Singapore Art Week Returns For Its 11th Edition With Over 130 Events Island-Wide This January

Singapore Art Week (SAW) 2023 will feature programmes and exhibitions by over 700 local and international artists and curators.

Photo Credit: National Arts Council

Venue: Various locations island-wide
Date: 6 to 15 jan 2023
Fee: Free & Ticketed

Helmed by the National Arts Council (NAC), SAW returns to kickstart the new year with its 11th edition from 6 to 15 January 2023. An annual pinnacle event in Asia’s visual arts calendar, SAW 2023 is set to draw art enthusiasts, collectors and the curious from Singapore and around the world.

Here's taking a closer look at the list of programmes and artists involved for SAW 2023:

Exhibitions

Pictures in the Mind by DECK

Photo Credit: DECK

Venue: Peace Centre, 1 Sophia Road, (S)228149
Date: 4 to 20 Jan 2023
Fee: Free Admission

Pictures in the Mind is a community arts exhibition exploring the visceral nature of public memories in relation to Peace Centre, one of Singapore’s oldest shopping malls built in mid-1970s. As a 50-year-old building that marked the early decades of Singapore’s rapid development since its independence in 1965, Peace Centre exists as pictures in minds and memories, which might enable us to understand its life story between the 70s and now. Through public participation, interviews, archival materials, artistic interventions, and technology, Pictures in the Mind surfaces images that tell a myriad of stories, which are both truth and imagined.

Third Wheeling by Awkward Party

Photo Credit: Awkward Party

Venue: Artichoke, 161 Middle Road, (S)188978
Date: 

• Installation: 6 to 15 Jan 2023
• Interactive Dining Experience: 10 to 11 Jan 2023

Fee: 

• Installation: Free Admission
• Interactive Dining Experience: SGD75

Presented as an interactive dining experience in collaboration with Artichoke across two days, Third Wheeling urges Singaporeans to re-examine the way we connect to each other through communal dining. In a disruptive floor to ceiling installation, ticketed audiences will have to work for their food. Together with Artichoke, Awkward Party will create a limited edition menu which will be presented in unconventional ways through different components of the installation. Previously familiar or mundane objects such as cutlery, table cloth, utensils and candelabra become larger than life centrepieces that alter the dining experience.

Due to limited slots of the dining experience, the installation will be on display in its “lived in” state for non-ticketed audiences.

Lines in Space by Tiffany Loy by Arts Outreach Singapore

Photo Credit: Tiffany Loy

Venue: Art Outreach, Gillman Barracks, 5 Lock Road, #01-06, (S)108933
Date: 4 to 22 Jan 2023 | 7 Jan 2023 (Artist Tour @3pm)
Opening Hours: 11am to 7pm, Daily | 11am to 9pm on 13 Jan 2023
Fee: Free Admission

Lines in Space by Tiffany Loy is an original, site-specific commission by Art Outreach that invites visitors to navigate a textile field of floor-to-ceiling line walls, and explore their connections to others while being immersed in art. Designed to encourage open exploration and close looking, the installation consists of suspended and plaited cords that play off our perception of depth, and create a heightened sense of awareness of how we navigate space.

Lines in Space is a continuation of Loy’s practice as a weaver in pushing the boundaries of weaving into sculptural forms and physical space. It proposes new ways of experiencing colour, form and movement. A series of process pieces and past works will accompany the installation to expand on her interests.

Pulp III: A Short Biography of the Banished Book by Shubigi Rao and Ute Meta Bauer

Photo Credit: Shubigi Rao

Venue: Art Science Museum Level 4, 6 Bayfront Ave, (S)018974
Date: 6 to 24 Jan 2023
Fee: Free Admission

Commissioned by the NAC for the Singapore Pavilion at Biennale Arte 2022 in Venice, Pulp III: A Short Biography of the Banished Book by Shubigi Rao returns to Singapore.

This presentation marks the midpoint of Shubigi Rao’s ongoing ten-year project ‘Pulp’, which explores the history of book destruction and its impact on the futures of knowledge. Set in the historic cities of print of Venice and Singapore, her film, ‘Talking Leaves’, explores the tales of those at the frontlines of saving books and libraries, by ways of personal confidences and poetic reflections, documentary and mytho-poetic languages. Her book, ‘Pulp III: An Intimate Inventory of the Banished Book’, chronicles her long-term artistic research process and conceptual reframing of the book and the library.

