Singapore Biennale 2006
Saturday, October 19, 2002
The Singapore Tourism Board commissioned the Applied Research Corporation of Nanyang Technological University to study the impact of arts and entertainment industry on the Singapore economy. The study concluded that the follow-through economic benefits of arts and cultural activities was moderately substantial. By 2002, it was estimated that the multiplier effect of the arts is 2.8. For every dollar spent directly on the arts, there is an additional $1.8 in income generated elsewhere in a related industry - travel and transport, hospitality, food and beverage, merchandising and et cetera.
25th Sep- 25th Oct 2002
A collaborative effort between Danger Museum and The Artists Village,
Transmissions #2 is an online zine that makes visible the process of its own
creation. The process of creating Transmissions #2 becomes a 'workshop' to
consider the web as an experimental work space. The process, thoughts and works
produced will be made available online throughout this period. At the
completion of Transmissions #2, there will be a launch - on & offline in the
TAV office (Singapore) - to mark the end of the process and show the results.
Transmissions #2 is the 3rd part of TAV's participation in soft season: The
Danger Museum, held at TheSpace.
ARTISTS VILLAGE PERFORMS IN BANGKOK
4th Asiatopia 2002
International Performance Art Festival in Bangkok
Organized by Concrete House, Center for Arts and
Community Action, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Supported by Rockefeller Foundation, Goethe Institute
13-16 Nov Pre-festival workshops by Boris Nieslony
20-24 Nov. Bangkok Performance Program; Concrete House
Santi Chaiprakarn Park, Pra-Meru Fortress
28-30 Nov. Chiangmai Performance Program;
Chiangmai University Art Center & Ta Pae city gate
21 – 24 Nov. Performances in the park, persents:
Artists Village (Singapore):
Woon Tien Wei
Media/Public Relation: Josef Ng,
and Plum Blossoms Gallery
Forum for the Arts 2002
featuring talks by
C. J. W.-L. Wee
THE SHAW FOUNDATION
Dates & Times:
Mella Jaarsma & Aisyah Hilal / 12 October 2002, Saturday, 2.00pm
David Chan & C. J. W.-L. Wee / 19 October 2002, Saturday, 2.00pm
The Guinness Theatre
45 Armenian Street
tel: 6337 7535 fax: 6337 2729
admission is free
Forum for the Arts (FFA) is one of the longest running series of
forums on the visual arts in Singapore. Organised by The Substation
in collaboration with Plum Blossoms Gallery, FFA presents talks by
important or up-and-coming curators, critics, artists and scholars
from Singapore, the region and around the world.
C. J. W.-L. Wee currently teaches literature and cultural theory at
Nanyang Technological University, and was formerly a fellow at the
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, in the Regional Social and
Cultural Studies programme, where he co-edited Sojourn: Journal of
social issues in Southeast Asia. He is the author of Culture, Empire,
and the Question Of Being Modern (forthcoming) and the editor of
Local Cultures And The "New Asia": The State, Culture And Capitalism
In Southeast Asia (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies). His present
research interests include art and cultural production in the context
of the modernisation that has taken place in Singapore in the 1980s
and 1990s. For FFA 2002, C. J. W.-L. Wee's presentation will offer
some historical perspective on the recent developments in the arts in
David Chan is an independent curator based in New York and Hong Kong.
He has a Masters of Arts Degree from the Center for Curatorial
Studies at Bard College, New York. His many exhibitions include "Any
Where", a show about rethinking the meaning of place in the age of
globalisation, which featured the artists Claire Barclay, Louise
Hopkins, Lin Yilin, Ellen Pau, Wong Kar-wai and Zhu Jia. For FFA
2002, David Chan will share some of his observations and reflections
about the recent Documenta 11 exhibition (Kassel, Germany).
