McNally School of Fine Arts
About the School
Awakening artistic potential and developing critical rigour.
Live and breathe your passion at the McNally School of Fine Arts. Named after LASALLE’s founder, the late Brother Joseph McNally, the School offers contemporary practice-driven and research-based programmes across Diploma, BA (Hons) and MA levels.
With a strong focus on Southeast Asia’s role in global contemporary art, the School is redefining the landscape of artistic practice and research in the region and across the world.
Programmes span the spectrum of ceramics, curation, drawing, painting, performance, photography, printmaking and sculpture alongside new media and installation art to integrate expanded practices with art histories and critical theories that contextualise and question conditions for cultural production. This is delivered through an innovative and interdisciplinary structure that propels transformative education—one that nurtures creative experimentation and responsive rigour through social and ecological conscientiousness.
A dynamic exchange between programmes in the School ensures a vibrant ecosystem where theories and practices interleave seamlessly to foster new possibilities across media and methods.
Students are taught, supervised and mentored by a diverse faculty of acclaimed and established art practitioners who bring international perspectives and intercultural insights deeply and directly into studios, workshops and classrooms.
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Academics
Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, Media & Creative Industries
Professor Adam Knee
Head, McNally School of Fine Arts
Associate Professor Cissie Fu
Programme Leader, Diploma in Fine Arts
Erzan Adam
Programme Leader, BA (Hons) Art Histories and Curatorial Practices: Asia and the World
Dr Francis Maravillas
Programme Leader, BA (Hons) Fine Arts
Hazel Lim-Schlegel
Programme Leader, MA Fine Arts
Dr Ian Woo
Programme Leader, MA Asian Art Histories
Jeffrey Say
Senior Lecturer, Fine Arts
Adeline Kueh
Senior Lecturer, Fine Arts
Jeremy Sharma
Senior Lecturer, Fine Arts
Dr S Chandrasekaran
Senior Lecturer, Fine Arts
Salleh Japar
Lecturer, Fine Arts
Nadia Oh Sueh Peng
Lecturer, Fine Arts
Dr Wang Ruobing
Lecturer, Fine Arts
Dr Woon Tien Wei
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Diploma
Diploma in Fine Arts
Discover your unique voice in art. A strong foundation in art-making involves the acquisition and development of solid knowledge and skills in materials, accompanied by a reflective understanding of knowledge that is continually tested and extended through relevant practical application. Steered with this belief, the teaching and learning approach...
BA (Hons)
BA (Hons) Art Histories and Curatorial Practices: Asia and the World
Study art history and its curatorial practices. This programme is the first of its kind in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Instead of treating art history and curatorial practice as discrete disciplines, this distinctive programme fosters a symbiotic relationship between these two practices in the context of an evolving and...
BA (Hons)
BA (Hons) Fine Arts
Become an interdisciplinary artist who lives for the global evolution of fine arts. The study of fine arts is a process of continual debate and exploration, of questioning conventions and interrogating set perspectives. Contemporary fine art practices constantly negotiate their surroundings and histories in responsive and ever-changing ways. The...
MA
MA Arts and Ecology
Establish your artistic voice on ecological issues of our time. This studio-based programme is located in one of the greenest cities in the world, Singapore. This is a unique and pioneering transdisciplinary programme in Asia for creative practitioners, ecologists and researchers, and for those who seek to explore critical...
MA
MA Asian Art Histories
Read history, make history. The MA in Asian Art Histories programme cultivates a new generation of art historians, curators, art writers and exhibition-makers. It is a global pioneer to focus on Asian modern and contemporary art histories. It nurtures a nuanced and impactful appreciation of art from Asia, attracting...
MA
MA Fine Arts
Develop your individual voice as an artist. This unique research-based programme for artists fosters a deep inquiry into artistic practices through research. It supports artists to develop a profound conceptual and aesthetic approach to their practice and achieve a level of professional excellence required by the demands of a...
Short Courses
Soft Pastel Drawing I & II
Short Courses
Colour Grading in DaVinci Resolve
Learn to colour grade like a pro with our comprehensive DaVinci Resolve course, using the industry-standard software trusted by top filmmakers and editors. This comprehensive course, led by an experienced colourist with 15 years of post-production experience, will guide you through every step of the colour grading process. From basic...
Short Courses
Ceramics: Raku
Take your ceramics to the next level with our three-week raku exploration. This course delves into the exciting world of raku firing, creating stunning pieces with unpredictable, smoky beauty. Prior clay-building experience required. Master glazes, reduction techniques, and witness the magic of raku first-hand raku-fired treasures. About the trainers Ahmad...
Short Courses
Acrylic Painting I, II & III
Discover the versatility of acrylic paint. Participants will explore pictorial composition, the key to getting the right shades and hues, creating textures, form and value through still life, landscape, portrait and figure painting with this richly coloured medium. The prerequisite for level II and above courses is the completion of...