Multiple screenings, together with the exhibition of the book, will take place at ArtScience Museum, while the opening premiere for the film will be held as a single event at the Capitol Theatre. As a site connected to Singapore’s film history and landscape, Capitol Theatre foregrounds Rao’s multidisciplinary practice as a filmmaker, beyond an artist and writer.

Singapore Biennale 2022 named Natasha by Singapore Art Museum (SAM)

Photo Credit: Singapore Art Museum

Venue: Multiple Locations
Date: 16 Oct 2022 to 19 Mar 2023
Fee: Ticketed

Embark on a journey alongside Natasha to re-discover and engage with life’s big and small questions, through experiencing artworks by over 50 artists and collaborators.

Since its launch in October 2022, the Singapore Biennale 2022 continues to evolve and transform our experience of found spaces with new encounters. From December, a new venue is unveiled at 22 Orchard Road, while Malaysian artist Shooshie Sulaiman’s ‘Kancil Menghadap Beringin’ (The Mousedeer Comes Before the Banyan Tree) is launched on Lazarus Island.

In January, a diverse range of public programmes will take place during Singapore Art Week, including biennale editions of SAM Late Nights, SAMily Funday, and artist-led workshops and activations by Wu Mali, Zarina Muhammad and the Nina bell F House Museum project.

Sightseeing Sculpture: The Sky, The Land, and The Sea Shoebox Sculpture Biennale 2023 by Sculpture 2052, Sculpture Society (Singapore)

Venue: Sculpture 2052, 21 Woodlands Close, #03-16, (S)737854
Date: 6 Jan to 2 Apr 2023
Fee: Free Admission

Shoebox Sculpture Biennale 2023 – Sightseeing Sculpture: The Sky, The Land, and The Sea consists of a site-specific installation prompted by the theme of sightseeing and the context of the actual site. An interpretation by artists to reposition sightseers and provide a shift in navigational point of view, the installation will be accompanied by a series of engagement programmes fashioned as guided sightseeing tours.

Sightseeing Sculpture invites you, the sightseers, to experience sculptures like you never have before. With artist-docents enacting the role of tour guides, and over a hundred miniature sculptures serving as key landmarks, Sightseeing Sculpture directs sightseers on a journey through the nuances behind the making, the techniques used to realise these sculptures, and the history of key public sculptures in Singapore.

BLOCK PARTY: Our Neighbourhood Furniture Tetris by Justin Loke

Photo Credit: Justin Loke

Venue: Open space in front of 440 Pasir Ris Drive 4, (S)510440
Date: 6 to 26 Jan 2023
Fee: Free Admission

Inspired by the seemingly simple idea of stacking in the game of Tetris, BLOCK PARTY: Our Neighbourhood Furniture Tetris is a game where the objective is to complete a line using blocks of different shapes. Tetris often engages us to consider the ways in which different shapes in the real world can fit together. In this work, the myriad of shapes creates a visual metaphor of how diverse groups in our community can come together to form a line, keeping united and resilient against challenges. At BLOCK PARTY, multiciplicity is unity, and no one is a Misfit.

after/party by Supper House x Starch

Photo Credit: Moses Tan

Venue: Supper House – 222 Tagore Lane, #04-03, Singapore 787603, Starch – 81 Tagore Lane, #02-11, Singapore 787502
Date: 17 Dec 2022 to 28 Jan 2023
Time: Various timings
Fee: Free Admission

after/party is a series of activations and a collaboration between two independent spaces, Supper House and Starch. Premised by two anchoring exhibitions, one at Supper House and one at Starch, after/party revolves around respite, joy, play and relaxation. Inspired by nightly affairs around the world, after/party is a curated list of activities and activations proposed as spaces for audiences to peruse various forms of artistic translations.

The two exhibitions, 'Nighthawks' and 'There are Flowers in the Morning Mist' at Supper House and Starch respectively will be held throughout the duration of SAW2023. Throughout the evening, there are multiple activations—performance tours, artist markets and gift stores—to delve into in the vicinity to support artists and create spaces for interdisciplinary works, while also inviting the audience to partake in and appreciate the arts through independent efforts.

