This January, Singapore’s signature visual arts season kicks off with 10 days of over 130 art experiences including fairs, talks, tours, and more.
Singapore Art Week is back for its 11th edition in early 2023, with more than 130 art events taking place across the island and online from January 6 to 15. A joint initiative by the National Arts Council, Singapore, and the Singapore Tourism Board, this 10-day celebration of the visual arts showcases new works and transnational collaborations at a variety of locations including two art fairs, National Gallery Singapore’s Light to Night Festival, the ongoing Singapore Biennale, independent art venues, galleries, public spaces, and more.
With over 150 galleries from around the world, ART SG, the largest art fair in Southeast Asia, is making its debut on January 12 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Located in the same complex is the ArtScience Museum, which is hosting Pulp III: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, Shubigi Rao’s installation for the Singapore Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale. In the nearby Tanjong Pagar Distripark, S.E.A. Focus, a fair dedicated to Southeast Asian contemporary art, will explore ideas of new beginnings and how vast potential can be found in minuscule or otherwise humble sources.
Hungry? Take a walk through Bras Basah Bugis, where you can go on the Food x Art x Heritage Tour by Let’s Go Tour to learn about the neighborhood’s rich history in food and art, and work your way through a floor-to-ceiling installation for your meal at Third Wheeling, a distorted dining experience by Singaporean artists Rachael Cheong and Sheryll Goh of Awkward Party. While you’re in the area, make sure to stroll down Waterloo Street to visit “Wild Flowers,” a playful glimpse into urban ecologies by Robert Zhao Renhui.
Gillman Barracks, Singapore’s premier visual arts precinct, will feature highly anticipated shows by its resident galleries and organizations during Singapore Art Week 2023. Sites of interest include Art Outreach’s “Lines in Space” by weaver Tiffany Loy, an original, site-specific commission that invites visitors to navigate a textile field of floor-to-ceiling line walls; a series of performance lectures by Melati Suryodarmo at ShanghART Gallery, in which she will revisit and reperform her short durational pieces made between 1999 and 2012; and Vanishing Shore at Sullivan + Strumpf, a solo exhibition of work by Chinese contemporary artist Yang Yongliang. Make it a late night and check out all three on January 13, when the galleries of Gillman Barracks will be open until 9pm for Art After Dark.
In the Civic District, Light to Night 2023: Here and Now invites visitors to reflect on the true meaning of being in the present as they take in art by local and international creators, such as outdoor augmented reality works by artists like Olafur Eliasson and KAWS as well as a new commission by Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen. Art installations, light projections on historic buildings and monuments, multidisciplinary programs, and more make this festival a not-to-miss opportunity for ephemeral yet contemplative encounters with art.
Singapore’s vibrant arts landscape truly comes to life at ARTWALK, an annual public arts festival in the precincts of Little India and Katong-Joo Chiat. A celebration of local heritage through multisensory art experiences like wall murals, workshops, live music, and performances, ARTWALK aims to bring these spaces and histories to life through the visions of contemporary Singaporean artists.
There is something for everyone at Singapore Art Week 2023, when art takes over from January 6 to 15. From the city center to the heartlands, visitors can look forward to a breadth of cultural offerings at a scale unmatched by any other art event in the region. Audiences are encouraged to draw upon the island’s creative energy, look beyond the white cube, and consider the different forms art can take as it intersects with all aspects of Singaporean society.
The SAW shuttle buses will service six locations this year – Gillman Barracks (Blk 9), Tanjong Pagar Distripak (Blk 39), UOB Plaza (along Chulia St), National Gallery Singapore (along Coleman Rd), Waterloo Centre (along Queen Street), and Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.
For the full schedule of events and exhibitions, visit artweek.sg.
