Singapore, 22 November 2024 – Singapore Art Week (SAW), Southeast Asia’s ten-day pinnacle visual arts season, returns from 17 to 26 January 2025 for its 13th edition. Organised by the National Arts Council (NAC) and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Art Takes Over with more than 130 exciting arts events across the island for people from all walks of life to engage with and enjoy the arts, together.
Tay Tong, Director, Arts Ecosystem Group (Visual Arts), NAC, said, “SAW is a dynamic celebration of the thriving visual arts ecosystem in Singapore. The wide-ranging art experiences showcase both established and emerging talents in this field. SAW's ability to attract local and international artists, galleries, and art enthusiasts underscores Singapore's position as a nexus for creative expression in the region, spotlighting the richness of the country's overall arts scene.”
Lim Shoo Ling, Director, Arts and Cultural Precincts, STB said, "Now in its 13th year, the Singapore Art Week has become a mainstay of Singapore’s art calendar, featuring local, Southeast Asian and international art across events like ART SG, Light to Night Singapore, shows in our museums, and presentations in various spaces across the island. SAW is a platform where creative and artistic collaborations promise unique and memorable experiences with art at its core for both visitors and locals alike, enhancing Singapore’s appeal as an attractive arts and cultural destination.”
A visual treat for the public from diverse arts stakeholders over 10 days of creative buzz
The public can look forward to a wide range of programmes by local and international artists, partners and organisations that range from SAW open call projects, collector shows, presentations by commercial galleries and roving exhibitions across the island. Highlights include:
- Familiar favourites such as ART SG, S.E.A. Focus, Light to Night Singapore 2025: Do You See Me? will return to SAW. Late night programmes including Art After Dark at Gillman Barracks and Sonic Sessions at Tanjong Pagar Distripark will complement the array of exhibitions by commercial art galleries and tenants.
- Challenging the definition of an arts space, Con-Temporary Art is a travelling miniature gallery, blending both installation and performance, the diorama is built to resemble a white cube art gallery complete with internal lighting and power supply with miniature artworks created especially for the space.
- The SATS Experiential Centre at The Arts House Annex unveils a unique cross-sector collaboration, fusing food and art. In partnership with multidisciplinary artist Yang Derong, private dining chef cum art consultant and filmmaker Patricia Chen @sekel_kitchen and Nouri former head chef Russell Nathan @bricolage.sg present exclusive dining experiences inspired by Derong’s installation, DIGIkat – Our Social Fabric, connecting tradition with innovation and pushing culinary and artistic boundaries that will resonate with both local and global audiences.
- Audiences will also get a glimpse into private collections by collectors including Pierre Lorinet, who will present his third exhibition The Pierre Lorinet Collection: Space at New Bahru, Singapore’s first-ever all-local creative cluster. The Private Museum will also be presenting Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story – Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh, an exhibition showcasing Richard Koh’s personal art collection. This exhibition marks the second time Koh’s private collection will be presented at The Private Museum, offering audiences a fresh glimpse into his evolving journey as a collector and gallerist.
- Marina Bay Sands is set to return with the third edition of “Where Art Takes Shape”, taking place from 16 to 26 January 2025. For the first time in Asia, Covenant ART and House of Inspiration will launch Behind the Canvas Series 1: Jean-Michel Basquiat, a 3-month event experience honouring the life and work of the legendary American artist at Sands Expo & Convention Centre. Visitors will also experience a specially curated edition of Marina Bay Sands’ Spectra light show by artists from The Observatory (Singapore) and Duck Unit (Thailand), blending light, sound, and water in an immersive experience. Additionally, the expanded Masterpieces Art Trail, following the STB x UOB campaign with 21 public art installations throughout Marina Bay offers art enthusiasts an enriching journey through the heart of the city.
- Sotheby’s will also be presenting the exhibition and auction of Modern and Contemporary Art from 14 – 18 January 2025, during SAW, which will be opened to the public.
Art Takes Over the city, where we live, work and play
From the city centre to the heartlands and even places of commute, Singaporeans will have greater access to artworks.
- NAC expands on its partnership with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to enliven more spaces in our public transport nodes as part of the Art in Transit programme. Following a successful first run during SAW 2024, eight MRT stations and a themed train will continue to spotlight nearby SAW programmes in January 2025. In addition, the public can expect more colour to our urban landscape with contemporary art wraps dressing ten viaduct pillars near Bukit Gombak MRT station during SAW 2025.
- Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen will be transforming a space at Fort Canning Park into a speculative fiction experience of 11th century Temasek through their multimedia exhibition, Before and After the Unknown. Between expanded cinema, a video game and sculptural fictions, the exhibition presents pieces of a deconstructed myth, drawing from and exploring Singapore’s early history through the fantastical and the botanical.
- Cabinet of Curiosities is a play-making initiative that showcases the journey of co-creation among children of diverse abilities. They follow clues about a mysterious creature lurking in the neighbourhood and dive into a vibrant world of shapes, textures, sounds and stories. Their collaborative efforts form a cabinet of curiosities, filled with a mix of gathered natural materials, visual fascinations, and imaginative tales.
- Open studios by artists in the charming enclaves of Emily Hill, Telok Kurau and Wessex invites the public to better understand their inspiration and their various processes of art making.
