1. Good afternoon everyone. First of all, let me congratulate the 19 young prize-winners of this competition. Your works are of the highest quality. They reflect a remarkable degree of talent, originality and creativity.

2. This is the first time that SLA is organising an art competition on State properties. We want to generate awareness amongst our school communities of our State buildings. Through this contest, we also hope that students can appreciate the unique architecture and the history of State properties. This way, they will appreciate Singapore better. Remember, every building tells a story. When we take time to appreciate the buildings, we soak in the real-life stories of real-life people behind these buildings. And it is the lives of individuals that collectively make up a life of a nation, in this case, Singapore.

3. SLA as custodian of over 5000 State properties actively seeks out ways to breathe new life into vacant buildings. These include former schools and army camps like Dempsey and Pearl’s Hill Primary School that have out-lived their original purpose. Through the process of adaptive re-use, these buildings are given new uses as dining and lifestyle establishments amongst others. New stories can then be told to future generations. The 10 properties short-listed for this competition embody the myriad of State properties under SLA’s management.

4. I am happy to see such a strong interest in this competition, 445 entries from 40 secondary schools, junior colleges and tertiary institutions. I am told that our 4 judges were deeply impressed by the outstanding artistic expressions and approaches. These range from pencil sketches to canvass paintings and digitally-enhanced works. Indeed, it was not easy for the judges to shortlist the 19 winning art works which you see in the room today.

5. I would like to thank our distinguished judges, Mr Khor Ean Ghee, Mr Woon Tai Ho, Mr Francis Ng and Mr Goh Chye Khee for the part they play in making this competition a success. To the 19 budding artists here, congratulations once again! Perhaps one day, your works will receive international acclamation and do Singapore proud. I want to leave you with a quote from Vincent Van Gogh - as practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.