Calander of Events: 2009

21 February 2009
SCNUK New Year Drinks
V&A, 5pm

25 April 2009
SCNUK at Singapore day
Hampton Court Palace
https://app.singaporeday.gov.sg/programme.html

News: Singapore's debut at the Milan Fair 2006

Source : DesignSingapore website

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Singapore makes her grand debut at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (The Milan Fair) this year from 5-10 April 2006. The exhibition titled 'Design Happy! Singapore' to be presented by DesignSingapore Council will feature the works of four Singapore companies: Air Division, Aspial-Lee Hwa Jewellery, Enzer Electronics and Stikfas whose designers have been working closely with Japanese product designer and DesignSingapore's International Advisor, Toshiyuki Kita, under the auspices of the DesignSingapore-Kita Studios.

This exhibition marks the end of the first in the series of DesignSingapore Studios. Each company has taken close to a year to conduct extensive research, planning and development of the prototypes in collaboration with Kita-san.

Curated by Kita-san, the Singapore presentation will also showcase an architecture exhibition of VivoCity at HarbourFront and a photography exhibition of works by 10 Singapore photographers and Italian photographer, Maurizio Marcato.

Background Story

In December 2004, a group of Singaporean art, music and design students in the UK met for the first time when they were involved in the events for the Singapore Season in London. It was a fulfilling experience to engage with other Singaporeans to share experiences in the UK and discuss the developments of the creative industries back home in Singapore.

At that time, there were no official organisations in the UK to bring together Singaporean students and professionals from the creative industries.

Eugene Ng, then a design student, saw a need for these like-minded people to come together to discuss, inspire and develop bonds with each other. Driven by passion and a strong interest in networking, he established contacts and organised social gatherings for the much neglected Singaporean students and professionals in the creative industries in the UK.

Since then, the network grew in size and now has representatives from the various creative disciplines - theatre, dance, music, fashion, fine art, journalism, graphic design, photography, film, anthropology, philosophy and architecture.

In March 2006, the Singapore Creative Network UK was officially founded and established by Eugene Ng, Cheyok Cere, Sylvia Lim and Michele Koh. These four individuals from diverse and established backgrounds have a strong interest in creative talents and the potential inherent in the artistic community, both in Singapore and the UK. Most importantly, they are driven by a common passion and believe in the need for creative individuals to come together for personal and professional growth, and to find direction and purpose for their work.

Founding Members

Che Yok Cere
Current Network Coordinator / Founder



Since her graduation as a graphic designer from Temasek Polytechnic in 1996, Che has lived and worked in Singapore, Paris, London and most recently Hamburg.

Her earlier works include identity design for Kandang Kerbau Women and Children Hospital, Singapore Productivity Association, Singapore Youth Choir and also below- the-line advertising campaigns for Singtel, Pidemco Land and HMV in Singapore.

She also holds a record of new media work with London-based agencies such as BBC, EMC Saatchi and EMAP where her expertise lies in developing ideas for interactive campaigns on web & digital channels.

She is currently the Information Architect at Agency.com, an interactive marketing company based in both US and Europe. She is actively involved in research and interaction design for digital channels.

Che holds an MA in Design Studies from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London where she was awarded a distinction for her research in ergonomics and design for the aging. She is also an active member of the INCLUDE network at the Royal College of Art (RCA) and a member of D&AD.

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NETWORK FOUNDERS & PAST COMMITTEE MEMBERS, 2006


Eugene Ng
Network Founder



Eugene Ng was awarded the inaugural DesignSingapore Council (Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts) scholarship in 2005 to pursue an MA in management and policy studies for the Cultural and Creative Industries at the King’s College, University of London. His current academic research interests include creative industry development strategies, cultural leadership, design policy, and identity politics.

Prior to his postgraduate studies, Eugene was trained as a designer at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London where he graduated with a BA (Hons) in Media and Information Design with first class honours.

Eugene holds a multi award-winning portfolio of interdisciplinary design works that have been exhibited in London and featured in publications such as Creative Review Magazine UK, Creative Review Showcase Book UK, Men’s Health Magazine UK, D&AD Student Awards Annual and D&AD Talentpool.