Connecting Singapore to global art communities
From connecting the public, to enlivening our spaces through the arts, SAW also provides a platform for artistic collaborations, reinforcing Singapore’s position as a Southeast Asia arts hub for cultural exchanges, partnerships and creative growth across borders.
- NAC expands on its partnership with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to enliven more spaces in our public transport nodes as part of the Art in Transit programme. Following a successful first run during SAW 2024, eight MRT stations and a themed train will continue to spotlight nearby SAW programmes in January 2025. In addition, the public can expect more colour to our urban landscape with contemporary art wraps dressing ten viaduct pillars near Bukit Gombak MRT station during SAW 2025.
- For the first time, visitors can look forward to “Beyond Giving, Inspiring Change” Glass Art Exhibition by Bangkok Glass Company, Thailand’s first learning centre for glass art. This exhibition will take place from 24 to 28 January 2025 and features the works of glass artists Tan Sock Fong (Singapore), Chattakan Vongsiri (Thailand), Peter Bowles (Australia), Osamu Noda (Japan) and Stephanie Trenchard (USA).
- OH! Open House presents The Eye and The Tiger, featuring commissions and seminal works by Singaporean and Southeast Asian artists. Visitors are invited to Adam Park for a guided art walk through a fabled black-and-white bungalow nestled in a lush, rolling landscape.
- Singapore Art Week Forum 2025 expands into a full-day line-up, gathering thought leaders from the industry to engage in panel discussions and dialogues guided by the theme, ‘Art Publics’ featuring keynote speaker, Theaster Gates. This year's forum, jointly organised by NAC, National Gallery Singapore (NGS), and Singapore Art Museum (SAM), explores the relationship between art and society. It aims to encourage industry leaders to view the public as integral partners, reinforce art's social significance, and highlight its potential to connect individuals and catalyse positive change.
- In conjunction with the launch of the new Tanoto Art Foundation (TAF) in Singapore, TAF will also be hosting its inaugural symposium, Soul Song of a New Organisation on 14 January 2025. It will feature a keynote by scholar and art historian Joan Kee (USA), performances by artists Melati Suryodarmo (Indonesia) and Chang Yuchen (China), and international speakers including Joselina Cruz (the Philippines), Gala Porras-Kim (Brazil), Paulo Miyada (Brazil), Manuela Moscoso (Ecuador) and Arin Rungjang (Thailand).
Singapore artists have also placed Singapore on the global arts scene by presenting at key international platforms. SAW 2025 hosts the return of these exhibitions offering residents here the opportunity to experience their works.
Following its presentation at the Singapore Pavilion at Biennale Arte 2024 in Venice, Seeing Forest by Robert Zhao Renhui, curated by Haeju Kim, returns to Singapore and will be presented at SAM.
- Motivated by its debut at Ars Electronica in Linz, Affective Architecture features work by new media artists exploring how Virtual Reality and digital immersive environments shape emotions and perceptions. While only half of the works were first presented at Ars Electronica, the exhibition expands on its themes, inviting audiences to engage deeply with the interplay between digital spaces and human experience.
Phenomenology Of Light And Rhythms Of The Earth is a collaborative exhibition and workshop series held at Objectifs by artists Zen Teh (Singapore) and SueKi Yee (Malaysia) that extends on their first presentation in Berlin as part of Zen Teh’s research at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien Residency organised in partnership with NAC.
Celebrating our shared arts and culture
In line with the upcoming celebration of SG60, there will be a series of programmes that reflects on our progress as a nation and her people.
● SAW x PAssionArts presents five community projects by artists and arts groups in collaboration with Community Arts and Culture Clubs (CACCs) across five neighbourhoods in Singapore: Bukit Batok East, Canberra, Kampong Glam, Mountbatten and Tampines North. This includes National Antiquities Parade by Temporal Displacement Agency in collaboration with Mountbatten CACC commemorating the SG60 celebrations by paying homage to one of Singapore’s most iconic and endearing national events, the National Day Parade.
● In celebration of Singapore’s 60th year of independence, Art Outreach presents Singkarpor REMIXED, a photography exhibition of works by acclaimed photographer AikBeng Chia and curated by John Tung. Chia’s works document the streets and everyday scenes of Singapore. His photograph collages will be presented as large-scale, interactive installations that touch on themes of local pop culture, diversity and our heartlands, offering a vivid exploration of Singapore’s evolving identity.
Visit the SAW website (www.artweek.sg) and follow @sgartweek on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about the full programme line-up and participating artists.
More information can be found in the Annex and in our Digital Media Kit: bit.ly/SAW2025.
| Translations |
|---|
| Singapore Art Week 新加坡艺术周 | Minggu Seni Singapura | சிங்கப்பூர் கலை வாரம் |
| National Arts Council 国家艺术理事会 | Majlis Seni Kebangsaan | தேசியக் கலை மன்றம் |
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For media enquiries, kindly contact:
| Natalie Tan Manager Tate Anzur Contact: +65 9173 6129 Email: SAWPRteam@tateanzur.com | Faith Leong Manager Strategic Communications & Marketing National Arts Council Contact: +65 9173 0246 Email: Faith_LEONG@nac.gov.sg |
About Singapore Art Week
As Singapore’s pinnacle visual arts season, Singapore Art Week (SAW) represents the vibrant and diverse visual arts ecosystem.