Soo Bin at 90 – Art of Life, Life of Art by Chua Soo Bin

Photo Credit: Wang Xiao Hui

Venue: PARKROYAL on Beach Road 7500A Beach Road, The Plaza, (S)199591
Date: 6 to 26 Mar 2023
Time: 12pm to 7pm (Tue to Sat) | 12pm to 4pm (Sun) | Closed on Mon & Public Holiday
Fee: Free Admission

Soo Bin at 90 – Art of Life, Life of Art is a much-anticipated programme featuring iconoclastic photographer and Cultural Medallion awardee Chua Soo Bin in a launch of a special publication and a two-venue exhibition at the PARKROYAL on Beach Road and Objectifs, Singapore’s leading space for photography.

Celebrating 90 years of Chua’s extraordinary life as a photographer, gallerist, patron and collector, both the book and exhibits span his early engagement with salon photography, his ascent as one of Singapore’s most sought-after photographers, his emergence as a gallerist-dealer in the 1990s and the creative processes of his practice including his magnum opus—his landmark portraits of Chinese ink masters. This programme underscores Chua’s experience and insights on photography and cutting-edge art, the complexities of the art market, as well as the life philosophies that have kept him driven, grounded and fulfilled.

Art Fairs & Galleries

S.E.A. Focus by STPI — Creative Workshop & Gallery

Photo Credit: S.E.A. Focus, STPI

Venue: Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road #01-05, Artspace@Helutrans, (S)089065
Date: 6 to 15 Jan 2023
Opening Hours: 1pm to 8pm
Fee: Ticketed

S.E.A. Focus is a leading showcase and art market hub dedicated to Southeast Asian contemporary art. A meeting point for artistic vision and vigour, S.E.A. Focus brings together a fine curation of established and yet-to-be-discovered artistic talents, providing a platform that propels diverse cultural exchanges and provokes dialogue about Southeast Asian art.

Centered around the theme ‘a world, anew’, S.E.A. Focus 2023 explores the idea of new beginnings and how vast potential can be found in minuscule or humble sources. Alongside a curated exhibition at Tanjong Pagar Distripark is an exciting line-up of experiences to engage art lovers from seasoned collectors to curious enthusiasts, including a curated film programme of artists’ video works, stimulating conversations with industry thought leaders, and exclusive access to art spaces. S.E.A. Focus is an anchor event of the Singapore Art Week led by STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery, commissioned by the National Arts Council, Singapore.

Additionally, S.E.A. Focus will be presenting SEAspotlight, a specially curated series of panel discussions and talks by artists, luminaries and passionate art personalities, to spark dialogues around Southeast Asian contemporary art and the art market.

Public Art

Light to Night 2023: Here and Now by National Gallery Singapore

Photo Credit: National Gallery Singapore

Venue: Civic District, 1 St Andrew’s Road, #01-01, (S)178957
Date: 6 to 26 Jan 2023
Fee: Free Admission

Light to Night 2023 embraces the theme of Here and Now. Inspired by how artists create works in response to one’s time and environment, the festival invites visitors to reflect on contemporary topics and explores what it really means to be in the present.

With newly commissioned works by local and international artists and a series of multidisciplinary programmes, the festival is an opportunity for spontaneous and ephemeral encounters with art, while also providing the chance to contemplate the world and who we are now.

Tours & Trails

ARTWALK 2023 by LASALLE College of the Arts and the Singapore Tourism Board

Photo Credit: LASALLE College of the Arts

Venue: Little India and Katong-Joo Chiat
Date: 6 to 15 Jan 2023
Fee: Free, pre-registration, and paid programmes

ARTWALK is an annual multidisciplinary public arts festival set in the cultural precincts of Little India and Katong-Joo Chiat. Featuring wall murals, workshops, live music and performances, the festival aims to surface the vibrance of our local heritage. Pivoting back to on-site multi-sensory art experiences after two years, ARTWALK 2023 calls on audiences to envision the various ways our culture could grow from here.

Like an echo, our culture, heritage and traditions reverberate in all directions and practices come and go like sound waves. The metaphor of an echo reminds us that our culture is in constant flux. The resounding return of ARTWALK relooks at our cultural heritage, bringing these spaces and histories alive through the reflections and impressions of contemporary artists.

The ninth edition of ARTWALK is organised by LASALLE College of the Arts and Singapore Tourism Board with the support of Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association.

For more information on SAW 2023 programmes, you may visit the SAW website, and/or follow @sgartweek on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram.