Underprivileged children who need a space to direct and produce their own shows will now have access to a new studio.

These children, who are part of The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, will have access to the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (Cave) studio at The Little Arts Academy's (LAA) newly opened centre at Northpoint city in Yishun.

The studio is one of the first in the region to be specifically designed, built and made available to younger children to let them experience learning through virtual reality and 3D technology.

"We hope to enable our young to gain a right mindset and the confidence to be part of a future-ready workforce that is constantly disrupted by the use of digital technology," said Ms Aminah Hussien, head of arts and community at The Rice Company Limited, a not-for-profit group that manages LAA.

"For instance, with Cave@LAA, our students are able to use equipment such as a virtual reality headset and the tilt brush software which allows them to create a room scale size virtual reality painting, enhancing their artistic experience," she added.

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) sponsored $280,000 for the new studio.

Head of digital at HSBC Bank Singapore, Mr Alvin Lim, said: "As Singapore has just topped the 'smart city' global ranking and is a leader in the Smart Cities Network across Asean, we feel that this initiative is particularly timely and beneficial to our young people."

The children, aged six to 12, will be able to learn with the aid of a full range of technologies such as augmented reality, mixed reality, holograms and 360-degree videos at the studio.

Up to 800 children a year will benefit from this Cave studio.

Jasia Shamdasani