Cemeti Art House was founded in Yogyakarta in 1988 by Mella Jaarsma
and Nindityo Adipurnomo. The House presents both Indonesian and
non-Indonesian contemporary artists in a wide range of projects and
activities - including exhibitions, happenings, performances,
residencies, site-specific projects, forums and artists talks. The
building of the Cemeti Art House was designed in 1999 by the
architect Eko Agus Prawoto. Its architectural construction reflects
the many tensions and paradoxes that the Cemeti Art House explores in
its activities: the local vis-à-vis the global, the traditional
vis-à-vis the modern, art vis-à-vis non-art, the individual vis-à-vis
collective, the natural vis-à-vis the manmade, craft vis-à-vis
industry, and convention vis-à-vis innovation. Cemeti Art House has
collaborated with many arts groups from around the region, and
recently participated in the 2002 Gwangju Biennale.
Mella Jaarsma was born in the Netherlands and has been living and
practising art in Indonesia since the mid-1980s. She is a co-founder
and co-director of the Cemeti Art House. She studied arts in the
Netherlands and is also a graduate of the Art Institute of Indonesia,
Yogyakarta in 1986. She has exhibited widely, including the Third
Asia-Pacific Triennial in Brisbane in 1999.
Aisyah Hilal is a programme coordinator with the Cemeti Art
Foundation. The Foundation, established in 1995, operates
independently of the Cemeti Art House. It is a non-commercial
organisation with a six-member board and a staff of five, who focus
on research and documentation, establishing a library, cultural
exchange projects and arts education initiatives. For FFA 2002, Mella
Jaarsma and Aisyah Hilal will discuss their work with the Cemeti Art
House and Cemeti Art Foundation.
45 Armenian Street
tel (65) 6337 7535
fax (65) 6337 2729
Singapore Government Press Release
Media Relations Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369
SPEECH BY MINISTER FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MR MAH BOW TAN, AT THE OPENING OF THE SCULPTURES EXHIBITION ‘REBORN, REJOICE, REJUVENATE’, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE PUBLIC SCULPTURES MASTERPLAN 2002, ON FRIDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2002, 7.00 PM AT ONE FULLERTON.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
A week ago, Senior Minister unveiled the Merlion at this location. We needed to find a new place for the Merlion as its original location at the mouth of the Singapore River had been eclipsed by the new bridge across Singapore River. The Merlion’s new home took into account the dynamic changes that the city had undergone, and the vision of a new Downtown wrapped around the Marina Bay. The new Merlion Park illustrates the need for a city to reinvent itself to meet new aspirations and to achieve the vision of transforming Singapore into a global city of distinction.
The city does not remain static. For instance, the very ground that we are standing on did not exist a few years ago. In fact, the southern shoreline of Singapore used to follow Telok Ayer Street.
Our city has since grown. With reclamation, the CBD expanded into today’s Cecil Street, Robinson Road and Shenton Way.
For those of us who can recall, the activity center along the waterfront was the Esplanade Park – where families enjoyed satay at the former Satay Club, couples strolled along Queen Elizabeth Walk and anglers tried their luck along the waterfront. During special celebrations, the Padang and the promenade area would be especially packed as everyone would gather here to watch fireworks light up the night sky.
To serve Singapore’s commercial, residential and recreational needs in the new millennium, we have since pushed our shoreline outwards towards Marina South. We have created the beautiful Marina Bay around which exciting new buildings of the future New Downtown would be developed. Even as the shoreline changes and our city grows, we want to bring back the vibrancy of the old days. In the plan for the new Downtown, the Marina Bay will be the focus of major celebrations and national events.
This vision is slowly becoming reality. Next month, the Esplanade -Theatres on the Bay, boasting state-of-the-art facilities, will open its doors. Together with the new Merlion Park, Fullerton Hotel and One Fullerton, this area now features a cluster of premier entertainment and dining facilities. With construction underway for the first sale sites of the new Downtown, the NTUC headquarters and the likely addition of a new business and financial centre, the entire Marina Bay will be transformed into a lively, bustling hub of commercial and recreational activity.
