UBS in collaboration with LASALLE College of the Arts (‘LASALLE’) is raising awareness on sustainability with Singapore’s tallest upcycled festive tree. This work of art, made with 6,000 upcycled plastic flowers and standing at 12.8 metres, is certified by the Singapore Book of Records as the nation’s tallest sustainable tree made up of plastic bottles.
Titled ‘A tree reborn’, this work of art was unveiled at a light-up ceremony during UBS’s Appreciation Night on 29 November. It stands on the grounds of Fort Canning Park and will be open for public viewing until January 2020.
‘A tree reborn’ kicks off UBS’s Sustainable Arts Program for youths, a joint project with the Community Foundation of Singapore (CFS) which engages community partners to support and mentor youths by therapeutic learning through art.
August Hatecke, Country Head UBS Singapore, shared, “UBS has been in Singapore for close to 50 years and is proud to have been a part of the growth of Singapore as a top financial center. This handover is a significant milestone as we consolidate over 3000 colleagues across our wealth management, investment bank and asset management business at 9 Penang Road to enhance collaboration and offer new capacity for future growth in Asia. Today, Singapore is one of our top two major international booking centers for UBS's wealth management business in the region and headquarters for UBS's investment banking business in South Asia. The facility will also be home to the UBS University, which provides training and development programs for employees across the region and the UBS APAC Innovation lab.
UBS has always been a leader in sustainability, and this latest UBS Sustainable Art Programme for youths in Singapore is an extension of our ongoing commitment to the communities that we conduct business in. Over the years, we have seen increasing interest amongst our Asian clients on sustainable investments. I am pleased to announce that we successfully raised over USD$700 million from APAC clients since we launched the world’s first 100% sustainable cross-asset portfolio.”
“LASALLE is thrilled to be collaborating with UBS and community partners on such a meaningful project. Through this sustainable arts programme, we continue to champion the social impact of the arts by making a difference to the community and the environment,” said Professor Steve Dixon, President of LASALLE.
The first phase of the project consisted of a series of art-making workshops conducted for beneficiaries from AWWA, Halogen Foundation Singapore and Care Corner Seniors Services, as well as volunteers from UBS and LASALLE. Under the creative guidance of LASALLE Master of Fine Arts alumnus and artist Steven Lim, the volunteers upcycled, transformed and created 6,000 unique and intricate flowers from 3,000 discarded plastic bottles. The colourful flowers were then displayed onto a tree structure at the amphitheatre of Fort Canning Park with the help of Fort Canning Hotel and NParks.
“What is normally discarded can be turned into works of art through a process of selection, personal judgement and decision-making. Besides giving participants the opportunity to be engaged in creative art-making, this process transforms the end-of-life bottles into beautiful blooms which together create a stunning effect on the tree. ‘A tree reborn’ spreads a message of hope, joy and love in this season of giving.” said Mr Lim.
In the spirit of sustainability, phase two of the project kicks off when the tree is dismantled in January 2020. The floral decorations will be further upcycled and repurposed into functional objects and décor items, with the help of community partners such as AWWA and Halogen Foundation. Other material will be used to create unique art pieces some of which will be displayed at the new UBS office. This project is also supported by Hotel Fort Canning, National Parks Board (NParks) and Acceptable Things, a design studio with a focus on sustainable art.
UBS is committed to driving change that matters in finance and philanthropy, in communities and in business. The Sustainable Art Program for youths is one of several sustainable community projects that UBS is spearheading. Earlier this year, UBS and BOTTLETOP jointly launched the #TOGETHERBAND campaign which aimed to build awareness and engage Singapore and the world with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals through sustainable fashion, contemporary art, music and documentary film.
Photos courtesy of UBS Singapore. From left to right: August Hatecke, Country Head, UBS Singapore; Professor Steve Dixon, President, LASALLE; Edmund Koh, President, UBS Asia Pacific.