The ten-day event will see more than 100 events by the local and international visual arts community. Audiences can look forward to a dynamic line-up of programmes and arts experiences at our museums, galleries, independent art spaces and public spaces, and participate in enriching discussions, talks, walks and tours across the island and online.
SAW, a celebration of Singapore’s visual arts landscape, is an annual event organised by NAC.
About the National Arts Council, Singapore
The National Arts Council (NAC) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community, and Youth that champions the arts in Singapore. The Council promotes artistic excellence by providing diverse opportunities for artists and arts organisations while expanding access for audiences to appreciate the impact of the arts in enriching lives. By working closely with the arts community and partners, the Council seeks to build a connected society, creative economy and distinctive city through the arts. For more information, visit www.nac.gov.sg.
ANNEX SAW 2025 HIGHLIGHTS
For more details, please refer to the artweek.sg for a full list of programmes and artists involved.
Notes:
● This is not an exhaustive list and serves as a first look at the line-up of programmes to be expected at SAW 2025.
| SAW 2025 Programmes and Write-up | |
|---|---|
| Programmes | Write-Up |
| SAW 2025 Open Call Projects | |
| | | on paper By Kirti Upadhyaya and Hong Shu-ying 17 - 28 January, 5 - 9 February 2025 (Closed for Chinese New Year) FARM, Waterloo Centre, 261 Waterloo St, #04-20 (Meeting Rooms), Singapore 180261 | | | on paper is an experimental ‘residency’ that begins with four sheets of A4 paper. Instead of a studio with four walls, the project provides 20 artists with four pieces of paper, a simple material that serves as the site for artistic exploration and creation. The artists are free to work with these papers in any way imaginable–they could write or print on them, draw or paint on them, poke or fold them, sculpt with them or scan them, cut or tear them. The results of their creative explorations will be displayed during SAW. Each transformed piece of paper offers an insight into the artists’ practice and unique points of view. www.onpaper.online | @______onpaper |
| Affective Architecture 17 - 26 January 2025 Blackbox at 42 Waterloo Street | Affective Architecture is a group exhibition showcasing Singaporean and international new media artists working with immersive environments, including Virtual Reality, Expanded Cinema, and Games. Debuting at SAW 2025, the works explore how imagination, space, and immersion influence perceptions of the world and complex global issues. The artists address diverse themes such as ecology, history, technology, society, and personal memory, yet all share a common goal: to evoke an awareness of the interconnectedness of the world through the digital realms they create. |
| Before and After the Unknown By Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen 17 - 26 January 2025 Fort Canning Park | Before and After the Unknown is a multimedia exhibition by Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen, set within a speculative fiction universe of Temasek island in the 11th century. Existence is an island in time, always before and after the unknown. What selves might be found in the performance of a fictive past? Past, present and future collide in a fantasy of materialities and histories. Between expanded cinema, a video game and sculptural fictions, the exhibition presents pieces of a deconstructed myth. It draws from the lost fragments of the land’s early history - their traces in both the bodily and the botanical - and the unknown possibilities of our future trajectories. |
| Cabinet of Curiosities 17 – 26 January 2025 Toa Payoh Public Library | Cabinet of Curiosities is a play-making initiative that showcases the journey of co-creation among children of diverse abilities. As they follow clues about a mysterious creature lurking in the neighbourhood, these young explorers dive into a vibrant world of shapes, textures, sounds, and stories. Their collaborative efforts form a cabinet of curiosities, filled with a delightful mix of gathered natural materials, visual fascinations, and imaginative tales. Step into their cabinet to uncover the secrets of this elusive creature! Visitors are invited to experience their discoveries firsthand and engage with their creative expressions. On weekends, join a tour of the cabinet led by young explorers. For updates on tour dates and timings, be sure to check back on the Instagram page @cabinetofcuriosities.sg. |
| Con-Temporary Art 17 - 26 January 2025 Curated by Joshua Kon Various venues | This project challenges the perception of space by introducing guests to a nomadic, compact gallery. Unconventional spaces can expand, rather than limit one’s understanding of art. By engaging with these themes, Con-Temporary Art Gallery invites viewers to rethink their relationship with art and encourages them to embrace the evolving nature of artistic expression. As the works travel to new locations, they bring art to audiences, transforming everyday spaces into platforms for creative dialogue and exploration. |
| DIGikat By Yang Derong 17 - 26 January 2025 The Arts House Annex | DIGIkat is an artistic project inspired by the traditional craft of ikat weaving and the dynamic energy of sound waves, exploring how diverse voices, cultures, and narratives intertwine to create a unified social fabric, reflecting the delicate balance of harmony and diversity within a multicultural society. At its core, DIGIkat features a LED projection of animated artwork of digital ikat inspired by sound waves, capturing the rhythm of communal life. This digital display will be paired with a woven jacquard fabric, translating the artwork into a tactile form. By merging digital technology with traditional craftsmanship, the project reflects the harmony that defines society’s collective existence, embodying the texture of modern, multicultural living. |
| Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story – Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh By The Private Museum 10 January - 9 March 2025 The Private Museum | The Private Museum is proud to announce Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story – Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh, an exhibition showcasing Richard Koh’s personal art collection at The Private Museum, Singapore, from 10 January to 9 March 2025. This exhibition, coinciding with SAW 2025, marks the second time Koh’s private collection will be presented at The Private Museum, offering audiences a fresh glimpse into his evolving journey as a collector and gallerist. In 2019, Koh’s first showcase at The Private Museum, Of Dreams and Contemplation: Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh, offered an intimate look at 33 works from over 20 years of collecting. Now, Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story – Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh builds upon that narrative, presenting a selection of over 50 works that reflect Koh’s personal interactions with contemporary art and the artists he deeply admires. Collected with a focus on memory and emotion, Koh’s private collection reveals his preference for works that evoke specific personal moments—what he often calls “Landscapes of Memory” is highly personal, rooted in the emotional resonance each piece holds for him. From Southeast Asia to the international art world, these works reflect his private journey, delving into art, life, and memory. As founder of Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA), Koh has been a significant figure in shaping the Southeast Asian art market for over two decades. The collaboration between The Private Museum and RKFA on this project underscores Koh’s ongoing commitment to creating meaningful dialogues between collectors, artists, and the public. This exhibition invites viewers to explore Koh’s deeply personal collection, offering a rare insight into the mind of a veteran gallerist who has spent much of his career promoting the works of others while quietly building a collection of his own. |
| Path. 15, Cosmic Strangers 14 January - 16 February 2025 By Boedi Widjaja Orchard MRT Station Exit 10 - Underground | Path. 15, Cosmic Strangers is a public artwork by Boedi Widjaja that builds on his multi-year research into cosmic ray muons*. Intersecting the disciplines of particle physics, photography, poetry and sound art, the installation—in the subterranean Orchard MRT Station Exit 10—meditates on the invisible traces of distance, movement and borders in the spaces of encounter with the other. Cosmic Strangers presents a live tracker that senses muons in real-time, alongside photographs of the invisible particles—described by eminent physicist Prof. Hiroyuki Tanaka of the University of Tokyo as the "first fine art muography" he has seen. Featuring poetry by Tse Hao Guang and sound by Jonathan Yip of Paper Divers, the art-science project is produced by Audrey Koh. *Muons are particles created when cosmic radiation hits Earth’s atmosphere; millions traverse our bodies each day. Muons are material proof of Einstein's theory of relativity, as time slows significantly for the near-light-speed particles. |
| Phenomenology Of Light And Rhythms Of The Earth 14 December 2024 - 28 February 2025 By Zen Teh Shi Wei and SueKi Yee Objectifs – Lower Gallery | Zen Teh and SueKi Yee as visual art and dance collaborators first collaborated in Berlin for Zen Teh’s multi-city research on light and darkness in urban spaces. They are interested in opening up a space where people can take time to process and discuss their embodied perspectives on light and darkness, and how these ever co-existing elements are inextricably linked to life rhythms, memories, pollution, urban development, safety and surveillance, environmental changes, accessibility of energy, and volatile global political states. Public workshops focusing on eliciting embodied experiences and critical reflection on light and darkness in urban spaces underpins the art making process. In this edition of SAW 2025, the research and collaborative process extends further to include both pre-exhibition workshop (embodiment of light) and exhibition movement workshop where the public will be able to contribute to the artists’ art making process as well as interact with the exhibits in meaningful ways. |
| SAW IN 10 DAYS 17 - 26 January 2025 By Post-Museum Travelling project | Since its inception, Post-Museum has led three editions of SAW IN 10 DAYS, visiting over 260 events over 3 years on a guided bus tour. SAW IN 10 DAYS maps out the art week's diverse and varied art events through an exciting island-wide adventure, visiting different exhibitions and shows. For the fourth edition, participants are invited to join adventures led by our ambassadors, including art students, art enthusiasts, and recent art graduates. 30 unique stamps from 30 SAW exhibitions and events can be collected in a SAW IN 10 DAYS Passport across the event. Participants can submit a photo of their collection of stamps and stand to win prizes. |
| Singkarpor REMIXED 11 - 26 January 2025 Art Outreach, 5 Lock Road, #01-06, Gillman Barracks Curated by John Tung | Drawing on this Singaporean extensive archive, Singkarpor REMIXED is an immersive art installation. It employs the spirited scenes AikBeng Chia has captured to develop large-scale photographic collages. Blended with the artist’s own humorous style, the new works embody a country bustling with life and activity in each individual piece. From popular tourist precincts such as Chinatown and Little India, to unsuspecting heartlands like Punggol and Sengkang, ABC’s no-holds-barred approach offers an unadulterated insight into the country. This installation blurs the lines between photography and interactive art, inviting visitors to engage deeply by photographing themselves within the installation. It offers a vibrant, unfiltered glimpse into Singaporean life, appealing to art enthusiasts, social media influencers, and casual visitors alike. The series, entitled Singkarpor - reflects the country’s name pronounced with a Hokkien inflection and includes a plethora of street scenes, landscapes and candid portraits. |