Even as we develop the `brick and mortar’ hardware aspects of the city, we are mindful of the need to complement this with `software’, so as to create a culturally vibrant city. Arts add character and renewed vigour to a city. It brings creative buzz, makes our city more attractive and provides an avenue for us to relax and enjoy ourselves.
Over the years, we have established a repertoire of popular Arts events such as the Singapore Arts Festival. Fort Canning Park hosts the World of Music And Dance (WOMAD) festival and ‘Ballet under the Stars’. Some performances of the Singapore Arts Festival are staged at MRT stations. The SSO performs at regional parks like Tampines Park to bring arts into the heartlands.
Besides performance arts like dance and drama, sculpture is another art form that is making its presence felt in Singapore. Sculptures add a creative dimension to our city’s streetscape. A sculpture can become a city’s landmark. Mention New York, and we visualize the Statue of Liberty, or the charging bull at Wall Street. And of course, we have our own Merlion, which has become an icon of Singapore.
Sculptures can also tell a story. Recently, the People of the River series of sculptures was launched along the banks of the Singapore River. Colourful river scenes of the past have been re-enacted through the installation of sculptures like "First Generation" and "The River Merchants". These sculptures are not only landmarks along Singapore River, but remind us of Singapore’s humble beginnings.
Sculpture Square at Bencoolen Street was established as a permanent venue for artists to showcase three-dimensional works. It is the brainchild of local sculptor Sun Yu Li whose works are also on display here tonight.
We should do more to make sculptures readily accessible to the public. This was why the Ministry of National Development set up the Public Sculptures Committee to encourage sculpture donations for our public parks, sidewalks, and plazas.
Working with the Public Sculptures Committee, the URA has drawn up a Public Sculptures Master Plan which identifies landmark sites and areas to guide the location of public sculptures. The Plan highlights three parks, four walking routes and five strategic locations where sculptures could be encouraged. These areas are along prominent activity corridors like Orchard Road and Singapore River.
Introducing public art to the city in the form of sculptures really requires a public-private partnership. The government basically sets out the framework to facilitate the community’s involvement. Complementing the Public Sculptures Master Plan is an enhanced tax exemption scheme. Previously, donors of public sculptures would be granted tax exemptions up to the appraised value of the sculpture under the Public Sculptures Donation Scheme. However, sculpture donations made after January 2002 can now benefit from tax exemptions of up to double the appraised value of the sculpture.
The Public Sculptures Master plan can only become a reality with the participation of the private sector – individuals, interested groups and corporations. A public sculpture is a meaningful gift to the community and I would like to encourage more individuals and corporations to play an active role to make our city culturally richer.
I am therefore very pleased to be here this evening to open this sculpture exhibition. It is heartening to see the private sector taking the initiative to bring sculptures to the people through an exhibition like this. To underscore the close private – partnership which is needed to bring public sculptures to the city, we have taken the opportunity to unveil the URA’s Public Sculptures Master Plan at this evening’s sculpture exhibition. I invite everyone here to view the exhibition panels and to find out more about it.
The move of the Merlion sculpture to its new home here at the Marina Bayfront epitomizes the spirit of change and continuity in the making of modern Singapore.
One Fullerton, with its restaurants and cafes has become an `in’ place, frequented by many. It is good to see the promenade being used as an exhibition space for works by renowned foreign and local sculptors Yuyu Yang, Arthur Yang, Cheung Yee, Sun Yu Li and Baet Yeok Kuan. With the new Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, and as the New Downtown takes shape, I am confident the entire Marina Bay area, in time, will become the throbbing pulse and focal point of our city.
URBAN ARTISTS 2002
Opening 19 October 2002 @ 3pm
Mr Kwee Liong Keng
Chairman, Singapore Art Museum
Ms Lindy Poh
The exhibition Urban Artists 2002 from 18 Oct to 03 Nov 2002 at the
ARTrium@M... features diverse views, approaches and media in defining and
imagining the contemporary city. The pleasures & provocations of urban
living are explored in the works of 16 artists resident in Singapore.
