In the lead-up to Singapore Art Week 2024 (SAW) – the country’s biggest celebration of visual arts happening from Jan 19 to 28 – Singapore Art Museum (SAM) has unveiled new works by leading Southeast Asian artists that explore space as crucial extensions of art and showcase the diverse stories and practices of artists from the region.
The journey starts on Jan 12, where visitors can explore The Sea is a Field by artists Simryn Gill and Charles Lim Yi Yong. It presents observations captured by Gill and Lim of a trip made along the Malacca Strait using a network of local ferries that connect small port towns across Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Presented at a portside warehouse at Block 37 at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, the work reveals the inner workings of the inaugural SAM Fellowship programme, an initiative by the museum to support deep, open-ended inquiry through long-term investment in artistic process.
Offering an expanded cinema experience and new ways of looking and listening is 47 Days, Sound-less by Vietnamese artist Nguyen Trinh Thi. A recipient of the Moving Image Commission 2021, Nguyen’s installation is commissioned by the Han Nefkens Foundation, Mori Art Museum, M+, Hong Kong and SAM.
Visitors will be drawn into a contemplative environment where visuals, sounds and forms of listening prompt a re-evaluation of being present in the natural world while reflecting on our modes of seeing.
With SAW 2024 around the corner, SAM has also organised a wide range of programmes catering to audiences of all ages and backgrounds, from film screenings, to artist and curator talks and dynamic performances. To find out more, visit www.singaporeartmuseum.sg.
SAM will extend its opening hours until 10pm on SAW weekends (Jan 19, 20, 26, and 27), and offer free entry to all exhibitions throughout SAW from Jan 19 to 28.
Singapore Art Museum is at 39 Keppel Road, #03-07 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore 089065.
All photos courtesy of Singapore Art Museum unless indicated.
