Women’s art reclaimed: 6 exhibitions for International Women’s Day

FOR much of history, art by women has been neatly tucked into the category of “craft” – a convenient way to marginalise their contributions while elevating painting and sculpture, mediums long dominated by men, as the pinnacle of artistic achievement.

Textile arts, embroidery and ceramics have been dismissed as decorative, domestic and “feminine”, despite their cultural weight and technical brilliance.

But times have changed. This International Women’s Day, at least six exhibitions across Singapore are celebrating female artists, many of whom are reclaiming these traditionally feminised mediums and challenging the long-ingrained biases of the art world. From embroidery with medical sutures to hyperreal digital portraits, these exhibits put women’s creativity – and resistance – at the centre of the conversation.

What Doesn’t Kill You

Art Outreach, Mar 8-16

There are three relevant shows at Gillman Barracks, the first of which is the inaugural show of Art Linguistics, a new art advisory. The double-bill exhibition features breast cancer survivor Sunaina Bhalla, whose textile-based works incorporate gauze bandages, medical sutures, and mouldable resin pieces – materials that speak to both suffering and resilience. “After years of being a patient as well as a caregiver (to a daughter with Type 1 diabetes), I have moved to a space of acceptance and growth,” Bhalla says. “The works address my change in mindset from negative to positive.”

Paired with Bhalla’s work is that of Helene Le Chatelier, a Singapore-based French artist who explores the resilience of the female body. Her installations and photo-based works delve into the ways suffering leaves traces – physical, emotional, and generational.

Academic Michelle Lim, who curated the show, says: “The works of these female artists are made with slow, quiet patience. It’s this tenderness I appreciate – it makes us slow down too, feel things and pay attention in ways that we sometimes forget, living as we do amid constant bombardment from social media and news channels.”

Eva

The Columns Gallery, Till Apr 12

Shavonne Wong is one of Singapore’s most acclaimed digital artists, known for her hyperrealistic 3D portraits that explore beauty, identity, and the evolving role of women in the digital age. Eva, her new body of work at The Columns Gallery in Gillman Barracks, takes this further by introducing an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar that visitors can interact with and engage in conversations that range from the philosophical to the deeply personal – all while being surrounded by Wong’s other works that challenge ideas of memory, surveillance, and self-representation.

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Disobedient Bodies

Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Till Mar 8

This show isn’t new, but it deserves a last-minute revisit before it closes. Curated by Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani, Disobedient Bodies is a powerhouse group exhibition featuring some of Asia’s most electrifying female artists: Singapore’s Charmaine Poh, Malaysia’s Nadiah Bamadhaj, Timor-Leste’s Maria Madeira, Vietnam’s Le Hien Minh, Taiwan’s Peihang Benoit, Myanmar’s Soe Yu Nwe, and Thailand’s Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook and Pannaphan Yodmanee.

What makes this show stand out? The fearlessness of its artists. Some works here refuse to be polite about gender, power, and historical memory. Women’s bodies – so often sites of discipline and control – are reimagined as vessels of resistance, transformation, and defiance against patriarchal expectations.

In Her Hands

Prestige Art Gallery, Mar 8 - Apr 20

Three marquee artists – Kumari Nahappan, Han Sai Por, and Kanoko Takaya – come together for an exhibition that contemplates humanity’s evolving relationship with nature.

Han, a recipient of Singapore’s Cultural Medallion, transforms hard stone into elegant meditations on nature’s resilience and fragility. Nahappan, whose vibrant sculptures pepper the city, looks at the intersection of culture, ecology, and faith. Meanwhile, Kyoto-born Takaya creates a series of paintings and installations that explores memory and the environment.

Tan Siuli, who curated the show, has assembled a deeply introspective study on environmental consciousness, human responsibility, and the delicate balance between nature and culture.

Voice of Art 4: Women – Empowering the World

Ion Art Gallery, Till Mar 9

With more than 60 local and international women artists, this is one of the largest exhibitions dedicated to female practitioners in Singapore. Organised by Be One Gallery, the show spans painting, sculpture, photography, and even a floral installation.

The artist line-up includes members from the Modern Art Society Singapore, Women Artists Association (Singapore), Singapore Watercolour Society, Sculpture Society (Singapore), and The Society of Chinese Artists – though the most interesting discoveries may be among the emerging artists. While the quality varies, the sheer scope of the exhibition offers something for everyone.

The Second Sex

The Culture Story, Till May 31

​Drawing inspiration from Simone de Beauvoir’s seminal text The Second Sex, The Culture Story presents an exhibition that delves into the evolving narrative of female representation in art. On view by appointment only, the showcase features more than 20 artworks by 16 Asian female artists such as Singapore’s Jane Lee, South Korea’s Lee Bul and Malaysia’s Yee I-Lann.

Highlights include Indonesia’s I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (also known as Murni), known for her raw, expressionistic paintings addressing themes of sexuality and trauma, and Singapore’s Yanyun Chen, whose intricate drawings explore beauty, impermanence, and the weight of societal expectations. 

The best works here don’t just celebrate female creativity – they declare women’s art to be every bit as conceptual, radical, hard-hitting and essential as that of their male counterparts.