| The Utopia of Rules 17 – 26 January 2025 Curated by Hera Chan and Kathleen Ditzig 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road | Bureaucracy is a defining feature of contemporary life, embodying the social contracts and financialised logics that permeate time, labour, relationships, and even the afterlife. Borrowing its title from David Graeber’s 2015 book, this exhibition brings together artists from Singapore and beyond who have engaged with everyday bureaucracy and its idioms. Featuring artworks that are produced through international legal limits, that poetically reflect upon the personal cybernetic relationship with censorship, and that unpack the everyday governance found in the office, the public housing unit or technologies like the mobile phone, The Utopia of Rules reflects upon the social contracts, agencies, and logics that define these systems. In turn, the exhibition points to how in ‘following rules’ and ‘filing paperwork’, artists can speak to and shift cultural protocols. The Utopia of Rules is curated by Hera Chan and Kathleen Ditzig, with design by Joshua Comaroff and Vanessa Ban. |
| SAW 2025 Programmes Highlights by Key Partners | |
| ART SG 16 - 19 January 2025 Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands | Hailed by many as the beginning of a new chapter for the art scene in Singapore and Southeast Asia, the highly anticipated third edition of ART SG will feature an outstanding line-up of 106 of the world's leading galleries, showcasing the best in contemporary art practice from across Asia and around the world. As Southeast Asia's leading international art fair, ART SG 2025 will spotlight exceptional contemporary art through three distinct gallery sectors – GALLERIES, FOCUS, and FUTURES – alongside dynamic large-scale installations, thought-provoking talks, and a film programme in collaboration with Singapore’s ArtScience Museum. Presented by Founding and Lead Partner UBS, ART SG will return to Marina Bay Sands from 17 to 19 January 2025, co-timed with SAW (17 - 26 January 2025) – the city’s annual celebration of the visual arts. Get ready to discover and purchase art from the world's top galleries, showcasing the finest contemporary art. |
| Becoming Lim Tze Peng 25 October 2024 - 23 March 2025 Level 4 Gallery, National Gallery Singapore | Trace the artistic evolution of the 103 year-old artist Lim Tze Peng at Becoming Lim Tze Peng, with artworks dating back to 1946 and as recent as 2023. Marvel at the picturesque and nostalgic depictions of well-loved scenes of everyday Singapore and magnificent landscapes from around the world. Delve into the compelling stories behind Lim’s bold and expressive ink works, including the invention of his own distinct style of calligraphy, , also known as ‘muddled calligraphy’ or ‘muddled characters’. From 25 October 2024 to 23 March 2025, NGS presents its first solo exhibition on Singapore’s oldest living and active artist, Lim Tze Peng, featuring over 50 artworks curated from Singapore’s public art collections, the artist’s personal art collection, and rare archival materials. |
| Kim Lim: The Space Between. A Retrospective. 27 September 2024 - 2 February 2025 Singtel Special Exhibition Galleries 2 & 3, National Gallery Singapore | NGS celebrates the life and work of Singapore-born sculptor and printmaker Kim Lim (1936 – 1997) with Kim Lim: The Space Between. A Retrospective. Running from 27 September 2024 to 2 February 2025, this landmark exhibition presents over 150 works, marking Lim’s most comprehensive major museum exhibition to date. This retrospective underscore the role of Lim’s cultural in-betweenness in shaping her artistic style and her resistance to pressures of identity determinations. Trace the evolution of her practice, and see her unique approach to Minimalism, influenced by material cultures encountered during her extensive travels. Experience an in-depth showcase featuring key sculptures and prints spanning four decades, along with maquettes, never-before-seen photographs. Gain new insights into her artistic journey, philosophy, and creative relationships, and see how she relied on the power of suggestion and metaphor, to masterfully balance space, light, and rhythm to great effect. |
| Light to Night Singapore 2025, “Do You See Me?” 17 January - 6 February 2025 National Gallery Singapore and across Singapore’s Civic District | Light to Night Singapore makes its annual return as a marquee event of SAW, illuminating the Civic District area where key events that bookmarked Singapore's history took place. With this year’s thought-provoking theme “Do You See Me?”, Light to Night Singapore 2025 features mesmerising light projections, art installations and engaging programmes that invite audiences of all ages to uncover unexpected ways of seeing ourselves and others, and to be inspired for the future – a timely call for a year of milestones as Singapore celebrates its 60th birthday and the Gallery celebrates its 10th anniversary. Running from 17 January – 6 February, Light to Night Singapore 2025 is organised by NGS in collaboration with the Civic District’s most iconic cultural institutions: Asian Civilisations Museum, The Arts House and Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall. Light to Night Singapore 2025 will shine a spotlight on Singapore artists through diverse art presentations which honour the legacy of seminal figures in the local visual arts scene and showcase the artistic excellence of younger contemporary artists. This builds on the Gallery’s ongoing SG Artist series of solo exhibitions dedicated to local trailblazers Teo Eng Seng, Kim Lim and Lim Tze Peng, which will be free for all visitors as part of the Gallery’s Open House on festival weekends. |
