Choose your artistic style. Would you prefer to step into the Embassy of Italy in Raffles Place to imbibe Italian art, go to a comedic cartoon play on Chinese New Year traditions, view cute Chinese calligraphy paintings of bunnies at Tan Boon Liat Building, or examine paper and ink drawings at the RJ Paper Building?
Of course, if you prefer to enjoy art the old-fashioned way, you could drop in at the dozens of exhibitions in galleries and museums across Singapore. If you want to be even more “boring”, you could just stay home and take in the wealth of digital art created just for the week.
There are two major art weeks going on in Singapore this January 2023:
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- Singapore Art Week 2023
- Singapore Art Week: Walking Tours
- Singapore Art Week Exhibition Highlights
- Singapore Art Week Light Show
- Singapore Art Week Volunteer
- ART SG 2023
- ART SG Ticket Prices
- ART SG Exhibition Highlights
Singapore Art Week 2023: 6 to 15 January
Any way you look at it, the Singapore Art Week (6 to 15 January 2023) will be a frenzied period for anyone who genuinely loves art, as there are over 700 artists and curators putting out their best works around the island and in cyberspace.
You'll also find over 130 programmes and exhibitions all around town, including museums, galleries, parks, community centres, shopping centres, and the showing of Pulp III: A Short Biography of the Banished Book that was exhibited in the Venice Biennale (or the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia) last year.
Now in its eleventh year, the national art event has grown in size and ambition over time. But this year’s edition appears even more so, as the arts community thinks up new ways to bring art to the people in a world post Covid-19. Organised by the National Arts Council and Singapore Tourism Board, the Singapore Art Week this year has branched out into physical and virtual worlds as never before.
Singapore Art Week: Walking Tours
Interested in the Singapore Art Week but not sure where to start?
Singapore Art Week Walking Tour ($5)
Go on a Singapore Art Week walking tour held by Laselle's MA in Asian Art Histories programme. These walking tours will be running from 6 to 15 January, and you'll need to pre-register a spot here.
Food Art Heritage Walking Tour ($65)
Otherwise, try the Food Art Heritage walking tour. Basically at $65 per pax, you walk, stop, eat, and listen to the rich heritage and history that surrounds the food and neighbourhood you're in.
You'll be going through Fortune Centre, Waterloo Centre, Queen Street, Bras Basah Complex, and Seah Street. Sounds extremely fun for foodies! Book yourself a spot here.
Heritage Conservation Centre Tour ($5)
If you'd love to have a glimpse into Singapore's National Collection, meet their conservators, and collection managers, sign up for the Heritage Conservation Centre Tour taking place on Thursday, 12 January from 1:40pm in the Heritage compound along Jurong Port Road.
Tickets are priced at $5, and includes shuttle bus from Lakeside MRT. Get your tickets here.
Otherwise, join in several other tours such as the Mapletree Business City Public Art Trail Tour (7 January, Saturday from 9:30 to 11am) which takes you through 14 art installations peppered around Mapletree Business City, the Singapore Art Week in 10 Days tours, and Sightseeing Sculpture High Tea & Picnic guided tour.
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Singapore Art Week Highlight Programmes
Some of the key exhibitions and programmes from the Singapore Art Week include:
1. Process: Roving Ideas
Running from 6 January to 5 February 2023, this online-to-offline exhibition introduces a novel way of art appreciation to the public.
By following a set of instructions on the website, you're able to "activate" the environment you live in and appreciate the mundane, everyday happenings around you. The aim of this exhibition? Everyone can be an artist.
Visit the Roving Ideas website to participate.
2. after/ party (Tagore Lane)
Held at the Supper House and Starch along 222 Tagore Lane from 17 December 2022 to 28 January 2023, after/party is a series of performance tours, artist markets, gift stores, and exhibition spaces. Here's the line up:
There are Flowers in the Morning Mist (6 - 15 Jan)
Artist Market (5 - 14 Jan)
Nighthawks (5 - 28 Jan)
Late Night Bookstore (5 - 14 Jan)
Performance Tours (6, 7, 13, 14 Jan)
3. Let's Play Ball - Art That Fits in Your Palm!
From 6 to 22 January, Let's Play Ball will be held at Knuckes & Notch located at Chaos Gallery (261 Waterloo Street) from 12 to 7pm. Admission is free.
Let's Play Ball is an interactive visual arts exhibition featuring Gachapon ball vending machines dispensing limited edition art objects and collectibles designed by 10 artists for the occasion.
