There’s plenty of reason to be excited about Singapore Art Week 2024. With more than 150 exhibitions and programmes from over 400 creatives across Singapore and the world, this year’s line-up might just be the biggest and most intriguing yet. All over the island, from unexpected locations in the heartlands to public spaces in the city centre, venues will transform into creative spaces—housing an array of exhibitions, experiences and dialogues that showcase art in new and novel ways. A celebration of art in its myriad forms, the event invites people from all walks of life to step in and explore.
The ways in which art relates to our everyday lives are presented through meaningful encounters in familiar spaces, such as a family home in Eat Play Love. Delving into how our homes shape our identities and experiences, the exhibition also serves as a final tribute to the house before it is sold. Across the 10-day programme, fresh and innovative events also seek to broaden the ways we think of and experience art. In Geometria Situ, for instance, four artists immerse themselves in a digital scan of creative space Hothouse, transforming the virtual reality space through use of sound, media art, movement and spoken art.
The events at Singapore Art Week are not just limited to exhibitions and installations either. For the social butterflies amongst us, British artist Philip Colbert’s first large-scale solo show in Singapore begins with an opening party in collaboration with Vogue Singapore at Whitestone Gallery, bringing together familiar faces from the local art scene. There’s also Mandala Club and gallerist Nick Buckley Wood’s Disco Inferno at Haw Par Villa, kickstarting the week with a grand celebration of the creative community.
Ahead of Singapore Art Week 2024, we round up the best events to check out. From a showcase of young local artists to an exhibition held in a furniture store, find the full list below.
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Eat Play Love
In Eat Play Love, the family home of the late Dr Tan Kheng Khoo serves as both an artistic subject and an exhibition site. Produced by youngest son Tan Ngiap Heng as a final tribute while the family prepares to sell the house, the exhibition explores the ways in which our homes shape our identities and experiences. Featuring works by Tan alongside six guest artists, Eat Play Love invites guests to ruminate on the meaning that ordinary activities at home take on, with additional activations such as private dining experiences to further enhance the experience.
Eat Play Love runs from 17 to 31 January 2024.
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Disco Inferno at Haw Par Villa
Kickstart Singapore Art Week at the hottest party in town, presented by Mandala Club in collaboration with gallerist Nick Buckley Wood. The fascinating backdrop of Haw Par Villa—a treasure trove of Chinese culture, folklore and philosophy that acts as Singapore’s largest outdoor art gallery—comes alive in this celebration of the creative community. Free-flow drinks courtesy of Don Julio 1942 and Brewlander will be available until 11pm, as DJ sets from DJ Raaj, DJ Nicolette and Jeremy Boon take the crowd late into the night.
Disco Inferno at Haw Par Villa runs from 9pm till late on 18 January 2024.
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Philip Colbert: Journey to the Lobster Planet
Often referred to as the ‘godson of Andy Warhol’, Philip Colbert has amassed a global following for his cartoon lobster alter ego and his vibrant, hyper pop historical paintings. For the first time, the British artist will be presenting a large-scale solo exhibition in Singapore—showcasing not just unprecedented works, but also a collaboration with a renowned Japanese artist. Held at acclaimed Whitestone Gallery’s recent new space in Singapore, the exhibition opens with a party in collaboration with Vogue Singapore.
The opening party will be held on 19 January 2024. Philip Colbert: Journey to the Lobster Planet runs from 6 January to 3 March 2024.
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Soho House Residency at The Warehouse Hotel
For members of Soho House, The Warehouse Hotel is transformed into a creative hub where local and international artists can come together to celebrate the diverse art of the region. Across the four-day pop-up, look forward to conversations with renowned names in the art world, as well as a spectacular party with an all-female musical line-up—including artists such as Lil’ Cherry and Elle Shimada—to bring the residency to a close. In the main club space, find an inspiring art display from interdisciplinary Singaporean artist Sarah Choo, commissioned by Valentino. Comprising seven digital videos, each showcasing a female protagonist and referencing a facet of the moon, the exclusive work of art is further brought to life in an immersive dining experience held in collaboration with the fashion house.
The Soho House residency at the Warehouse Hotel runs from 17 to 20 January 2024. Register for a membership here.
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Nothing but a Daydream
Singapore’s most exciting and promising young creatives are given a platform to share their craft at Supper House’s Nothing but a Daydream. A temporal residency program, it brings together practitioners across a spectrum of creative fields—including digital art, visual art, movement and textiles—encouraging them to collaborate beyond conventional boundaries. The event also marks Supper House’s first mini capsule fashion collection, created in collaboration with an emerging fashion designer.
Nothing but a Daydream runs from 28 December 2023 to 29 January 2024.
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S.E.A. Focus
At S.E.A. Focus, the spotlight is shone on Southeast Asian contemporary art. Now in its sixth edition, the art fair is a platform for multifaceted cultural exchange and appreciation through diverse works from both established and emerging artists around the region. This year, the showcase presents a timely exploration into the meaning of personhood in a time where our innate humanity co-exists with other competing intelligences. Amid the line-up, look forward to works from paper artist Ryan Villamael, ceramicist Ella Mendoza and visual artist Stephanie Syjuco.
S.E.A. Focus runs from 20 to 28 January 2024.
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Keys Under the Sofa
Tucked away in the industrial estate of Tai Seng, family-owned second-hand furniture shop Hock Siong & Co is the unique stage for this exhibition. With the site as a source of inspiration, artists explore the significance that furniture can hold, uncover the narratives behind them, investigate spatial poetics and constructs and delve into the preservation of preloved objects. With each artist having an interdisciplinary practice, the resulting works span a wide spectrum of mediums including photography, kinetic sculpture, video art, installation, painting, text and participatory methods.
Keys Under the Sofa runs from 19 January to 18 February 2024.
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Geometria Situ: Traces and the Poetics of Translation
Geometria Situ introduces an innovative way to create and experience art. Delving into the diagramming and expansion of memory, the project gathers impressions of creative space Hothouse, reinterpreting them to serve as a theatre of memory. A digital scan of the locale is transformed as four artists immerse themselves in the virtual reality (VR) space, using their unique disciplines of sound, media art, movement and spoken art to translate and incorporate the memories into the environment.
Geometria Situ: Traces and the Poetics of Translation runs from 19 to 28 January 2024.
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ART SG
The first edition of ART SG last year ushered in a new chapter for the local art scene—the most significant launch in Asia-Pacific in a decade and the largest-ever art fair presented in Southeast Asia. This year, a stellar line-up of international galleries joins local galleries such as STPI and Ode to Art to spotlight exceptional contemporary art from around the world, alongside dynamic large-scale installations, curated talks and film programmes. If there’s one event that will place Singapore on the global art stage, it is undoubtedly this.
ART SG runs from 19 to 21 January 2024.
