Once told she 'can’t do art', Malaysian artist now set for first solo exhibition

Sheila Singam with her art piece called 'Empress Ki', inspired by a Korean television series by the same name. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani

When Sheila Singam was in secondary school, a teacher told her that she “couldn’t do art to save (her) life”. Fast forward several decades later, the corporate trainer and coach, now her early 60s, has launched her first solo art exhibition in Kuala Lumpur and even sold four of her art pieces prior to the event.

“I was only 14 when a teacher put this limiting belief in me after looking at my art, telling me ‘you can’t do art to save your life!’ and as it was an exam subject, I had to drop art and take up music instead, she recounts.