Singapore Art Week returns for its 12th edition this week, kicking off Singapore Art Week (SAW) the longest-running art week in the region. From January 19 to January 28, audiences can engage with an expansive showcase of Singapore’s creativity featuring over 130 visual arts experiences. Programming includes quality museum exhibitions, world-class private collections and gallery openings, brand activations, street art, and lifestyle and community art activities across the island.
The debut of ART SG in 2023 brought together galleries, artists and collecting audiences from Southeast Asia, Asia and around the world to Singapore – one of the most vibrant art cities globally. Courtesy of ART SG.
Singapore’s Longest-Running Art Week Celebrates the Region
SAW 2024 was organized by the National Arts Council (NAC) and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), as part of their continual effort to celebrate and highlight the region’s artists. Ms Lynette Pang, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NAC, said, “SAW is Singapore’s pinnacle visual arts season and an important moment for Singapore’s fast-growing arts scene to take center stage. Local and international audiences can look forward to a wide range of art experiences and activities from the city center to the heartlands that is reflective of our distinctive and vibrant arts scene and culture.”
Ebru Duruman, “Guili,” 2022, oil on canvas, 166 x 144 cm, courtesy of the artist and Dirimart.
Art Singapore 2024 Programming Highlights
Highlights of this year’s Art Singapore span a wide range of mediums and themes. Singaporean contemporary artist Boedi Widjaja’s “Immortal Words” is a collaboration with geneticist Eric Yap. New and existing artwork will be on display, and words of oral and written tradition from Southeast Asian languages will be encoded in DNA; visitors will be able to take home vials of DNA-encoded ink.
Established artists including Teo Eng Seng and the poet and calligrapher Tan Swie Hian will be participating in open studio sessions, granting visitors exclusive access to witness and learn more about their artmaking process. Additionally, National Gallery Singapore will host the blockbuster exhibition “Tropical: Stories from Southeast Asia and Latin America”—the first-ever to adopt a comparative approach to both regions’ struggle with colonialism. “Tropical” will showcase over 200 works from the 20th century by 70 artists, including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Latiff Mohidin.
