Singapore’s Expanding Artscape
Even as October draws to a close, the Singapore art scene continues to bustle with more new developments. Gillman Barracks will see the opening of a new art education and research centre, thus adding to its already formidable offering of contemporary art. Meanwhile, the Singapore Biennale marks its return this year with its fourth edition. Read on for more details in this issue of Art in Context!
Art Education and Research Centre Opening at Gillman Barracks
Fresh off its first anniversary, Gillman Barracks, Singapore’s newest art cluster, expands with the addition of the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA). Slated to open on 23 October 2013, the CCA is devoted to advancing knowledge in contemporary art through education, research, exhibition and artist-in-residence programmes.
The CCA will be led by new Founding Director Ute Meta Bauer from Germany. An international curator and Associate Professor for Visual Art at MIT, Bauer was chosen out of a global pool of candidates. With more than 25 years of experience in the international contemporary art scene, Bauer is well-equipped to spearhead the CCA in its mission to bolster Asia’s visual arts landscape.
One of the key programmes of the CCA is its residency and fellowship programme, which will bring together creative intellectuals from all over the world so as to foster cultural exchange and creation and to facilitate discourse and research.
The opening ceremony will feature a variety of performances and video screenings from artists such as Bani Haykal Mohamed, Grieve Perspective, Jason Wee, Lee Wen, Lucy Davis, Mohamad Riduan, Shahila bte Baharom and Wu Jun Han.
Singapore Biennale Returns
Back for its fourth edition, this year’s Singapore Biennale will feature a grand line-up of works by 82 artists and artist collectives from not only the region, but from other parts of the world as well.
Some highlights include performance works by artists such as Sharon Chin (Malaysia) and Lee Wen (Singapore); paintings by artists Tan Wei Kheng (Malaysia) and Leslie de Chavez (Philippines); video works by Manny Montelibano (Philippines), Nguyen Trinh Thi (Vietnam) and Khvay Samnang (Cambodia); sculptures by Nguyen Tran Nam (Vietnam); and installation works by Shieko Reto (Malaysia), Nge Lay (Myanmar), Joo Choon Lin (Singapore), Leroy Sofyan (Singapore) and Oscar Villamiel (Philippines). The full list of participating artists is available on www.singaporebiennale.org.
These artists were chosen by a curatorial team made up of 27 art professionals – ranging from educators and researchers to curators and artists – who are well versed in regional art practices. This has allowed the Singapore Biennale to build a distinctive Southeast Asian identity and showcase a wide variety of new artists and works from the region.
The Singapore Biennale is open to the public from 26 October 2013 to 16 February 2014, over various venues within the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) Precinct, the arts and cultural district in the heart of Singapore's civic centre, as well as Our Museum @ Taman Jurong.