Despite widely divergent processes and materials, these artists share
certain affinities in the way they address architectural particularities
and the rich and complex matrix of human relations in the city.
Many of the artists are also grounded in graphic art and advertising, a
field in which photography influenced techniques and the dynamics of mass
media and mass culture strongly feature. A number of artists have already
attracted much critical attention for their practice, receiving
commendations and awards for their works. Through some 50 works, they
address how our rapidly transforming urban environment has stirred and
shaped our consciousness.
Boo Sze Yang, Chang Wei, Chng Chin Kang, Chua Say Hua(Anthony), Fan Shao
Hua, Hong Sek Chern, Kum Chee Kin, Lee Keng Hoe (Wendy), Ler Hock Chuan, Lim Thian Seng, Lin
Jing Xin, Lok Kerk Hwang, Ng Siok Hoon, Seah Kam Chuan, Sim Tian Sung, Tay Bak Chiang, Tay Shuh Fung
National Arts Council, Lee Foundation, Philip Morris Group of Companies, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Modern Art Society.
Exhibition Dates: 18 Oct - 3 Nov 2002
Open: 11am - 6pm, daily
Installing Memory, an exhibition curated by the Singapore Art Museum and the Esplanade, inaugurates the Esplanade art gallery, Jendela. The predominant motif is the Singapore River which is the geography of Singapore. Francis Ng's photoworks are on display, with deep Martian red waterscapes, that glow and shimmer. Simon's works are images of the reflections of the waters of the Singapore river. Older works from the Singapore Art Museum include Teo Eng Seng's work and Liu Kang's paint work.
Singapore’s tribute to Brother Joseph
The late Brother Joseph McNally was influential and respected in Asia. In 1984, he established a small arts centre with courses in Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture and Music known as La Salle – SIA College of the Arts. The mission was to build a teaching and learning environment in the visual and performing arts, and to emphasise the nurturing of creative excellence.
Presently, La Salle - SIA College of the Arts has developed into the leading creative arts training institution in Southeast Asia. It offers a comprehensive range of diploma and degree courses in Fine Art, Communication Design, Environment Design, Fashion, Multimedia, Art, Dance, Drama and Music. There is an enrolment of 1200 for the diploma, degree and masters courses and a further 700 adults and children are enrolled in its art enrichment program.
REGIONAL JOURNALIST VISITING PROGRAM
The Regional Journalist Visit Program is organised by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts to give visting journalists an insight into Singapore's future and Singapore's new 'art' of sustaining its competitive edge and prosperity in the face of the new challenging era.
ASKING QUESTIONS ON A RAISED PLATFORM
The Esplanade — Theaters on the Bay — have been both affectionately and derisively christened "The Durians" after a spiky-looking Southeast Asian fruit — has a 2,000-seat theater, a 1,600-seat concert hall and outdoor performance spaces. The project cost about 600 million Singapore dollars (US$337 million).
Critics wonder how a censorship-heavy place like Singapore can truly become a haven for artists, who are known to always question the status quo, other Singaporeans are happy that the city-state is placing new emphasis on the finer things in life.
"We don't need censorship... we need informed responsible dialogue and discussion," says T. Sasitharan, director of the Practice Performing Arts School, and a signatory of the proposal containing 250 names calling for relaxation of censorship that has been submitted to the government. He has been quoted in the Straits Times newspaper as saying, "The existing rules are patently irrational and unnecessary, not to mention ineffective in this day and age."
Lee Weng Choy, artistic co-director of the Substation says: "As good as the Esplanade may be at trying to engage the local arts, and even deepening and diversifying local arts audiences, it's the wrong beast for this thing." The fear among local artists and critics is that the Esplanade may create demand for international acts rather than local art in a soft-spoken Singapore that has been sensually massaged and brought up on commerical theatre, American and Hong Kong television, Broadyway musicals, and Hollywood movies.