| Singapore Art Week Forum 2025 15 January 2025 National Gallery Singapore, City Hall Wing Basement, Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium | The NAC is partnering with NGS and SAM to deliver the third iteration of the NAC SAW Forum 2025. Themed "Art Publics", the SAW Forum 2025 aims to redefine the relationship between art and society. This forum will examine how artists, cultural workers, and institutions have tangibly impacted communities, encouraging stakeholders to view the public as integral partners rather than passive observers. It will explore strategies for sustained, meaningful audience engagement that transcends fleeting experiences, transforming audiences into active participants, patrons, and collaborators. The forum will facilitate and strengthen cross-sectoral partnerships and regional networks, identify current challenges and opportunities for the visual arts sector, and inspire new strategies for the advancement of the arts in Singapore and the region. |
| NAC x LTA Partnership Harbourfront, Dhoby Ghaut, Fort Canning, Raffles Place, Little India, Bugis, Tampines, Tanjong Katong MRTs and Bukit Gombak Viaducts | The NAC and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are working together to bring facets of local arts closer to the community, while improving the overall commuting experience on public transport. Themed trains, stations and viaduct columns are part of LTA’s Art in Transit programme, which aims to bring artworks closer to commuters and transform transport nodes into lively places. This inter-agency collaboration activates places and precincts by working with the arts sectors to co-create innovative and unique arts encounters for local audiences. Commuters can look forward to artworks, some with interactive elements and features, in unexpected spaces such as on station walls, within train carriages and on the MRT viaduct columns during their daily commutes. While this marks the second year commuters can see local artworks on trains and stations, LTA will also work with community artists to launch an art showcase on 10 MRT viaduct columns, in collaboration with the Bukit Gombak community. |
| SAW x PAssionArts Bukit Batok East, Canberra, Kampong Glam, Mountbatten, Tampines North | In its 3rd edition, SAW x PAssionArts celebrates SG60 by bringing the arts to the heartlands under the key message of “Building Our SG Together”. This joint initiative by SAW and PAssionArts pairs artists with Community Arts & Culture Clubs (CACCs) in five neighbourhoods across Singapore in the meaningful co-creation of visual art installation distinct to each neighbourhood. Encouraging ground |
| S.E.A. Focus 18 - 26 January 2025 Tanjong Pagar Distripark | S.E.A. Focus is a leading showcase and art market hub dedicated to Southeast Asian contemporary art. A meeting point for artistic vision and vigour, it brings together a fine curation of established and emerging artistic talents from the region and provides a platform that propels diverse cultural exchanges and dialogue about Southeast Asian art. In this seventh edition, S.E.A. Focus 2025 explores the dynamic changes during the shift between Modern and Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia, bringing into question the role of cultural relativism in a multi-layered understanding. Alongside the curated exhibition at Tanjong Pagar Distripark is an exciting line-up of experiences for art lovers from seasoned collectors to curious enthusiasts, including a curated film screening programme, stimulating art conversations with industry thought leaders, and exclusive access to art spaces. S.E.A. Focus is an anchor event of SAW, led by STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery and commissioned by NAC. |
| Seeing Forest 15 January - 18 May 2025 Level 3, Gallery 3, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark | Following its presentation at the Singapore Pavilion at Biennale Arte 2024 in Venice, Seeing Forest by Robert Zhao Renhui returns to Singapore. The observation of the ultimately unknowable in the natural world is a hallmark of artist Robert Zhao Renhui’s praxis. Since 1998, under the auspices of his own semi-fictional Institute of Critical Zoologists, Zhao’s many and varied projects have served as lenses that highlight the resilience of nature and the various interactions that occur when such resilience overlaps with human life and society. Notably, over the last seven years, he has been focusing on secondary forests in Singapore — forests regrown from deforested land due to human intervention such as development and plantation — and the new ecosystems that have developed within it. For the Singapore Pavilion, decades of Zhao’s accumulated observations are condensed and organised into an intensive installation, which returns to Singapore after its exhibition run at the Biennale Arte 2024 in Venice. Through this exhibition, visitors can see how the island of Singapore has evolved to arrive at the present day, revealing some of the ways in which human urban design can shape the natural world itself, resulting in an ecosystem of migrant species that echoes the trajectories and makeup of the city’s human population. At the same time, Seeing Forest also highlights phenomena that are universally relatable to those living in any urban environment. |
| Pratchaya Phinthong: No Patents on Ideas 4 December 2024 – 23 Mar 2025 Level 1, Gallery 1, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark | No Patents on Ideas, the first solo exhibition of Bangkok-based artist Pratchaya Phinthong in Singapore considers ideas of self-determination and objects as avatars of chance. The works of Pratchaya Phinthong marks a critical strand of conceptual practices in Thai contemporary art. Much of the artist’s conceptually driven practice is premised on collaborative processes, modes of exchange and the transference of artistic agency that redefine the value and significance of art. Translating research, scientific discoveries, economic theories, and even rumours into experiential forms and gestures, the exhibition presents major explorations underpinning Phinthong’s two decades of practice that reflects his modes of conceptual thinking and research. |
