The Centre for Culture and Communication (CCC) strives to transform RP into a cultural hub by integrating the humanities into the curriculum of all diploma programmes and encouraging active participation of the campus community in cultural activities. The Centre also aims to equip students with communication skills and life skills so that they may effectively function in the working world.

Performing Arts

A whole gamut of activities was held throughout the year, infusing the campus with arts and culture. In January 2004, the Local Music Awareness Programme was launched to offer our students opportunities to interact up-close and personal with local artistes. Guests who have graced our grounds so far include local DJ Consortium Frontal Labs, and local bands E.P.I.C. and mizeryFree.

RP’s Malay Cultural Group took part in their first Pentas Pujangga competition on 24 January 2004 which saw the various institutes of higher learning compete in a combination of Malay cultural art forms such as Bangsawan (Malay Opera), singing, poetry and silat. The RP team took home the 3rd prize as well as the special prize for Best Script.

Visual Arts

As a lifestyle library, RP’s library is a popular venue for arts activities and events. An example of this was an exhibition entitled SpeLLbound by external artist Paul Koh which was displayed at the library for three weeks.

From 15 January to 15 February 2004, the Foreign Cultures exhibition in the Library Art Corner showcased artifacts, international film screenings, a photo exhibition of Myanmar and a postcard display of Sri Lanka. The exhibition helped raise awareness of different cultures among RP students.

Another exhibition held at the library was Strange Things: An Art Workshop in February 2004. The hands-on art workshop helped expose students to the art-making process with groups of two to three students creating an installation art object. They were guided through the entire process from conceptualisation to execution by Ms Lim Shing Ee, a regional practising installation artist.

Literary Art

In August 2003, a poetry recital was held at RP, featuring renowned local poets such as as Cyril Wong, Alvin Pang, Felix Cheong, and the Centre’s own Terence Heng.

On 9 January 2004, @Loud, the student newsletter was inaugurated. The quarterly publication showcases the literary and artistic talent of the student population.

The inaugural RP 10-Minute Playwriting Competition was organised with the theme Growing Up and incorporating surprising theatrical stimuli. Participants were engaged in a four-week process of crafting short plays which were then judged by a panel of in-house and external judges, including Alfian Sa’at, the National Arts Council’s 2002 Young Artist Award Winner for Literature.

Under the Visiting Artist Programme, a five-week project entitled Working in Liminal Spaces was organised from March through early April 2004. Students interacted with the artists through workshops and Q&A sessions. The Visiting Artist Programme is supported by a grant from the Shell Companies in Singapore.

Arts-Enthused Staff

Nobody promotes the arts best like people who are in the arts industry itself. The Centre’s staff member Serene Chen performed in "Land of Joy" - a Mandarin play for children, written by Lim Jen Erh and staged by Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble, and "Landmarks: Asian Boys Volume 2" - written by Alfian Sa'at and staged by Wild Rice.

Another Centre staff member, Melissa Wong, represented RP in the International Festival Transit IV in Odin Theatre, Denmark. Female artists around the world congregate at the Festival to share their work, network and hold pedagogical discussions. Melissa also represented Singapore in the ‘World Art Summit’ in January 2004, an international conference for arts practitioners and policy makers organised by the International Federation of Arts Council and Culture Agencies.