Visual Arts Hub

In line with the Singapore Prison Service’s mission to rehabilitate offenders for a safer Singapore, the Visual Arts Hub (VAH) was set up in Changi Prison Complex in 2009. VAH aims to give every inmate artist a blank canvas to re-paint his life, nurture his artistic potential, encourage creative insights and facilitate a positive change in mindset. Through the visual arts programme offered at VAH, inmate artists have the opportunity to unlock their potential and contribute to the community in meaningful ways. 

Yellow Ribbon Singapore

Yellow Ribbon Singapore is a statutory board under the Ministry of Home Affairs which helps inmates and ex-offenders rebuild their lives and lower the recidivism rate through career and skills development, with an effective aftercare support network. Through championing second chances and rehabilitating ex-offenders, Yellow Ribbon Singapore hopes to achieve a safer and more inclusive Singapore where inmates and ex-offenders are adequately supported in their rehabilitation and reintegration journey. 

Barry Yeow

‘As long as you have breath you have hope.’

Barry is a former drug addict and spent over 20 years in prison during different periods of incarceration.  During his last period in prison, seeing inmates facing the death penalty due to their addiction, Barry was determined to turn over a new leaf and he started attending fellowship sessions and reading spiritual books. After winning an art competition organised by the Yellow Ribbon Project, he applied for and was selected for a painting course. In this course, his instructors included lecturers from LASALLE College of the Arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Besides watercolour and acrylics, he also learned pottery, sculpting and batik painting.

Since his release from prison, Barry has gone on to become a full-time artist/painter and founder of 5seventeen, a teaching studio here in Singapore. He has been exhibited worldwide as well as locally.  He works across different media including acrylic, watercolour and batik.   He believes that the process of art brings together many disciplines that help to heal the whole and contribute to life skills - planning, time management, delivery and deadlines.  He is an art mentor at Visual Arts Hub based in Changi Prison Complex and is the co-founder of CANVAS which was set up to support former inmate artists to continue their art journey professionally or as a hobby, but bonded together through a love of art.

Muhammad Ridhuan Bin Jailer

Ridhuan is a Singapore-born self-taught artist who has enjoyed drawing and the creative sphere from a very young age. As an introvert with speech impediments, art has always been a wonder for him and naturally became an outlet for him to express himself. His curiosity of art has led him to seek the opportunity to learn Basic Art Courses at the Visual Hub Arts, which also led him to be trained in 2D & 3D and Batik Painting through Lasalle's customised program. Around that time, under the guidance of Singapore ceramist/Visual Artist Ahmad Abu Bakar, Ridhuan learned the fundamentals of ceramics/pottery and further understood art practices such as conceptual work and installation. Along his journey of practice and learning, he exhibited his works in the Yellow Ribbon Community Art Exhibition yearly from 2014 to 2019. His interest in sculpting also made him try and participate in CDL Singapore Sculpture Award 2017. In addition, he was also a contestant for the Fine Art International Contest that was held in Berlin in 2017.

 As an artist, Ridhuan has made Pablo Picasso his source of motivation for inventiveness and is keen to explore the contemporary direction of German artist and theorist, Joseph Beuys. Ridhuan believes that art is borderless in terms of the diversity of materials that can be fashioned into a statement. Specifically, industrial components and discarded items are seen to be amongst his aspects of exploration. He dialogues with paintings and 3D works differently - in one, he tries to approach it like a poet, while he approaches the other with artistry and logic. Often, he creates what echoes from his mind to make an experience of the world he lives in. Presently, Ridhuan is a full-time practising artist, doing commissioned works and murals projects. To him, art is a progression, unfolding into a journey that evaluates the essence of life and the reflection of its existence.

#MeetArts is honoured to be one of VAH's partners. Click here: https://linktr.ee/meetarts to browse artworks by Ridhuan and our other talented artists.