One might think that building a DSA portfolio is as simple as putting together a few doodles and artworks your kids have done over the years, to submit them to the schools of your choice. However, taking into consideration the increasingly high standards and growing competition of art schools and DSA programmes, only extremely devoted and passionate students will be admitted to the prestigious art and design schools of their choice!
Preparing an art portfolio requires full compliance to particular sets of requirements announced by the respective schools. Direct School Admission, otherwise known as DSA is a special school admission exercise where students are given the opportunity to demonstrate a diverse range of achievements and talents to seek admission to secondary schools or junior colleges. For example, students may apply for DSA under visual arts with a portfolio of artworks that demonstrate the student’s talent and creativity.
Quoting the MOE website
Primary 5 students can apply for DSA-Sec based on a wide-range of talents, including:
The DSA exercise is the only platform and chance for students to impress the admission officers with their good foundational art skills, own sense of style, as well as the rest of their talents. Not only that, successful DSA applicants will have a place reserved for them in their school of choice!
How are we preparing our students in their making of the Art Portfolio?
VISUAL ARTS CENTRE DSA – PORTFOLIO COURSE PROCESS:
Part 1 : FOUNDATION ART TRAINING SESSION- 48 Sessions Foundation Training Course (3 Medium Art Immersion)
At Visual Arts Centre, our goal is to help students to build a strong foundation in visual arts. Students will acquire independence and competency in their individual artistic skills which they will undergo at least a year or more of foundation Art Training at Visual Art Centre. And as time goes by, long-term consistent art training helps instil strong basics of groundwork in the mediums offered such as watercolour painting, acrylic painting, oil painting and Drawing & sketching. With that, students are confident to take up a range of subject matter such as portraiture, still life, landscape, and urban landscape which they are able to produce the required artworks as they develop higher proficiency in their artistic skillset during the years-long art training sessions at Visual Arts Centre.
Our professionally trained instructors will enhance your kid’s artistic skills, ranging from the utmost basics of drawing and sketching to producing their own unique style of artworks over a period of time. These include:
We’ve collated admission information from some of the top local and global art schools and broken them down into 3 key criterias:
Part 1 of the Art Portfolio Preparation Course for DSA will focus on training and developing the student’s art foundation and techniques. These foundational skills are essential to creating a good portfolio as they serve as the base of every artist’s journey in the professional world. Specifically, students will be trained in:
Over the course of 24 sessions, we will emphasize on honing these techniques and thereafter, conduct an assessment after every technique has been taught. This enables us to track our students’ progress and ensure that we are able to identify their weaker areas and spend more time on improving them.
At Visual Arts Centre, we strive to train our students to be well-rounded. This helps them to be more versatile and able to meet the needs of their clients in the future. Or even for themselves, to achieve the most out of their creativity in their own artworks.
Part 2: IDEAS CONCEPTUALISATION & CONSULTATION SESSION (Portfolio – Creative Private Class ) – 4 Sessions
Additionally, upon taking up the Foundation Art Training Course our students are capable to exhibit their strengths in various art subjects that require great technical skills and observational skills. With that, our studio continues to support our students in their creation of art that reflects their individuality and unique style.
Hence in the process of undergoing the year-long training, students can opt for the creative portfolio private class sessions. Where extra guidance and assistance will be given to our students in the private class setting to create a more effective and conducive learning environment for our students who are looking for focus coaching by the teachers at the studio. Students will be arranged on a 1 to 1 session of 2h 30 minutes whereby during the session, our professionally trained instructors with many years of experience in preparing students for portfolio preparation will enhance our student’s artistic skills, ranging from the utmost basics of drawing and sketching to producing their own unique style of artwork over a period of time.
After this focus coaching, constructive feedback is given by the teachers to further hone the art skills of our students which continues to benefit the art learning process of our students and helps them to be a step closer to achieving their art goals.
Our students will be expected to gain an artistic voice and cultivate competency in their art skills and creativity after undergoing the Foundation Art Training Course here at Visual Art Centre.
Part 2 of the Art Portfolio Preparation Course for DSA focuses more on the development of our students’ artworks. This second phase emphasizes creativity and helping our students find their artistic voice and sense of style, to enable them to stand out amongst other applicants.
Our professional instructors will help students to utilize the techniques learnt to create their own unique works of art. Our students will be encouraged to find out their various inspirations, and discover their areas of interest. They will also be aided in developing their thought processes behind making works, to help their works evolve to be more aligned with their own style and voice.