| Yee I-Lann: Mansau-Ansau 4 December 2024 – 23 Mar 2025 Level 1, Gallery 1, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark | Mansau-Ansau in Dusun – the language of the Dusun and Kadazan of Sabah – means to walk without a predetermined destination. It evokes a wandering path that welcomes chance and possibilities. Translated into a weave, it manifests as a pattern without pattern, a pattern that follows its own rhythm. The exhibition Mansau-Ansau attends to Yee I-Lann’s journey of discovery and creation over two decades, navigating domains of knowledge old and new, and reimagining the forms and dynamics of power. Travel across a range of media, from photocollage, silk and batik, to bamboo pus and pandanus, to encounter a horizon that teases, where the kerbau stand their ground and mats ‘eat’ tables, to experience karaoke beyond language and meet the turtles as they return home. |
| Everyday Practices 30 August 2024 - 20 July 2025 Level 3, Gallery 4, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark | “My art is doing time, so it’s not different from doing life or doing art or doing time. No matter whether I stay in ‘art-time’ or ‘life-time,’ I am passing time.”—the artist Tehching Hsieh thus describes his durational performances, which turn the banality of life and the passage of time into medium and subject for his art. Building on Hsieh’s philosophy, the exhibition Everyday Practices examines the inventive ways artists have appropriated quotidian routines and lived experiences to express powerful statements of resilience and endurance. Through their works, visitors can witness ongoing conflicts, humanitarian crises and asymmetrical power relationships. In this context, the gestures that the artists have employed, by dint of repetition, reveal themselves as small acts of resistance that return agency to the individual. Art, as observed here, offers a means of sense-making and coping in the face of adversity. Drawing from the collection of SAM, Everyday Practices brings together artworks by diverse artists across different generations and geographies in Asia. They affirm that the collective strength found in individual actions cuts across cultural practices and conditions. The question that is universal to all is: “In the face of life’s challenges, how do we go on going on?”. |
| Teo Eng Seng: We’re Happy. Are You Happy? 6 September 2024 - 2 February 2025 Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery 1 and The Spine Hall, National Gallery Singapore | Immerse yourself in highly emotive creative expressions by Cultural Medallion recipient and pioneer artist Teo Eng Seng at NGS’s Teo Eng Seng: We’re Happy. Are You Happy? – the largest and most in-depth survey on the multidisciplinary artist to date. Featuring close to 70 artworks that respond to global social-political events of the mid-20th century, visitors can peek into Teo’s own lived experiences and his contributions to the local visual arts scene. From 6 September 2024 to 2 February 2025, visitors are invited to explore Teo’s honest and witty negotiation between self and society. Teo transforms everyday materials into vibrant works of art, embedding humour and irony into his socially engaged practice. His creations, full of spontaneous and vivid compositions, reflect his tongue-in-cheek takes on personal and broader social events. Teo is most known for inventing his own medium in the 1980s, paperdyesculp, which involves shaping dyed papier-mâché, also known as pulped paper, along with other materials of his choosing, into sculptural artworks. |
| Other SAW 2025 Programme Highlights | |
| Art After Dark 24 - 25 January 2025 Gillman Barracks | Experience the vibrant fusion of visual arts, music, and film, as Art After Dark at Gillman Barracks (GB) returns for SAW over two electrifying evenings. On 24 – 25 January 2025, discover emerging musicians in two nights of entertainment. As visitors explore, fresh sounds curated by New Mongrels will guide their journey. This collective of young and emerging musicians brings together diverse genres, from hip hop and rock to electronic and r&b, offering a platform for Singapore's next generation of musical talent. Visitors can also wander through the exhibitions by the resident galleries, wrapping up a line-up of exciting events not to be missed. |
| Beyond Giving, Inspiring Change 24 – 28 January 2025 Visual Arts Centre Exhibition Gallery @ Dhoby Ghaut | Beyond Giving, Inspiring Change, this exhibition invites reflection on how small acts of kindness can create a ripple effect, leading to a broader societal impact. Even the simplest gestures can inspire others, uplift communities, and generate lasting, positive change. The exhibition supports glass artists by helping them develop their skills and careers through workshops and collaboration. By offering a creative outlet, it seeks to inspire more artists and foster both their professional growth and the development of the glass art community. It is believed that the more is given, the more is received. No matter how small or insignificant an act may seem, it has the potential to make a meaningful impact on society. |
| Behind the Canvas Series 1: Jean-Michel Basquiat December 2024 – March 2025 Marina Bay Sands | Behind the Canvas Series 1: Jean-Michel Basquiat, celebrates the life and work of this iconic American artist. The inaugural exhibition from the Behind the Canvas series will debut at Marina Bay Sands from December 2024 through March 2025. Through his captivating sketches and illustrations and the use of innovative art, fashion, literature, and technology, the narrative aims to foster a deeper appreciation for art and inspire a new generation of local artists. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity for the public to have a deeper understanding of the life and inspirations of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The interactive exhibition will give attendees an opportunity to delve into the artist’s private life, his younger days as a budding artist, and the thoughts that paved the way to make him one of the world's most recognized artists. |
| Monet Inside 4 October 2024 – 31 March 2025 3rd Floor, Parkview Square | Monet Inside is a media art exhibition that reinterprets the cherished masterpieces of Claude Monet, the painter of light, through a modern lens, accompanied by music. From his beginnings as an Impressionist in Paris to the grand saga of his Water Lilies series in Giverny, the exhibition showcases the radiant and passionate journey of Claude Monet, who found glimmers of light even in the most challenging moments of his life. |
