Why Singapore Art Week 2024 is a watershed

FINALLY in Singapore, art collectors are emerging as a force to be reckoned with. At the 12th Singapore Art Week which opens on Friday (Jan 19), wealthy art collectors are everywhere, showcasing their blue-chip possessions in exhibitions big and small, in homes, galleries, museums, malls, industrial parks and pop-up spaces. 

For a long time, many Singapore-based art collectors hid in the shadows, too shy to reveal what they own, nervous of possibly being labelled “show-offs” and attracting gossip. They stood in sharp contrast to the collectors of other Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila and Jakarta, where some throw extravagant soirees and invite crowds into their homes to see million-dollar art hanging on the walls. 

But in what could be described as a “coming-out party”, Singapore collectors are finally unmasking themselves in droves, nervous no more. In the colonial-era Emily Hill mansion housing the Private Museum, a loose band of collectors long known as Art Addicts Anonymous (AAA) just opened an exhibition of their favourite artworks. As they posed for group photos on the opening night, one wondered if the “Anonymous” in their name needs a rethink, considering how public some of its members – such as Linda Neo, John Chia and Lou Samson – have become.

Meanwhile at the art enclave Gillman Barracks, no less than half a dozen sites are hosting various collector shows of top-notch works. Of these, none is more impressive than Translations: Afro-Asian Poetics organised by The Institutum, a non-profit started by voracious art collector Andreas Teoh and his late friend Tan Boon Hui. 

Those who have seen it call it “a mini biennale” for its stunning showcase by approximately 100 artists from Africa and Asia. Never in the history of Singapore Art Week – or, for that matter, Singapore – have there been so many outstanding contemporary black superstars such as Theaster Gates, Faith Ringgold, Kehinde Wiley, El Anatsui, Yinka Shonibare and Nick Cave in one show.

Translations: Afro-Asian Poetics is complemented by a neighbouring Art Outreach exhibition titled Rough, which also features exceptional works from the collection of Pierre Lorinet, a French-born Singapore-based philanthropist.

Not far from Gillman, in the industrial district off Leng Kee Road, private art space The Culture Story started by Chong Huai Seng and his daughter Ning has a showcase of South Asian art belonging to three avid collectors. Meanwhile, all across the city, various wealthy patrons such as Vir and Simran Kotak are opening their homes to foreign visitors to show the art they collect.

Neo of AAA, who spent several years nudging fellow collectors to be more visible, says: “There’s definitely been a shift in mentality. Our collectors realise they have a role to play in helping build the ecosystem, and they know how important it is to have the public see these artworks in the flesh in order to generate more love of art.” 

Raw is beautiful

But if the collectors’ shows are marked largely by works of established artists, dozens of other shows have centred on young emerging artists making fresh, experimental art and offering raw and authentic perspectives.

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At Shun Li Industrial Complex, five artists and a curator have conjured a delightful exhibition celebrating futility, pointlessness and irrelevance. The five artists – Fiona Seow, Genevieve Leong, ila, Marvin Tang and Ryan Lim Zi Yi – and curator Berny Tan set out to create artworks that defy the functions they are supposed to serve. Hence, we get spoons with holes in the middle and tabletops too soft to put anything on.

The show, titled Some Exercises In Futility, feels like a sideswipe at the art world’s obsession with blue-chip names and investment-worthy art.

Similarly at the Hock Siong & Co secondhand furniture store in Tai Seng, another group of artists comprising Cynthia Delaney Suwito, Geraldine Kang, Jaxton Su, Woong Soak Teng and Yang Jie have crafted artworks inspired by overlooked objects – in this case, pre-loved furniture. By parsing the furniture’s practical uses and symbolic meanings, the artists have generated a wide range of works that weave fresh narratives from old objects. The show is titled Keys Under The Sofa.  

Singapore Art Week, organised by National Arts Council, has traditionally attempted to promote young promising artists by offering grants and support for their shows.