In addition to the development of their artworks, students will also be coached in how to deal with interviews, and improve their presentation skills. Not only are these important for the DSA application process, they can also come in handy for students in other situations in the future.
Drawing and sketching takes much practice and patience. When you sketch, you have to concentrate and focus on your work to produce the best outcome. This is especially so, when you are working on a life drawing and sketching piece. When sketching from life, you want to capture all the details of the object and the form in one sitting. Hence, while learning drawing and sketching, you will find yourself being able to focus and work on tasks for longer periods of time – therefore, allowing you to exercise your basic art skills at the same time.
Drawing and sketching takes much practice and patience. When you sketch, you have to concentrate and focus on your work to produce the best outcome. This is especially so, when you are working on a life drawing and sketching piece. When sketching from life, you want to capture all the details of the object and the form in one sitting. Hence, while learning drawing and sketching, you will find yourself being able to focus and work on tasks for longer periods of time – therefore, allowing you to exercise your basic art skills at the same time.
Following the end of the 48 sessions we us, you can expect to have at least grasp a basic understanding of the various mediums you have been exposed to throughout the sessions. How different techniques can be applied to a certain specific medium will also be shared to enable an exploratory process of how the artwork can be further enhanced.
Registration is now open! (Our Portfolio class will be carried out alongside our regular classes.)
Age Group: Portfolio preparation students, Youths/Adults applying for art schools
Price (All Materials Included):
48 sessions – Foundation Art Training (1 year): $2640
Validity: 50 Weeks
48 Sessions – Foundation Art Training & 4 sessions of Portfolio Creative Coaching (1 year): $3640
Validity: 54 Weeks
72 sessions – Foundation Art Training & 4 sessions of Portfolio Creative Coaching (1.5 years): $4800
Validity: 80 Weeks
Ala carte 4 sessions Portfolio Creative Coaching: $1500
Dhoby Ghaut Studio
10 Penang Rd, #01-02 Dhoby Ghaut Green, Singapore 238469
Monday: 11am – 1.15pm | 5pm – 7.15pm | 7.30pm – 9.45pm
Tuesday: 3.30pm – 5.45pm | 3.30pm – 5pm / 4.30pm – 6pm (Creative Kids)
Wednesday: 11am – 1.15pm | 1.30pm – 3.45pm | 5pm – 7.15pm | 7.30pm – 9.45pm (Chinese Ink)
Thursday: 1pm – 3.15pm | 3.30pm – 5.45pm | 7.30pm – 10pm (Portrait/Nude Life Drawing)
Friday: 11am – 1.15pm | 2.30pm – 4.40pm (Digital Painting) From 3 Feb 2023 | 5pm – 7.15pm | 7.30pm – 9.45pm
Saturday: 10.30am – 12.45pm | 1pm – 3.15pm | 3.30pm – 5.45pm | 6.30pm – 8.45pm
Sunday: 11.15am – 12.45pm (Creative Kids) | 1pm – 3.15pm | 3.30pm – 5.45pm
140 Paya Lebar Rd, #03-04 AZ@Paya Lebar, Singapore 409015
Saturday: 10.30am – 12.45pm | 1pm – 3.15pm (To Enquire)
Sunday: 10.30am – 12.45pm | 1pm – 3.15pm (To Enquire) | 3.30pm – 5.45pm (To Enquire)
WhatsApp/Call: 6255 0711
Email: info@visualartscentre.sg
You will be redirected to the workshop registration page to fill in your enrollment details after you make payment. By clicking “Buy This Package”, you agree with our terms and conditions. Do note that there is no refund for signups.
All of our courses are conducted in our cozy art studio, which will provide you with a conducive environment to learn with us. Built by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore, Visual Arts Centre is located in the heart of the Dhoby Ghaut Arts & Heritage precinct, a main tourist destination for experiencing the arts and cultural atmosphere of Singapore. We are also minutes away from several major art institutions, museums and schools. We are a stone’s throwaway from Dhoby Ghaut MRT station and many bus stops, so it is easy for you to navigate to us.
Location: 10 Penang Road, #01-02 Dhoby Ghaut Green, Singapore 238469 (Dhoby Ghaut MRT Exit B, 30 meter, left turn)
Have any queries? Please feel free to contact us at 6255 0711 / 6733 2155 or WhatsApp +65 6255 0711
We can also be contacted via email at info@visualartscentre.sg.
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