The Singapore Biennale
Posted on March 22, 2009 - Filed Under Arts & Culture, Travel
There are two festivals in Singapore that occur every two years, alternating back and forth year to year. One of those is the Singapore Biennale. The show began just a few short years ago in 2006 and so currently there have been just 2 shows, with the next opening in September of 2010. The show runs for about two and half months and is open to the public. Many have considered the differences between the 2006 show and the 2008 show. The later was scaled down quite a bit, as far as the number of participating artists and the participating venues such as the City Hall and the South Beach Development, thus the number of artworks available for purchase. And some art critics question the intent of the organizers due to the fact that the more recent show had excluded many Singaporean artists that were involved in the premier exhibition of 2006. Including international artists is of course, very good for tourism and the economy providing income for the local businesses and for Singapore’s luxury hotels, and for putting Singapore on the map of the international art scene. However, many feel that something has been lost, that it has become more about the money than about the culture and the beauty of fine art.
The 2008 show was a disappointment to some as well, as out of the 73 artworks on display, only nine were produced by Singaporean artists, and even fewer than that number for the Philippines, and Vietnam combined. There seems to be a lack of Asian identity in the festival. One positive aspect of the 2008 show was that it relied more on the contemporary, cutting edge, yet unknown artists. Whereas the earlier show relied on the ‘big name’ and well known artists to draw in large numbers of viewers. This has served to broaden the scope and the variety of the show as new talent is discovered and new, fresh ideas are expressed. The curators do search intensively for only the best new talent, and pride themselves in the discovery of that talent. And it also serves to create an art world that is more accessible to the general public, as art openings and big shows, tend to seem a bit exclusive. Those looking ahead to the 2010 show are waiting to see if the organizers are going to stick to the art as business idea or whether they may bring it back to the feeling of the original show, which was that art is about the enrichment, the beauty and the diversity of various cultures and the exposure to the global art world and scene.
Related posts:
- Singapore Arts Festival
- Upcoming Dance Festivals of Singapore
- Gajah Gallery in Singapore
- Singapore Sling
- The Kranji Race Track, Singapore
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