Creativity, confidence and a DSA edge: Why parents are investing in children’s art classes
Enrichment providers say families are increasingly looking to art to develop creativity, confidence and communication skills.
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SINGAPORE: For some parents, art classes are no longer simply about teaching children how to draw or paint.
Enrichment providers say families are increasingly looking to art to develop creativity, confidence and communication skills.
At Tree Art, enrolment in its art enrichment classes has more than doubled since 2022.
"I believe there's a change in the parents' mindset nowadays,” said the school’s chief financial officer Teh Chun Sem.
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“They are not only focused on academics, they are more focused on things like creativity, confidence level, how you train yourself, how you explain your ideas,” he said.
Art education should not be viewed only as training for children who want an artistic career, Mr Teh said.
Such skills could be applied to other fields, he said.
“For example, as an engineer … you have an imagination, you have creativity. In the future, you can create something different, and not just copy and paste."
Still, Mr Teh notes that some parents continue to look at art as relevant only for those hoping to pursue an career in art.
The firm is using roadshows and public art activities to raise awareness of how art can support a child’s wider development.
These include outdoor sketching at zoos and museums, as well as art competitions, with plans to hold more activities across more locations.
ART IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Technology is also making its way into art classes.
Tree Art incorporates skills such as 3D printing and robotics into its lessons, alongside process-based learning.
Arts education centre ARTARY has seen enrolment rise by about 30 per cent over three years.
The centre’s founder and director Vanessa Seng said some parents look at art as a way for their children to develop creative thinking beyond what they learn at school.
“They feel that art is an important tool to bring them to other aspects of creative building, such as animation, as well as visual literacy, not just art for art itself,” said Ms Seng.
“That's why they want to start them young,” she added, saying that some students are as young as two-and-a-half.
The centre has digital art offerings for older students and is also looking at introducing AI into its classes, but with some limits.
"We don't want to push our kids to directly use an AI tool, which is going against our values of art making,” she said.
It plans to use AI to help children catalogue their work, assemble portfolios and write artist statements, with kids ready to prepare and set up an exhibition for themselves.
But not all art firms are seeing enrolment increase.
The Art People has seen enrolment in its art classes fall by up to 30 per cent from 2025 levels.
However, it noted growing demand from parents to incorporate technology into its curriculum.
"If you skip tech entirely and just focus on traditional, I believe that in the next few years we'll be left behind, the whole society, even the art sector, will be left behind,” said Mr Bulner Xavier, founder of The Art People.
“To stay relevant, we really have to get our kids involved in tech from a very early age, get them comfortable,” he said.
It plans to introduce illustration, animation and 3D modelling into its classes in October.
FROM CREATIVITY TO DSA
But creativity and confidence are not the only outcomes some parents are seeking from art classes.
Enrichment providers are also seeing growing demand for programmes preparing children for Direct School Admission (DSA), where students can seek admission to certain secondary schools based on talents, including in visual arts.
Preparation can begin from age nine – years before applications for DSA in Primary 6.
At ARTARY, interest in DSA classes has grown by nearly 50 per cent over the past three years.
"Every parent would want their child to have an advantage.” said Mr Louie Ong, partner at ARTARY.
“DSA allows us to identify talent from a young age. This talent, when nurtured in the right direction, allows that individual or that child to excel,” said Mr Ong.
Students in the DSA classes are taught how to build a good portfolio, discuss and present their own work and prepare for interviews.
This comes in response to how schools are changing their DSA requirements and programmes, with some of them even requiring students to demonstrate artistic ability on the spot.
About nine in 10 of ARTARY’s DSA candidates have secured places, according to the centre.
Tree Art has similarly seen DSA enrolment rise by about 30 per cent in recent years.
But the art enrichment firm warns about the effects of parental pressure on children.
"Sometimes, parents are the ones that want them to enter just so they can enter the schools that they want, like their chosen secondary schools rather, and I think that puts a lot of pressure on the child,” said Tree Art’s regional supervisor Niesa Luib.
“Sometimes the kid loses their interest halfway, and the parents are still adamant,” she said.
For Mr Ong, he has seen that pressure affect kids even harder.
“Some kids burn out along the journey, and they don't want to touch another brush, and they break down, and that's because parents keep on pushing them… Kids go through a journey. there's a lot of emotions at school and all the stuff that they go through.”
The pressure can be harder to manage when a DSA application is unsuccessful.
While Tree Art says it sees a 90 per cent success rate for its students, it wants to make sure that students do not lose sight of the bigger picture.
“What matters most is our children's confidence and protecting how they feel and ensuring that they don't lose that spark that they have for art," said Ms Luib.
She pointed out that an unsuccessful application does not mean the end of the journey.
Teachers can work with parents to look for alternatives such as the Art Elective Programme (AEP) in secondary schools and potentially another DSA application at the junior college level, she added.
Mr Ong said the value of DSA preparation can extend beyond securing a place in a school, with skills accompanying children as they grow up.
“We’re actually preparing them for life skills, the life journey. How they express themselves, how they use art in their everyday lives. All these are relevant skills.”
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