4. Bad Clocks: Alley Through a Pinhole
Running from 6 Jan to 5 Feb at the Objectifs Lower Gallery (155 Middle Road), Bad Clocks is an immersive photographic installation surrounding the camera obscura theme.
With a pinhole camera in the room, the exterior of the gallery's building is projected back inside - quite literally bringing the outside inside.
5. For the House; Against the House: __ is Dead
Located at Tanglin Shopping Centre from 5 to 15 Jan, this exhibition investigates Singaporeans' cultural identity and relationship with old heritage shopping malls.
Naturally looped into this conversation is Tanglin Shopping Centre's upcoming enbloc and the mortality of concepts and identities that will go along with it.
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Singapore Art Week Light Show
The facades of major art institutions, such as National Gallery Singapore and The Arts House, will once again be enveloped by eye-popping visual projections and surreal soundscapes.
Perhaps the best known Singapore Art Week event, Light to Night 2023 will take place from the 6 to 26 January 2023 in the Civic District, National Gallery Singapore (1 St Andrew's Road).
As usual, expect the National Gallery Singapore's colonial architecture facade to be painted with a breathtaking display of illusions, dancing lights, and colour.
Throughout the Light to Night 2023 showing period, the National Gallery Singapore's opening hours will be extended to 11pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Artists showing in the Light to Night 2023 Here and Now light show include:
Dawn Ng
Access Path Productions & RJ Thomson
Sai, Atelier Sisu
Studio McGuire
Han Sai Por x Flex Chew
Lolay x KABORED
Budi Agung Kuswara x Studio Batu
and more
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Singapore Art Week Volunteer
An easy way to gain access to all the artworks, parties, tours, and programmes is to volunteer for the Singapore Art Week. This year, you have two choices as a volunteer. You can choose to be stationed at:
Gillman Barracks
Tanjong Pagar Distripark
Your role as a volunteer will be the guide visitors as they explore the Singapore Art Week venues, and maintain safety of the artworks.
Unfortunately, the Singapore Art Week's website is not updated with volunteer application information. As of writing, the website is still showing volunteer information from 2021 and 2022. You can, however, email the Singapore Art Week team at artweek@nac.gov.sg expressing your interest in volunteering.
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ART SG: A brand new art fair in town (Jan 12 to 15)
Jan 12 to 15, 2023 will see the debut edition of ART SG, which brings together over 150 leading galleries worldwide to Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Running concurrently with the Singapore Art Week, ART SG is organised by The Art Assembly in partnership with UBS. The art fair will showcase exceptional artworks, large-scale site-specific installations and talks.
ART SG, An international art fair
Date: 12 to 15 January, 2023 (Thursday to Sunday)
Location: Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre
Early Bird Tickets: $30 weekdays, $35 weekends per adult
Tickets: $35 weekdays, $40 weekends per adult
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ART SG Ticket Prices
The highlight programme will be the ART SG Vernissage preview evening which grants ticket holders to a private viewing of the artworks before opening on, 11 January, Wednesday, from 5-9pm. Each ticket will cost $70, which will buy you preview and first-hand access to the 150 international galleries represented over two floors at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
With this $70 ticket in hand, you will be able to access the ART SG exhibition on all days, anytime you'd like, too.
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ART SG Exhibition Highlights
If you're attending this massive international art fair, don't be daunted by the huge space spanning two floors at the MBS Expo & Convention halls. The entire fair is divided into seven key zones:
Galleries: 150 international and regional art galleries
Focus: Solo and duo artists
Futures: Young galleries, artists under 6 years
Reframe: Digital tech art, VR, NFT
Platform: Contemporary art
Film: Experimental and new film practices
New/Now: Under $10,000 artworks
Aside from walking about and browsing art and speaking to galleries, you can sit down for some talks by curators, artists, and art editors.
Thu 12 Jan, 2pm: Novel Ways of Supporting Artists and Art Scenes to Grow
Thu 12 Jan, 3:30pm: On Finding a Home for Southeast Asian Visual Art & Film
Fri 13 Jan, 2pm: Building Cultural Infrastructure in the Blockchain Age
Fri 13 Jan, 3:30pm: Hybrid Experiences in the Real World
Sat 14 Jan, 1:30pm: Biennales as Drivers of Local and Regional Collaboration
Sat 14 Jan, 3:30pm: How will Museums Adapt to Changing Global Dynamics?
Sun 15 Jan, 2pm: Reimagining our Region After the Pandemic
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