Singapore spent about US$8 per capita on arts funding in 2001, excluding capital expenditure. This was double the US$4 per capital of 2000, but lagged far behind London at US$61 per capita in 1997, New York US$19 per head in 1998. Hong Kong spends around US$28 per capita on the arts.
Monday, October 14, 2002
INTERVIEW MA LIU MING
Singapore Art met up with the approachable and affable 33 year-old Chinese performance artist. From his photographic works, one will tend to imagine that this man is androgynous in his mannerisms since his art is about his interaction of his nude body crowned by his cascading black hair, with the whims, fancies, and inspirations of the arristic audience public. He exudes an air of level-headness, and comes across as very much a macho man, who is warm, sincere, and down to earth. When asked if he will perform in Singapore, he smiled and said that Singapore, like his homeland China, was not quite ready to accept his performance works, but it would only be a matter of time before the societies in these countries would begin to grant his works a viewing audience locally.
ASIA ART ARCHIVE
Founded in 2000, the Asia Art Archive is the first non-profit center in Hong Kong dedicated to sharing the recent history of Asian visual art with the international community. A new 2500 sq-ft. space houses a comprehensive research collection on contemporary Asian Art. The first executive director, Claire Hsu, founded Asia Art Archive in December 2000 with Chang Tsong-zung and Ronald Arculli. The Asia Art Archive is a registered charity in Hong Kong.
Rose Chang Kim Ngoh is an undiscovered gem in Singapore art.
The Substation presents Rose's exhibition of oil paintings, entitled "Reminiscence". The exhibition features Rose's oil paintings of domestic scenes inspired by her memories of life around a Malay kampong - a way of life that has disappeared from present-day Singapore.
Rose can only walk with the aid of crutches. Her works feature regularly at Very Special Arts' exhibitions and on their greeting cards. A strong and determined person, Rose has refined her technique over the years. Some of her paintings have been purchased by private collectors, which include Mrs Goh Chok Tong as well as private companies. While limited prints of Rose's works have also been made available on-line by a British company at www.image-direct.net. These make it more surprising that she has not yet held an exhibition of her own.
Rose finds inspiration from memories of life around the Malay kampong in colonial and early post-colonial Singapore, where people lived in close-knit multi-racial communities. Rose always puts at the centre of her paintings rotund women dressed in samfoo or kebaya, engaging in domestic chores - looking after children, at the market, sewing, or gossiping and talking. Rose's dialogue with the past connects the personal and the social. She documents with an affectionate eye the simple daily activities of an earlier generation when a woman's world revolved around children and the home.
The exhibition is presented by The Substation and is sponsored by the National Arts Council
45 Armenian St., 179939, Singapore
Tel: 3377 800
Opening Hours: 11am - 9pm
Established in 1990, Soobin Art Gallery was founded as a specialist in Chinese paintings. In recent years, it has concentrated on showcasing exemplary local and Southeast Asian artists while continuing to represent the best of contemporary China artists.
Since inception, the gallery has dealt with the artworks of many reputable artists such as Ai Xuan, Chen Yifei, Ding Shaoguang, Li Keran, Lin Fengmian, Wu Guanzhong and Zhang Daqian. The gallery is also the first to introduce China avant-garde artists like Fang Lijun, Liu Wei, Wang Guangyi, Yue Minjun and Zhang Xiaogang to the Singapore art scene.
From Singapore to the rest of Asia, Soobin Art Gallery is an enthusiastic participant in major art fair, auctions and travelling exhibitions. Showcasing established artists such as Tan Swie Hian, Pan Shou and Chen Wen His, the gallery seeks to bring international recognition to local artists.
In the international art market, Soobin Art Gallery is a well-respected consultant as it maintains a close working relationship with overseas artists, galleries, museums and particularly major auction houses such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s and China Guardian.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the incorporation of Soobin Art Gallery. To date, the gallery has produced more than 80 local and overseas exhibitions of great integrity and originality.