Eugene adopts a holistic and integrated approach to creative theory and practice. He holds a Diploma in Visual Communication (Singapore), an Advanced Diploma in Mass Communications (Singapore) and a Teacher’s Diploma in Sogetsu Ikebana (Tokyo).

A strong believer in the power of networking for personal and professional growth, Eugene is a key driver in bringing Singaporean students and professionals from the creative industries in London together since 2004. He is currently a DesignSingapore Associate, a Student Representative of the Singapore United Kingdom Association, and was conferred membership to the British Design & Art Direction and the Chartered Society of Designers UK.

Eugene is currently based in Singapore.

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Michele Koh
Network Founder



Michele is a freelance writer who is currently pursuing a BA in journalism at the London College of Communication, University of The Arts London. She started working in television at age 11, as a show presenter for SBC’s “Seven to Twelve” then TCS’s “Teen TV”. She has since worked in film pre-production, written scripts for secondary school drama productions, illustrated a pre-school phonics text book, and was creative producer for Einstein Art, an art company that specialized in live public caricature performances and art therapy workshops.

Michele has also done research in Scotland, Ireland, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia for the Boston and Brussels based Associates for International Research (AIRINC). She was also the Singapore based coordinator for the Philippine’s Asian Institute of Management’s (AIM) “Managing The Arts Program”.

Over the last 10 years, she has written articles for I.S. Magazine, Her World, MediaCorp, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, Interior Quarterly, Live-e.com, edited manuscripts for Times Media Singapore and was the editor of Indie arts and entertainment magazine – Urbanite.

Michele went to college in Australia and later graduated with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts and Social Science from Upper Iowa University, USA. She also holds a Diploma in Arts Management from Asian Institute of Management. She will be doing an internship with Hachette Filipacchi, UK in June 2006.

Michele is currently based in Singapore.

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Sylvia Lim
Network Founder



Sylvia is the Global Business Development Director of CYC -The Custom Shop established in Singapore since 1935. She is pivotal in the company’s expansion in the UK in October 2006. In March 2006, the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore, appointed her as the Contact Singapore Representative to London.

Upon graduating from Central St Martins’ College of Art and Design with Textiles Design (Hons), Sylvia worked with apparel companies both in London and Singapore. She played a key role in design development with Laura Ashley Pte. Ltd., the Global Collection Development Division, textile agencies in London such as Calver & Pound UK, and was design consultant to Indoko Pte Ltd, Singapore, a company which carried the label “Senang Diri”.

In 1995, she joined Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore, as a lecturer and was instrumental in the foundation years of Apparel Design & Merchandising department. Over the years, she held offices as a subject leader and year coordinator. She was presented an Excellence Award for her exemplary performance by the polytechnic in 1998. This led to the awardance of a scholarship by the polytechnic to pursue her postgraduate studies specializing in Design Management at Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. As part of the course, she did a 2-month teaching programme in Tuscany, Italy, organized by Pratt Institute, New York. In 2001, she was appointed Course Manager of Apparel Design & Merchandising. Concurrent to her appointment, she was Capability Development Manager, overseeing and developing human capital in the Design School.

Sylvia is also an avid trainer to both fashion industry professionals and students, and has trained retail staff on textiles and fabric care in the local fashion industry, as well as teachers from the secondary schools.

Sylvia is currently based in Singapore.

Our Vision

The Singapore Creative Network UK (SCNUK) is a fully independent and non-profit organization focusing on connecting Singaporeans in the creative industry in the UK and Singapore. The network welcomes interests from Architecture, Dance, Design, Film, Fine Art, Music and Theatre to Arts Management, Anthropology, Aesthetic Philosophy and Cultural Policy Studies.

At present, the network serves as a playground for creative collaborations. For the past three years since it is inaugurated, the network has been organizing high publicity events including its two presence at the London Design Festival, and working with several well known organizations such as 100%Design, Designersblock in the UK and DesignCouncil Singapore to allow creative exchange between the creative circle in Singapore and the UK. It has also hosted many public events and screenings at various London art related venues such as the ICA, Fleapit and Candid Arts Trusts. It also seeks to collaborate on a smaller and accessible scale with sprouting networks and emerging creatives.

Due to the high mobility of creative people working and studying abroad, the network is anticipated to expand globally in the next decade or so with more collaborations with other established or emerging talents.