When art makes the rounds: Geneco, Yellow Ribbon create a roving gallery

[SINGAPORE] About 15 art pieces created by inmates at Changi Prison made their way around Singapore for most of December.

However, the display of the paintings across the island – from Hillion Mall in Bukit Panjang to PLQ Plaza in Paya Lebar – was not in a gallery, but inside a van.

The event, Star Light, Star Bright, was a collaboration between electricity retailer Geneco and non-profit organisations such as Yellow Ribbon and Salvation Army. 

The aim? To not only bring awareness of giving second chances to this group, but also to highlight the importance of familial ties during such periods, especially as some the paintings were completed with the children of the inmates. 

On why this group of people were chosen as the beneficiaries, Alex Chan, head of brand, communications and marketing at Geneco, said: “We believe in second chances.” 

Studies by Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development have shown that children of incarcerated parents are almost three times more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system and that was what partially spurred the initiative, he added.

Saraswathy Gunasegaren, assistant director (aftercare) of Yellow Ribbon Project, said: “(Hence), strategic partnerships with corporates like Geneco are vital in enhancing the ecosystem of support for inmates, ex-offenders and their families.”

Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim officiated at the electricity retailer’s first roving art gallery.

He said that these artworks are more than just creative expressions. “They are powerful testimonies of resilience, love and unbreakable bonds in families.”

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The artworks were available for viewing till Jan 1 and members of the public also pledged their support by voting for their favourite pieces and contributing towards Geneco’s S$10,000 donation to Yellow Ribbon Fund in support of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.

Chan said that it is important that for-profit companies give back to the underprivileged.

“Everyone has a responsibility to build society, especially one that the business operates in,” he added.