Keppel partners Esplanade in exposing students to world-class acts

SINGAPORE - Keppel Corporation will partner Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay to relaunch its Keppel Nights programme, supporting the centre's efforts to cultivate lifelong arts engagement among the young. Keppel has committed $360,000 over two years to Esplanade in support of the programme. The sum will help Esplanade to provide students from some 20 heartland schools in Singapore with access to shows presented by Esplanade.

Keppel Nights, launched by Keppel Corporation in 2008, was a first-of-its-kind sustained ticket subsidy programme to nurture an audience for the arts. It benefited over 15,000 arts-goers and supported over 200 shows.

Ms Wang Look Fung, Director of Group Corporate Affairs, Keppel Corporation, said, "Keppel Nights aims to nurture in our young an appreciation of various art forms. In making available a wide and diverse range of arts and cultural events to students, we hope to inspire them and catalyse a life-long engagement with the arts. This sits very well with Keppel Corporation's 45th Anniversary theme of 'Shaping the Future'."

The new partnership for Keppel Nights was launched Saturday with some 50 students from Bedok Green Secondary, Riverside Secondary and Bukit Panjang Primary invited to watch the world-class Russian Bolshoi Ballet perform Swan Lake at the Esplanade Theatre.

Mr Lim Ewe Leong, Director of Partnership Development, Esplanade, said, "We are grateful to Keppel for their generous gift. Keppel Nights will help us allow more young people to experience quality arts programmes and enhance our efforts in building lifelong arts engagement."

Mr Lim Yu Kee, Principal of Bedok Green Secondary, said, "We aim to provide a holistic education so as to prepare our students for the future. In embracing the arts, we hope to develop in our students the confidence to express themselves, to foster their creativity and enhance their understanding of different cultures. We are pleased to be selected as a beneficiary of Keppel Nights and believe that our participation in the programme will enrich our students' education and inspire them to achieve greater heights in the performing arts sphere."

As one of the world's busiest arts centres, Esplanade offers a diverse range of ticketed and non-ticketed programmes which cater to all audiences. These include festivals and series presenting music, dance, theatre and the visual arts, with special emphasis on Asian culture.

spanaech@sph.com.sg