Groundwork for Singapore Biennale 2011 Finally Gets Going
December 11, 2009 by mhisham · Leave a Comment
Titled ‘Open House’ – this will be the third biennale that the Singapore Art Museum is organising. ‘Open House’ is the theme for Singapore Biennale 2011, taking the leaf from the culture of Singaporeans to have open house for the various public holidays in Singapore, like the Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali & Christmas.
‘Open House’, as explained by Matthey Ngui, the Artistic Director of Singapore Biennale 2011, “… is not so much a theme as an attitude. I would like the focus for the third Singapore Biennale to be on the city as site and as home, where art engages audiences and re-presents realities through unique creative processes. These give fresh insights into the spaces we inhabit, and in Singapore, we hope to connect the public with artists, starting from the very process of art making …”.
Outreach & Location
Reaching out to an estimated 650,000 attendees, the organisers have tabled down two venues which are confirmed, Singapore Art Museum & National Museum of Singapore while two more locations are under consideration. They are the Old Kallang Airport & Central Promontory Site (Raffles Boulevard). Artistic Director Matthew Ngui says the efficient public transport that Singapore has, will ensure convenient transfer between various locations. National Museum of Singapore is within walking distance of the Singapore Art Museum. As for the other two locations that is under consideration,
The MRT Connection
Singapore Biennale is scheduled to be helf from 6th March to 8th May 2011. It will be curated by Artistic Director, Matthew Ngui, and members of the Curatorial Team, Russel Storer and Trevor Smith. Hence, taking the first name of each person responsible, we get MRT. This joke was shared by Trevor Smith, during the media briefing at the Singapore Art Museum, on the 11th December 2009.
Gift from SAM
The image shown above is by Hendra Gunawan, entitled War And Peace, part of the Singapore Art Museum Collection.
Quotable Quotes
Trevor Smith says a biennale is more than just an exhibition, its a space where new connections are made .
Matthew Ngui says ‘Open House’ is an attitude, the way artist work in spaces.
