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ITE College Central and Wisma Atria collaborates for a magical Christmas in Orchard

Recognising the talents of our youths.

Nur Sabrina

Needs her space organised and clean 24/7.

Published: 23 November 2021, 10:53 AM

If you walk past Wisma Atria in Orchard Road from now till Christmas, you will be amazed by some beautiful light-up decorations inspired by the classic fantasy tale, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Themed ‘Whims and Fancies’, the 123m-long decorations are an effort from three students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central’s School of Design and Media.

This is the first time the mall has partnered with ITE to provide a platform for students to work on a real-world design project.

Wisma Atria X ITE Xmas decor timelapse
Have you ever wondered about the behind-the-scenes of our Christmas decor? ✨ This year, we partnered with the Visual Merchandising students from ITE College Central School of Design and Media in creating our Christmas set piece. Watch the video to hear a few words from the students about their creative process, and to glimpse a timelapse of our decor set-up! 🎥🎄
Posted by Wisma Atria on Thursday, 18 November 2021

Over 110 students from the Higher Nitec Visual Merchandising Course submitted designs, with three eventually selected to have their works displayed.

media-students-orchard — Malcolm Xiong (left), Chak An Qi (middle) and Cedric Lim (right) were awarded cash cheques of $2,000, $2,500 and $3,000 respectively at the light-up ceremony for having their designs selected. PHOTO CREDIT: YOUTHOPIA/NUR SABRINA

The students said that the planning and execution of their works took three to four months.

I asked 19-year-old Cedric Lim, one of the three students who had their works selected, how he felt about this whole ceremony and he shyly said: “I’m happy that it’s being showcased. It’s nice to see them [the public] taking pictures of my design.”

christmas-tree — To me, the 6m-tall “Queen of Hearts” Christmas tree was the main highlight of the event. PHOTO CREDIT: WISMA ATRIA

colourful-flowers-moving — I didn’t notice it at first, but these vibrant-coloured flowers will actually open and close slowly. PHOTO CREDIT: YOUTHOPIA/NUR SABRINA

alice-in-wonderland-rabbit — I spotted some familiar characters and elements like The White Rabbit and his little clock from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. PHOTO CREDIT: WISMA ATRIA

These designs aim to bring the festive spirit and joy, as well as positivity to Singaporeans, just in time for Christmas.

CEO of ITE, Ms Low Khah Gek said: “Nothing beats real-world application of skills. The partnership with Wisma Atria has offered a valuable platform for our Higher Nitec in Visual Merchandising students to apply their skills in a real-world design project and learn from industry feedback.

“Such collaborations are a key part of ITE’s curriculum, which focuses on providing students with authentic learning experiences and industry-relevant training. These help our students to build work-ready skills for their future careers.”

The light show for the decorations will take place from 7pm till 11pm.

So if you happen to be walking in Orchard Road, remember to stop by Wisma Atria’s Whims and Fancies for Instagram-worthy shots!

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