SINGAPORE - When the circuit breaker kicked in last year, theatre student Muhammad Akid Budiman, 13, was at a loss on what to do as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted his life.

"A year ago, the days were so long... I didn't know what to do at home," said the beneficiary of the Business Times Budding Artist Fund (BTBAF), which celebrated its 16th anniversary on Friday (May 7).

"But my trainers at The Little Arts Academy kept connecting with us, and it helped to just talk to them when I was trying to pass the time."

The fund has made arts accessible to over 20,000 children and youth like Akid from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.

His story along with BTBAF alumnus Dowlatkhah N Sara and beneficiary Bazil Khalaf Basir was featured in a digital film chronicling the life challenges they faced, which premiered at the 16th anniversary of the fund on Friday.

The film - Live: Life A Celebration Of Lives Well-Lived Through the Budding Artists Fund - was screened to a limited number of invited donors and friends of the fund at Orchard Central.

Guests at the celebration event on Friday watched the digital production, which blended video and physical performances on stage.

Since its inception in 2005, the BTBAF has transformed the lives of its beneficiaries, aged from six to 19, by equipping them with skills in the arts and digital technology.

After the onset of the pandemic, it also helped children stay engaged through home-based learning and keeping lines of communication open whenever they needed a listening ear.

Ms Aminah Hussien, head of arts and community at charity arts organisation TRCL, which manages the fund, said: "Many of our kids come from very difficult backgrounds, often with little parental involvement.

"Through the fund, the youth are given opportunities to learn to express themselves through music, dance, theatre."

Mr Wong Wei Kong, editor of The Business Times, said: "The fund has been imparting the foundations of mixed reality and animation techniques to enable our children to have the resources and freedom to create stories in worlds of their own making.

During the event, long-time donor UOB presented a cheque for $473,371 to the BTBAF.

Mr Eric Lian, managing director of group commercial banking at UOB, said: "Through art, minds can be opened to new worlds and possibilities.

"We are thankful that we are in a position, together with the support of our clients, to help lead the next generation forward and foster greater social inclusion, self-confidence and financial literacy."