The pinnacle of Asia’s visual arts calendar, the annual Singapore Art Week (SAW) is undoubtedly one of our island’s most happening events. So despite the ongoing pandemic, locals can rejoice when the exciting arts festival returns in the coming year, letting art take over from Jan 22-30 2021.
A joint initiative by the National Arts Council, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Economic Development Board, the ninth edition continues to celebrate and recognise the vibrant artist community, as these folks have shown their resilience, innovation and solidarity in these unprecedented times.
With 100 programmes held virtually and physically, audiences from all across the country (and globe) will definitely be able to discover and experience Southeast Asian art.
Finbarr Fallon, Sub_merged (Artist Impression), 2020. Image courtesy of the artist
Firstly, the signature SAW events which are set to return include the beloved Light to Night Festival, based on the new theme of _____-In-Progress; as well as Lasalle College of the Arts’ Artwalk at Little India and even S.E.A. Focus by STPI Creative Workshop & Gallery.
Alongside these familiar programmes are also new offerings that present a refreshed look at visual arts, and that includes Singapore’s very first mall-wide activation Creative Unions by Neighborhood and The Hours After by Ren Zi and Eugene TYZ. The former is an art-meets-retail programme that brings unexpected crossovers by pairing local artists with fashion, food and lifestyle tenants at Funan, while the latter is an international collaboration showcasing experimental art in an after-hours gallery experience.
(Credit: Funan mall)
Then there’s also the Inner Like The OutAR by Reza Hasni and curated by Tulika Ahuja, a first-of-its-kind large scale interdisciplinary installation using Web AR, which re-creates an audio-visual simulation of our natural world.
With over 100 programmes available, these are certainly not all there is to SAW 2021. In fact, you can head over to the SAW Digital page from now onwards to get a teaser of the myriad of programmes to come. Just visit the site here.
Singapore Art Week 2021 runs from Jan 22-30 2021 at various venues. More information available here.
