Panthers of ISKL #319: 2025 - 2026 IASAS CULCON Delegates
Visual Arts students, Dola W. (‘28), Raisya M.I. (‘27), Tomás A. (‘26), Sofia N.B. (‘26), together with Film student, Steph G. (‘27), tell us about their experiences and what inspired their creative entries.
Here are their stories:
VISUAL ARTS
Tell us more about some of the workshops you participated in during IASAS Culcon
During the Cultural Convention, I participated in many workshops: tile-making, spray painting, mixed-media kite-making, and tufting! These workshops allowed us not only to learn the basics about these new media but also to experiment with our styles.
Describe your most memorable moments during IASAS Culcon and what you most enjoy about it?
My most memorable moment during IASAS Culcon was sharing dinner with friends I had made at the convention. Sharing food by the bay, laughing, and talking were incredibly heartwarming. These types of experiences are what I enjoy the most about Culcon: meeting new people, collaborating, sharing new ideas, and most importantly, making art together.
What did you gain through your experience at IASAS Culcon, and how has it impacted your work?
IASAS Culcon reignited my determination to work in the art world. I know that when I graduate, I want to pursue a career in the arts. However, at times I feel doubt; doubt in whether my career would be respected, and doubt in whether it is worth it. Yet, being at Culcon reminded me why I still create. The connections, new ideas, experiences, and people I met during Culcon reminded me that the pathway into the art world is what I truly want to do. — Sofia N.B
Tell us more about what inspires you in your preparation for IASAS Culcon
For my IASAS Culcon submission, I had multiple scrapped ideas and artworks. But as the due date crept closer, I was motivated by my friends and family for my final art piece, which is where I took my inspiration from, and finally turned my artwork in.
What new techniques or things did you gain/earn as an artist through your experience at Culcon, and how have they impacted your work?
During Culcon, I had the opportunity to try media I’ve never worked with before. These include spray painting and tufting. After trying these new art forms at IASAS Culcon, I discovered how vast the art world is, how many mediums and techniques I’ve yet to try in my years as an art student. I realized how much more I’ve yet to explore and expand on in my future works. — Raisya M.I.
Please describe the artwork you exhibited at the convention
The artworks that I exhibited at Culcon were two pieces of silver gelatin prints produced with fully analog processes, from shooting and developing film to enlarging at the school's darkroom. The first piece, a smaller 8x10-inch print, is a landscape piece named “Tonezzz”, created with the intention of showing my progression as an artist in the analog printing medium. The second, a larger 22x14 inch piece named “What the eye sees, what the world burns” is a diptych of my home country, Portugal, aimed at raising awareness of the climate crisis through the use of special reversal processing techniques to give one of the prints a destroyed and brutal look.
What advice would you give students participating in IASAS Culcon in future years?
Enjoy it! Take full advantage of being surrounded by like-minded artists from other schools, try new forms of art, and make new friends; that is what IASAS is all about! — Tomás A.
Please describe the artwork you exhibited at the IASAS Culcon
This year, I exhibited a pencil sketch of a traditional Chinese lion dance head. The lion dance has always been an important part of my culture, symbolizing faith, celebration, and meaning. Through this drawing, I hoped to preserve its spirit and keep it alive, especially as certain cultural traditions begin to fade over time.
Tell us more about the workshops you participated in during Culcon.
I participated in four workshops: kite design, tufting rugs, Peranakan tile making, and spray painting. The kite design workshop allowed us to be very creative, and I also learned how to use the spray gun for the first time. The tufting rug workshop involved a collaborative piece based on this year’s theme, flight, so we tufted a swallow. Learning to use the tufting gun made the process a unique and memorable experience. For the Peranakan tile workshop, we researched the history and visual style of traditional tiles before creating our own, which helped me appreciate the cultural background behind the craft. Finally, in the spray-painting workshop, we worked with the artist Sam Lo, who taught us several spray-painting techniques, making the experience especially exciting. — Dola W.
FILM
We are curious about the film you created for the IASAS Opening Night. What inspired you to make this, and what are you most proud of?
I decided to step away from my usual experimental and conceptual style and went with something I wasn’t familiar with: Comedy. Though I’ve encountered many other challenges - such as figuring out the logistics and scriptwriting - one thing that I’m most proud of is my casting decision. For the first time, I’ve cast someone based on the character rather than choosing within my friend group just to avoid awkwardness on set. I’ve cast a sophomore in my filmmaking class whom I had never spoken to before, and it was incredible how everything worked out so well, resulting in an IASAS-level Film. I have grown significantly as a director through this experience.
Tell us more about some of the workshops you participated in during IASAS
This year’s Culcon featured a particularly interesting workshop that explored one of today’s most controversial subjects, AI. Initially, I was skeptical about its practicality and the quality of generative artworks. However, I was quickly blown away by how much AI could produce results that would otherwise take hours of manual work on After Effects. I think it raised questions amongst the majority of the participants on the future of AI in the film industry. To what extent should AI be included? Or should AI be involved at all, at the risk of diminishing authenticity?
What advice would you give students participating in IASAS Film in future years?
One advice I would give to students participating in the future is to interact with as many students from other schools as possible. Do not be afraid to step out of the comfort zone of your own school. You will find yourself developing a lot of different, unique perspectives, inspiring new ideas for next year’s IASAS Film, and even find yourself collaborating in the future. — Steph G.
Do you know of any student, teacher, parent, or staff member who always has an anecdote to tell, loves to share some insights into their passions and interests, or simply is a Panther through and through? Nominate them to be featured in our Panthers of ISKL stories by sending in your submissions here.