A total of 815 students from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) graduated on Saturday afternoon.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, who graced the convocation at the Singapore Conference Hall, said Singapore had called for broader definitions of, and multiple pathways to success, during the year-long Our Singapore Conversation dialogue. Addressing the students, he said: "I look to you to be living examples of how there can be many roads to success, and many versions of success."

He said Singapore's economy had grown over the years, together with its appreciation for the arts. "[The economy] today offers a variety of jobs, including many in the creative and design areas. The opportunities for our arts graduates to create, to express, to make your mark, have expanded hugely in a few decades," said Mr Heng.

He added that the economy has to stay vibrant in order to create the full array of jobs that will allow the students to make the most of their artistic talents.