| Sonic Sessions 17 - 18 January 2025 24 – 25 January 2025 Tanjong Pagar Distripark | Sonic Sessions returns for another exciting edition of SAW at SAM! Visit The Spine - the vibrant heart of Tanjong Pagar Distripark, located between Blocks 37 and 39 for an electric lineup of performances by both local and international artists. Enjoy a range of genres with acts like Subsonic Eye, Bakers In Space, Pleasantry, and many more. A joint initiative by NAC, SAM and Mapletree, part of SAW. |
| SATs x Derong 17 – 26 January 2025 The Arts House Annex Building | SATS Experiential Centre at The Arts House Annex is proud to present an exclusive food and art experience in a private kitchen on level two in response to Yang Derong’s DIGikat, a digital art project on level one. From 14–23 January 2025, SATs will be partnering highly sought-after private home dining chef cum art consultant and filmmaker, Patricia Chen from Sekel Kitchen (@sekel_kitchen), and Michelin-starred restaurant Nouri former head chef Russell Nathan with his group of equally talented culinary friends from Bricolage (@bricolage.sg) to invite visitors to experience special menus that draw inspiration from Derong’s DIGikat – a truly innovative, breathtaking and immersive art experience not to be missed. Dinner details and reservations from December 2024 at @sekel_kitchen (dinner dates scheduled for 14-16 January 2025) and @bricolage.sg (dinner dates scheduled for 17-23 January 2025). |
| The Pierre Lorinet Collection: Space 10 January – 2 February 2025 New Bahru, Factory | This third exhibition from The Pierre Lorinet Collection explores the theme of "space," referencing the 8,000 sq. ft. warehouse at New Bahru, the vibrant venue for this year’s showcase. Featuring works by artists such as Ugo Rondinone, Liz Deschenes, Theaster Gates, and Tracey Emin, the exhibition reflects diverse interpretations of space—cosmic, earthly, emotional, and structural. Highlights include Frank Stella’s Moby Dick, Danh Vo’s recreated fragment of the Statue of Liberty, and Korakrit Arunanondchai’s signature burnt denim, all exploring how space holds memory, transformation, and meaning. Sterling Ruby’s Thermohaline demonstrates how sensory elements shape spatial experience. More than a backdrop, space functions as a medium for creative expression, whether it is a landscape, a personal reflection, or an abstract void. Through these works, Space invites viewers to engage with the dynamic relationship between art and the environments that shape both thought and experience. |
| Tanoto Foundation One-Day Symposium: Soul Song of a New Organisation 14 January 2025 School of the Arts Singapore | The Tanoto Art Foundation (TAF) will be launching during SAW with the inaugural edition of the TAF Symposium taking place on 14 January 2025. TAF is a Singapore-based not-for-profit foundation dedicated to nurturing dialogues around the experience of contemporary art in Southeast Asia. The one-day TAF Symposium will be bringing together leading international artists, art historians, curators, and institution builders, to collectively reflect on ideas of creativity, identity, and authenticity, and explore what it means to create and nurture an “organisation with a soul”. Composed of artists, art historians, curators, and institution builders, the minds gathered here each contribute to the composition of the soul song in their unique ways. Their thinking and practice expand our imagination of different aspects of creating an organisation, from ideas on how and why different kinds of collections – museum, knowledge, personal items, memories – are assembled, to the various challenges and rewards of inventing something new and thinking out of the box, and the history and future modes of collaborations and exchanges, especially the ones from South-to-South and previously under-recognised. |
| The Eye and The Tiger 12 – 19 January 2025 7 Adam Park | Walk up to a fabled black and white bungalow nestled in a lush rolling landscape. While the black-and-white is about exclusivity, the story is far bloodier and infinitely blacker. The form and function of the black and white bungalows take after the Anglo-Indian plantation villa, once part of a global botanical network built on lies, violence and indentured labour. Join this guided art walk and encounter two more landmarks nearby that have been forgotten in the story of Singapore’s black-and-whites: Botanic Gardens, and Tiger Hill. Discover how the colonial gaze shapes relationships to land and nature, and how tigers are a haunting presence throughout Singapore history. |
| The World of Studio Ghibli 4 October 2024 – 2 February 2025 ArtScience Museum | Explore The World of Studio Ghibli at ArtScience Museum, where imagination begins! Opening in October, The World of Studio Ghibli is Singapore’s first-ever Studio Ghibli exhibition. This large-scale exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to encounter some of their favourite characters from 11 films by the renowned Studio Ghibli. Allow yourself to be spirited away into magical scenes from My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and more. Through theatrical sets, interactive art installations and activities, learn about the extraordinary characters and stories created by one of the world’s leading animation studios. Founded in Japan in 1985 by directors Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki, and producer Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli is a ground-breaking animation studio known for producing some of the most beloved and critically acclaimed animated films of all time. Their work has captivated audiences around the world and has been acknowledged with multiple awards. Seven of their films have received Academy Awards® nominations, including The Boy and the Heron which won the 96th Academy Awards® for Best Animated Feature. In the same year, 2024, Studio Ghibli made film history by becoming the first group to be awarded an Honorary Palme d’Or at the legendary Cannes Film Festival, an accolade that recognises their outstanding work over the last 40 years. |