Short Courses
Botanical Drawing & Painting I & II
Learn to create an aesthetically pleasing work of botanical art. You will practise line drawing, proportions and tonal studies to capture the essence of a plant. Lessons include relevant drawing demonstrations and a range of drawing techniques that includes observational study, contour drawing, capturing details, compositional studies and tonal value....
Short Courses
Ceramics for Absolute Beginners I, II, III & IV
Use clay to form objects that are both functional and non-functional. Techniques covered in Level I include pinching, coiling and slab construction. Levels II and III focus on wheel-throwing techniques. The prerequisite for Level II and above courses is the completion of the previous level or prior experience. Applicants who...
Short Courses
Charcoal Drawing for Beginners
Expand your creative drawing skills with an intriguing dry art medium. Charcoal has unique characteristics that will help you discover your creativity through bold strokes, intricate marks and blending. About the trainer Sharina Azlan graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts,...
Short Courses
Chinese Ink Painting I – XV
Learn the techniques and nuances of Chinese ink painting to create your own traditional or contemporary art pieces. In this course, you will be introduced to the medium of Chinese ink, colour pigments, water and different brushes to create beautiful paintings of flowers, trees and scenery. A special emphasis will...
Short Courses
Creative Writing: Screenwriting
An introductory writing workshop for people interested in, but new to, writing for film and television. Many are more familiar with cinematic or televisual stories than any other art, yet too few try to tell stories in these pervasive media. The prerequisite for level II is the completion of the...
Short Courses
Creative Writing: Travel Writing
As in all good writing, travel writing is far more than a sequential account in prose. Learn techniques from other literary genres to make your travel writing come alive on the page. Key literary techniques like voice, dialogue, pace, narrative arc and humour will be showcased to commence and improve...
Short Courses
Drawing: An Introduction
Loosen your rigid drawing habits and be trained in the principles of drawing techniques. Using a wide range of drawing materials for hands-on practice, dive into the world of drawing as a means of intense visual exploration. Individual and class guidance accommodates varying levels of drawing ability. Note: Classes may...
Short Courses
Figure Drawing I, II & III
Go back to basics with this course on learning to draw the human form. You will study the human figure with an emphasis on observing proportion, volume and light with fundamental exercises in gesture, contour and lines. Note: Classes will require you to observe a life nude model in drawing...
Short Courses
Mixed Media Painting: An Introduction
Spark your creativity by exploring and experiencing a whole wide range of mixed media styles and painting techniques. About the trainer Sharina Azlan graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, with Distinction and a Diploma in Visual Arts (Painting), with High...
Short Courses
Oil Painting I – VI
LASALLE is well known for its fine arts education, and oil painting is one of the College’s strongest fields of study. From the basics of Oil Painting I to more advanced techniques in Oil Painting III, develop a sense of light, composition and brush techniques as you find your own...
Highlights
Explore our highlights
Young Talent Programme
The Young Talent Programme provides a platform for talented young artists to be spotted by galleries and art institutions, as...
Cultural Medallion & Young Artist Award
The Cultural Medallion was instituted in 1979 to recognise individuals whose artistic excellence, as well as contribution and commitment to...
International Conference on the Short Story in English Short Story Competition
The International Conference on the Short Story in English was first launched in 1988 in Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, by the...
IMPART Art Prize
The IMPART Art Prize supports the visual art ecosystem in Singapore by creating platforms for emerging local artists to dialogue,...
12th Benesse Prize
The Benesse Prize was established in 1995 when Fukutake Publishing Co., Ltd. changed its corporate name to Benesse Corporation, and...
UOB Painting of the Year
As Singapore’s longest running art competition, beginning since 1982, the UOB Painting of the Year has contributed to the development...
President’s Young Talents
Inaugurated by the Singapore Art Museum in 2001, an independent committee comprising local art professionals and a SAM curator nominates...
School initiatives
The Winston Oh Travelogue Award
The Winston Oh Travelogue Award offers recipients the opportunity to develop their artistic practice through overseas travel. Since 1999, the award has enabled numerous students and graduates to immerse themselves in a foreign land and respond to their new environments, and upon their return, exhibit their work.
McNally School of Fine Arts Alumni Grants
The McNally School of Fine Arts recognises the importance of supporting our alumni by providing a funding infrastructure that will empower them to be actively engaged in one or more of the following endeavours: Sustaining research and practice knowledge Encouraging production of, presentation of and participation in the arts Networking and professional development
M.A.TTER UNBOUND
M.A.TTER UNBOUND is a publication of the MA Asian Art Histories programme, created to promote critical writing as a means for students to shape and articulate their own voice in the field.
Praxis Press
Published annually, Praxis Press is a creative and critical platform that charts the intellectual and artistic voices of the McNally School of Fine Arts. Since 2007, each editorial generation—comprising students, faculty, staff and alumni—has contributed to this evolving archive of reflections on contemporary art and cultural practice, offering insight into the School’s role in shaping discourse within Singapore and across the region.