6 Reasons to Head Down to Singapore Art Week 2016
PUBLISHED January 14th, 2016 05:38 am | UPDATED June 19th, 2020 03:44 pm
Celebrating the best of Singapore, regional, and international visual arts over nine days (16 to 24 January 2016), Singapore Art Week 2016 is back to excite and provoke your inner artistic soul.
From exhibitions to art tours, film screenings to art fairs, as well as interacting with art and artists in some pretty cool spaces, there’s definitely something that’ll float your boat.
Not sure where to start? Check out our top picks of Singapore Art Week 2016:
State of Motion
Take a little ride through Singapore’s cinematic history with State of Motion – a minibus tour that starts with the presentation of excerpts of Cathay-Keris films, which then continues to five filming locations from the films. Some of the locations include Old Outram Prison (Korban Fitnah/Victim of Slander, 1959), former Kampong Siglap (Sumpah Pontianak, The Curse of Pontianak, 1958), and Esplanade Park (Chinta Kaseh Sayang/My Darling Love, 1965). The starting point of the tour is an exhibition curated by Singapore Film Locations Archive, focusing on films of the Cathay-Keris Studio and the associated important landmarks.
Cathay-Keris on Location will be on exhibition 16-31 January 2016, 10am-9pm daily, at Level 8 Promenade, National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188604. Admission is free.
State of Motion bus tours will depart from the exhibition on 16, 17, 23, and 24 January 2016 every half an hour, between 10.30am to 3.30pm. Tickets are priced at $12; each tour lasts three hours. Purchase your tickets here.
Art After Dark at Gillman Barracks
For those looking for an all-encompassing experience this Singapore Art Week, there’s no better place to be than Art After Dark at Gillman Barracks. Located at a former military camp amidst verdant greenery, there will be food pop-ups, live music performances, and more art-related activities amidst the art exhibitions and installations. In particular, check out Singapore Arts Club, Gillman Barracks’ annual curated public art project, which features art by Singaporean artists Sean Lee, Jack Tan, and even the Year Two students of the Architecture Department at National University of Singapore.
Art After Dark at Gillman Barracks is happening 22 January 2016, 7pm-11pm at Gillman Barracks, 9 Lock Road, Singapore 108937. Singapore Art Club will be on show at Gillman Barracks from 22 January – 22 February 2016.
SCOUT Singapore: Emerging Art Practices
Also happening during Art After Dark is SCOUT Singapore, a pop-up exhibition housed in converted shipping containers. Featuring the works of 25 up-and-coming local artists that expresses and explores the socio-cultural landscape of contemporary Singapore, visitors will be able to speak to artists and learn more about their practices at the exhibition on 23 and 24 January. Artists include Allison Marie Low, Zen Teh, Megan Miao, and Zul Othman (aka Zero).
SCOUT Singapore is happening 21, 23-24 January 2016, 11am-7pm and 22 January 2016 11am-10pm, at Gillman Barracks Carpark B, 7 Lock Road, Singapore 108935. Admission is free.
PPC | 珍珠坊: A Public Living Room
An iconic fixture of Chinatown’s architectural and social landscape since the 1970s, the sixth floor of People’s Park Complex will be transformed into a ‘public living room’ this Singapore Art Week – so take the opportunity to reflect on the use of public space while enjoying the exciting, experimental lineup of more than 20 visual and performance artists, including performances by music collective Getai Group and HBRD THRY. Also, don’t miss the re-creation of a Singapore ’60s Tea Dance (23 Jan), featuring retro quartet The Pinholes and Southeast Asian vinyl from that era!
PPC | 珍珠坊: A Public Living Room is happening 15-30 January 2016 at Sixth Floor, People’s Park Complex. Open Tue-Thu 6-9pm, Fri-Sat various timings due to special events, Sun 3-9pm. Closed on Mondays. Admission is free (except special events). For more information and updates, please see here.
Exhibition on Screen
If art galleries and museums are a highlight of the itinerary when you’re on vacation, do catch at least one in the series of five films with Exhibition on Screen. Produced by award-winning director Phil Grabsky, the films – including Girl with a Pearl Earring and Other Treasures from the Mauritshuis, Matisse – From Tate Modern and MoMa, and Rembrandt – bring art exhibitions to the big screen, and go a step further by taking audiences behind the scenes. Explore the creative and technical aspects behind an exhibition and what an artwork can reveal about the its artist and the era in which it was created.
Exhibition on Screen is happening 16-24 January at The Projector, #05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road, Singapore 199589. Tickets are priced at $10 for adults and $8 for students, NSFs, and senior citizens. Purchase your tickets here.
Beyond The Surface
A group exhibition by Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya (APAD), a local Malay visual arts organization, Beyond The Surface confronts the way two-dimensional works (paintings, drawings, and prints, for instance) are traditionally appreciated. Presented within three-dimensional frameworks as installations, exhibition viewers can expect reinterpretations of a wide array of media like batik, graffiti, embroidery, and bricolage. Featured artists include Dzaki Safaruan, Fajrina Razak, Izziyana Suhaimi, and Kamal Dollah.
Beyond The Surface is on exhibition 16-24 January 2016, 11am-7pm daily, at Galeri Utama @ The Foothills, 70 River Valley Road, Singapore 179037. Admission is free.
Singapore Art Week is running 16-24 January 2016. For more information and updates, please see their website or Facebook Page. For a glimpse of what to expect, follow them on Instagram too!
This article is sponsored by Singapore Art Week
Beyond the Surface image by APAD.
