenging experience, he said.
“Organising the fund-raising exhibition was a huge learning curve for me. But at the same time, it was something memorable for us because these are young people who come in with such new and interesting ideas.
“I am deeply inspired, seeing their passion for philanthropy.”