Priyageetha Dia, one of the scene’s most talked-about young artists, says: “Because Art Week draws so many people from within and outside of Singapore, it has always provided me with opportunities to make connections and start conversations with curators, collectors and other artists. This is really important in helping artists sustain their practice.”

Priyageetha is currently showing a mesmerising video exploring colonialism and labour exploitation in the history of plantation work in South-east Asia, drawing parallels to modern-day tech companies drawing and selling data of ordinary Internet users. The work is being shown in a shophouse on 63 Kim Yam Road, alongside Indonesian artist Maryanto’s documentary critiquing human destruction of natural landscapes around Mount Merapi.

The two-hander exhibition titled Archiving Landscape is funded and supported by well-known Hong Kong art collectors and philanthropists, Yenn Wong and Alan Lo. Although neither of them is present in Singapore during Art Week, their contributions – like that of so many philanthropists this year – are keenly felt.

Seven shows not to miss at Singapore Art Week

Art SG

Running from now till the weekend, the country’s premier art fair promises exceptional works by some of the world’s best galleries. These include Gagosian, Lehmann Maupin, White Cube and many more. Come with all your credit cards. At Marina Bay Sands, from Jan 19 to 21 (VIP preview on Jan 18)

SEA Focus

A small but exciting fair, SEA Focus is definitely worth visiting, especially with this year’s curation by John Tung. The 22 mostly regional galleries – which include Kuala Lumpur’s Wei-Ling Gallery, Jakarta’s Isa Art Gallery and Bangkok’s Gallery Ver – have brought many hot emerging artists whose fresh perspectives leave you wanting more. At Tanjong Pagar Distripark, from Jan 19 to 28

Translations: Afro-Asian Poetics

The most impressive independent show in the history of Singapore Art Week features works from 100 top artists hailing from various parts of Africa and Asia. Spanning four spaces in Gillman Barracks, many works here are outright stunners, demonstrating the care, thought and devotion these artists have put in to make them. In Gillman Barracks, Jan 17-30

Yeo Tze Yang: My Heart Will Go On And On And On

At 29, Yeo is widely regarded as one of the best young portraitists in Singapore. But in his new solo at Fost Gallery, he turns his attention to quotidian objects such as an abandoned supermarket trolley, a discarded love letter, decomposed fast food packaging and fliers advertising adult services. Each painting exudes a quiet beauty, whispering melancholy stories of hope, despair and the transient nature of existence. In Gillman Barracks, from Jan 13 to Mar 9

VH Award Exhibition

Set aside four hours if you can to watch every one of these video artworks in full. Started by Hyundai Motor Group in 2016, the VH Award is one of Asia’s biggest awards for new media artists engaging with Asia. The exhibition makes its debut in Singapore with some fascinating video works by Nepal’s Subash Thebe Limb, Indonesia’s Riar Rizaldi, Taiwan’s Su Hui-Yu and others. The venue is also hosting other shows. At Objectifs, 155 Middle Road, from Jan 2 to Feb 4

Boedi Widjaja: Immortal Words

This standout show involves Widjaja’s new research into body, memory and language. Here he finds words that have existed for 15,000 years since the last ice age and encodes them in DNA synthetic molecules with the help of a DNA scientist. They are then encapsulated in micro vials and sold as gachapon capsules in a vending machine as a quirky form of heritage preservation. At Centre 42, Waterloo Street, from Jan 19 to Feb 20

SAM @ Tanjong Pagar Distripark

You can’t go wrong visiting Singapore Art Museum’s multi-space exhibitions at Tanjong Pagar Distripark right now. There is an array of terrific shows which include Simryn Gill and Charles Lim’s new collaborative work documenting the rich minutiae of their ferry trips between Singapore and Port Dickson; Nguyen Trinh Thi’s sensorial installation that expands the notion of cinema; and Ho Tzu Nyen’s fine mid-career survey, easily the best show of 2023. At Tanjong Pagar Distripark, from now till April