"As this year's Singapore Art Week kicks off, we take a look at the development of the city-state's museums, galleries and wider arts ecosystem over recent years.
The gallery Yeo Workshop presents krØmæ§piritZ, an exhibition by Singaporean artist Fyerool Darma in which industrial debris meets the digital pulse of AI. Photo by Jonathan Tan. Courtesy of cinotiUHD.
As Singapore’s high-octane art week unveils its 2025 iteration, the city-state can proudly claim a maturing scene that includes a growing group of internationally recognised local artists while providing a supportive environment for artists from around Southeast Asia."
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"[A] big change in recent decades has been the opening of two major state-run art museums. When the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) opened in 1996, it was one of the first major institutions to focus on Southeast Asian contemporary art, a mission expanded by the Singapore Biennale since 2006 and by the launch of the National Gallery Singapore (NGS) in 2015. “Having two national institutions dedicated to art signals the importance of art to our society, and has also enabled us to support our artists to a greater extent, develop our audiences and grow our artistic engagements and networks regionally and globally,” says Eugene Tan, the chief executive of both institutions. “The National Gallery now focuses on the art of Southeast Asia regardless of time, while SAM focuses on contemporary art, regardless of place. They complement each other to present diverse and wide-ranging exhibitions to our publics in Singapore and to promote and develop emerging and mid-career artists from Singapore and the region.”
The museums worked with the NAC to organise the Singapore Art Week Forum, which took place on 15 January and brought together artists, curators and museum professionals to consider how cultural workers and institutions can create tangible benefits for communities. Theaster Gates delivered the keynote address.
Singapore’s market has meanwhile developed for decades alongside the institutions. “It is great to have a unifying event where the art scene can celebrate and share its often-insular world with the wider public,” says Audrey Yeo, the founder of the gallery Yeo Workshop and president of Art Galleries Association Singapore (AGAS). “There’s a noticeable and growing appetite for art year after year.”
