The art scene in Singapore is a diverse and vibrant palette that unites the city’s home-grown talent with the finest names on the South-East Asian and international art scenes. Although it’s well worth starting your exploration of the Singapore art scene in national arts hubs, such as the newly-opened National Gallery Singapore, you’ll soon discover that art in Singapore lies around every corner, and is as much about the personal view of beauty as it is ticking off grand works from a catalogued list.
National Gallery Singapore
There’s perhaps no better place to start a tour of Singapore’s art scene than the National Gallery of Singapore. Housed within the elegant and iconic former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, the fully restored and updated space of the National Gallery creates the perfect canvas to explore the art of Singapore and the South East Asian region. The unmatched collection of 8,000 works stretches from the nineteenth century right to the modern day, and provides an insight not just into the artistic traditions of the island, but of its heritage and history too. Keep an eye out for one of Singapore’s best-known paintings – Cheong Soo Pieng’s Drying Salted Fish, a rural Malay scene inspired by the Chinese art tradition that has appeared on the country’s $50 banknote.
Though the National Gallery Singapore lays claim to being the largest cultural space in the city, there are plenty of smaller galleries and museums that still warrant a visit by the inquisitive visitor. The 21 rooms of the lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands does a very unusual thing in trying to combine art with the sciences, with previous exhibitions including the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh to name just three.
If you’re as much interested in buying art as admiring it, a good place to start is Gilman Barracks. A former British military outpost, the barracks are now an art space of more than 10 independently-owned galleries, where it’s not only possible to explore what it means to be Singaporean through art, but also possible to take much of the artwork home.
Art trails
However you don’t have to step into a gallery or museum to get your art fix in Singapore, with the city being home to several art trails. You’ll undoubtedly know Orchard Road for its shopping, but it’s also a place for art, with a number of colourful outdoor art installations brightening up the whole length of the street. Easily spotted outside the entrances to the major shopping centres and international hotels, there are twelve main sculptures to watch out for.
Elsewhere, the Civic District also has an art trail. Combining architectural splendour with artistic merit, this trail takes in some of the city’s most significant memorials and monuments, from the bronze elephant statue outside the Old Parliament that was a gift from the King of Thailand in 1871, to the statue of the founder of modern Singapore, Stamford Raffles. The hour-long self-guided trail takes in the outdoor works of the ASEAN Sculpture Garden first created in 1981 too.
Festivals
Run by the Singapore Art Museum in Bugis Precinct (another phenomenal space for contemporary art in itself), the Singapore Biennale is the largest arts festival to take place in the city, and attracts visitors from across the globe. The theme is yet to be announced for the sixth instalment, taking place at the end of 2018 through to the first months of 2019, but is sure to include stunning and thought-provoking works.
More frequent an appearance in the city’s diary, the Affordable Art Fair occurs in April and November, showcasing the contemporary art of more than 40 galleries. Smaller in scope, a twice-monthly Sunday Artists Market features attractive local art and crafts for sale, while the Singapore Contemporary festival features works from 90-plus exhibitors as part of the larger Singapore Art Week every January.
Street art
Singapore’s street art scene has suffered in the past from the strict punishments that exist for artists who create such works without permission, however for all that the city’s street art lacks none of the spontaneity of other cities around the world. The best way to come across these works is to discover them by accident while exploring the city on foot, but a few hotspots to consider include the residential blocks near Tiong Bahru market in Chinatown, the area around the Lasalle College of the Arts, the underpasses along the Singapore River, and Haji Lane and Victoria Street in the Malay neighbourhood of Kampong Glam.
The theme park of Haw Par Villa on Pasir Panjang Road, dating back to 1937, also has a collection of over 150 dioramas depicting scenes from the mythology of the region. The best known are the Ten Courts of Hell, featuring bright yet gruesome imagery of the underworld from Chinese and Buddhist tradition.
Art cafes
Should you prefer to admire artwork over a cup of coffee or slice of cake, you should head instead to cafes such as The Orange Thimble in Tiong Bahru. Serving the hot drinks, brunch foods and desserts you would expect, there is also a regularly-revolving mini-gallery of work by local artists, making it a great place for the art lover to take the weight off their feet after a long day pounding gallery floors.
Singapore has a robust, diverse and vibrant arts scene that is only waiting to be discovered. From large gallery and museum spaces hosting the hottest new international exhibition, to outdoor sculpture and even street art, Singapore is an art lover’s paradise.
*extracted from furama.com