At just 23, Anna Du Toit is the quintessential It Girl in our eyes. A half-Chinese, half-Dutch Singaporean, she graduated from the prestigious Ruskin School of Art at Oxford, and her career is as multifaceted as it gets. By day, she’s an assistant curator at art platform Gofy, but her creative pursuits go far beyond that—she’s a multidisciplinary artist, working across everything from installations to ballpoint pen sketches. She’s even tried her hand at model, and when she’s not immersed in her art, she’s hosting the cosiest, most artful dinners with her younger sister.
But just when we thought we had Anna all figured out, we discovered there’s someone even cooler in the Du Toit family: her 95-year-old grandma, Siew Poh – aka Por Por, Popsicles, or just Pops (she answers to all). The family matriarch was a piano teacher and Chinese opera singer, which totally explains where all the artistic genes come from.
So when Anna decided to take Por Por to an art exhibit last weekend during the ongoing Singapore Art Week, we knew it was going to be a moment. They hit up SEA Focus at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, the leading showcase and art market hub dedicated to Southeast Asian contemporary art.
"We have a very cheeky relationship," Anna says. "We poke fun at each other a lot, but we also spend long stretches just chilling and fangirling over Julie Andrews. I often go over to her house to work on my art projects, and she loves watching me create." Their bond is a playful mix of teasing and genuine admiration, all wrapped in a shared love for art.
This outing marked the first time Anna took Por Por to a contemporary art museum. "We usually visit heritage museums, where she’s more familiar with the art," Anna explains. "So this was a new experience for her. She loved the colours and visuals of some of the pieces, but the triangular walls of the space? She said it felt like a maze. Despite that, she enjoyed it because it was something different – though I don’t think contemporary art is really her thing. She finds it hard to understand sometimes."
Still, the trip was a sweet reminder of how deeply art runs through their family. Anna clearly draws inspiration from her grandmother’s eye for detail. "Her home is like a personal museum," Anna says. "It’s filled with artworks, vases, and cheongsams she’s collected over the years. Her collection inspires me so much."