Lasting change may come only in diligent, incremental efforts and not in a singular stroke of the avant-garde.” Patrick Flores’ quote, in reference to the title of Singapore Biennale 2019, aptly echoes SAM’s journey in the past year. In 2019, we closed our museum’s heritage buildings for a major redevelopment that will transform our spaces and help SAM meet the needs of a contemporary art museum of the future. This necessary transition has challenged us to think deeply about the concept of a “museum without walls” and how we can continue to enable authentic and meaningful engagement with contemporary issues and aspirations through the art of our times.

The period of building redevelopment is as much an opportunity for us to reimagine how SAM can become even more inclusive, creative and inspiring, as it is for us to forge new collaborations and explore innovative initiatives with not just the art community, but also schools and education partners, cultural organisations and museums, both in Singapore and internationally.

Without walls, we have travelled contemporary art into local neighbourhoods in Singapore with the SAM Mini Mobile Museum, and to neighbouring countries across Asia through collaborative exhibitions, bringing art closer than ever to our audiences.

Beyond our buildings, we have connected with those in the community such as seniors and the visually impaired, who may not have visited SAM before. All these touchpoints have allowed us to engage with over a million people through our art in the last year.

This momentum was also carried through to the Singapore Biennale, which was titled Every Step in the Right Direction. Visitors to the international contemporary art festival were invited to rediscover Singapore by experiencing art all over the island. The Biennale reflected on the transformative potential of art and artists to rework the possibilities of the world, and inspired audiences to take steps towards thoughtful change. This spirit was best encapsulated in Amanda Heng’s work Every Step Counts (2019), and her win of the Benesse Prize marked the first time a Singaporean artist has won the prestigious award.

As we entered 2020, we began exploring creative ways to continue supporting and collaborating with artists to present their works and programmes in virtual formats, to meet the new challenges brought about by the global pandemic. We went fully digital for the Singapore Biennale 2019 Symposium and closing programmes and brought the Biennale experience online through an interactive virtual gallery.

While continuing to make art accessible online as a source of inspiration, healing and connection in a time of self-isolation and uncertainty, we have also been assessing how the pandemic has changed our world, how we need to adapt to meet the needs of artists to express their perspectives about the changed world, and how we can more effectively reach out to and engage with our audiences and publics.

We are ever thankful and appreciative of our artists, visitors, partners, patrons and volunteers who have supported and worked closely with us while we adapted to our new reality. As we continue venturing beyond our museum spaces, we look forward to navigating this new chapter of SAM together with you.

Stay inspired by art,

EDMUND CHENG

Chairman

EUGENE TAN

Director