WKWSCI Students’ Photo Featured on National Heritage Board Collateral for World Cities Summit 2026

What began as a classroom assignment has found a place on the front cover of the National Heritage Board’s print collateral for the World Cities Summit 2026. 

The photograph, featuring Say Tian Hng Buddha Shop, was created by Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) students Ashlee Low, Lauren Lui, and Wong Zhi Ning as part of a photojournalism project on how traditional art forms are sustained in Singapore today. 

Inspired by a news story about young people pursuing traditional crafts, the students set out to document individuals keeping heritage practices alive while balancing work, family, and other commitments. 

One of the people they met was Tze Yong, a sixth-generation effigy maker at Say Tian Hng Buddha Shop, who apprentices under his father one day each week while holding a full-time job and raising a family. 

Through the project, the students spent time in the field, met sources, built relationships, and documented stories firsthand, experiences that form a key part of WKWSCI’s journalism training.   

They were later invited to present their work at Ctrl+Heritage, where practitioners, researchers, and members of the public gathered to discuss Singapore's cultural traditions. The students spoke about their reporting process and the care involved in telling stories rooted in heritage and community. 

Thank you to Tze Yong and everyone who opened their doors to the students and shared their stories for this project.