From left: Le Thi Anh Trang, Programme Leader Dr Ronald PMH Lay, Danielle Henricus, Emily Hiles, Luo Meifang, Karin Yeung Matthews, Mandy Lim, Anuja Deshpande, Lin Chian-Yu.
By Danielle Henricus and Mandy Lim
Photos by Mandy Lim
On 20 September 2025, LASALLE’s Year 1 MA Art Therapy students participated in Caregiving Fest, as part of Caregiving Week 2025, an annual flagship event organised by the Caregiving Welfare Association.
Leveraging on the core constructs of art and health, key tenets of the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023, and the principles and practices of art therapy, the students spent eight hours at Sengkang Grand Mall immersed within the community to champion creative self-expression through direct engagement with the arts.
This year’s event was themed ‘A Lifeline for Seniors’ and focused on seniors and their caregivers in the areas of building life skills, aging well and caring better. The students facilitated art-making activities as part of the event, guiding members of the public to paint bear figurines and build their own ‘stories of care’ through a facilitated clay sculpting activity.
Reflecting on her experience, Year 1 student Luo Meifang shared, “All of the seniors I spoke to took care of themselves and made an effort to do physical exercises in order to remain independent. For the future, most of them wished for a caregiver who would provide a listening ear. They sculpted items like hand walkers, phones, cats and teacups out of the clay, surprising me with their creativity.”
Through engaging with the materials and activities, participants were also invited to reflect on and share about their personal caregiving journeys and appreciate the unique qualities of their experiences.
“What amazed me was how the simple act of shaping dough gently unfolded stories of caregiving: feelings of completion, pride in independence, freedom interwoven with tiredness, sadness and worry,” said fellow student Le Thi Anh Trang. “I feel grateful to have witnessed such genuine sharing, which once again affirms the power of art creation as a channel to express and connect.”
The act of art-making also afforded participants the opportunity to express their thoughts and emotions through nonverbal or symbolic means. Student Lin Chian-Yu, shared, “I happened to work with a lady who communicated through body language and was surprised at how we connected through the clay piece we co-created. I truly enjoyed engaging in the activity without the need for words.”
The event was a great success, with more than 1,000 attendees. Daniel Yao, Senior Executive, HOD, Fundraising, Caregiving Welfare Association expressed his gratitude for LASALLE’s participation, saying, “Your partnership made the occasion especially meaningful, and we deeply appreciate your commitment to support the caregiving community together. We truly value this partnership and would love to continue building it together.”
