With a table of cold cuts and cheeses on the side and French wine flowing, Alliance Bank’s by-invitation exhibition was hitting all the right cultural notes. Held at Zhan Art Space, a gallery in Jaya One, the star of the show was the work of local veteran artist Ng Foo Cheong. Ng’s mixed media pieces fuse the traditional and contemporary, laying powerful, abstract colours over raised symbols inspired by his childhood memories of paper-cutting.

Gan Pai Li, Head of Group Consumer Banking at Alliance Bank, notes that the local interest in fine art is growing, particularly with young second- and third-generation clients. “There is a lot more interest now that the younger generation is coming up, and what I like about that is, they’re breaking barriers for us,” she says. “Kids are coming up with newer ways of approaching things.” She added that events such as these are introducing people to new interests, as well as providing platforms to network and build communities. “It’s an opportunity for our clients, who probably wouldn’t walk into an art event, to congregate,” she says.