Singapore Biennale 2019

About the Singapore Biennale 

The Singapore Biennale was established in 2006 as the country’s pre-eminent platform for international dialogue in contemporary art. It presents and reflects the vigour of artistic practices in Singapore and the region within a global context, and fosters productive collaborations and deep engagement with artists, arts organisations, and the international arts community.

The Singapore Biennale cultivates public engagement with contemporary art through a four- month exhibition, and its accompanying public engagement and education programmes that include artist and curator talks and tours, school visits and workshops, and community days. It complements achievements in other areas of arts and culture, collectively enhancing Singapore’s international profile as a vibrant city in which to live, work and play.

The 2006 and 2008 editions of the Biennale were organised by the National Arts Council. The NAC commissioned the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) to organise the 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2019 editions.


Singapore Biennale 2019: Every Step in the Right Direction

Helmed by Patrick Flores as Singapore Biennale 2019 (SB2019) Artistic Director, and with a curatorial team of six members from Singapore, Southeast Asia and beyond, Singapore Biennale 2019: Every Step in the Right Direction focuses on the imperative of making choices and taking the steps to consider current conditions and the human endeavour for change.

SB2019 reflects on the potential and abilities of the artists to rework the possibilities of the world. It also invites the audience to be open to such works and to such a world that is made different through the making of these works, and, thus, also attempting to make the world right. Through the act of artistic exploration, SB2019 invites participation to transform the world around us, and to get things done the right way. This process begins with a step, from a crucial decision to make changes happen. The reiteration of this commitment leads to the right direction – a direction that each of us is entitled to move towards. Informed by such an impulse, SB2019 offers a sustainable, self-renewing project of change, and moves everyone to act – to make a step.

Read the full SB2019 Artistic Director's statement at www.singaporebiennale.org.

online symposium

 

Singapore Biennale 2019 Online Symposium –
Right Here, Right Now: Constellating Worlds in the Contemporary
 

The Singapore Biennale 2019 Online Symposium builds on the Biennale’s title Every Step in the Right Direction to explore ways of confronting and re-working the world through contemporary art. Comprising the symposium keynote, recordings of two live panels on 7 March 2020, and audio and written publications, the Singapore Biennale 2019 Online Symposium and its material can now be accessed online at www.singaporeabiennale.org/symposium

artists

1. Larry Achiampong (United Kingdom)
2. Raymundo Albano (The Philippines)
3. Laurie Anderson (USA) & Hsin-Chien Huang (Taiwan)
4. Arnont Nongyao (Thailand)
5. Boedi Widjaja (Singapore)
6. Karolina Bregula (Poland/Taiwan)
7. Busui Ajaw (Thailand)
8. Hera Büyüktaşçıyan (Turkey)
9. C&G (Hong Kong)
10. Centro Audiovisual Max Stahl Timor-Leste (CAMSTL) (Timor-Leste)
11. Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (South Korea/USA)
12. Chang En-Man (Taiwan)
13. Kray Chen (Singapore)
14. Sharon Chin (Malaysia)
15. Céline Condorelli (France/UK)
16. Sandu Darie (Romania/Cuba)
17. Desire Machine Collective (India)
18. Dusadee Huntrakul (Thailand)
19. Ha Bik Chuen (Hong Kong)
20. Hafiz Rancajale (Indonesia)
21. Amanda Heng (Singapore)
22. Chia-Wei Hsu (Taiwan)
23. Hu Yun (China/Serbia)
24. Kahlil Robert Irving (USA)
25. Ismail Zain (Malaysia)
26. Juliana Yasin (Singapore)
27. Mathias Kauage (Papua New Guinea)
28. Khairullah Rahim (Singapore)
29. Korakrit Arunanondchai (Thailand/USA)
30. Le Quang Ha (Vietnam)
31. Soyung Lee (South Korea)
32. Lawrence Lek (UK)
33. Lim Sokchanlina (Cambodia)
34. Jen Liu (USA)
35. Temsüyanger Longkumer (India/UK)
36. Lani Maestro (The Philippines/Canada/France)
37. Min Thein Sung (Myanmar)
38. Petros Moris (Greece)
39. muf architecture/art (UK)
40. Nabilah Nordin (Singapore/Australia)
41. Pooja Nansi (Singapore)
42. Ngoc Nau (Vietnam)
43. Okui Lala (Malaysia)
44. Alfonso Ossorio (The Philippines/USA)
45. Paphonsak La-or (Thailand)
46. Gary-Ross Pastrana (The Philippines)
47. Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier(Laos/UK)
48. Phare, the Battambang Circus (Cambodia)
49. Post-Museum (Singapore)
50. Prapat Jiwarangsan (Thailand)
51. Tracey Rose (South Africa)
52. Ruangsak Anuwatwimon (Thailand)
53. Miljohn Ruperto (The Philippines/USA)
54. Ali Akbar Sadeghi (Iran)
55. Judy Freya Sibayan (The Philippines)
56. Haifa Subay (Yemen)
57. Dennis Tan (Singapore/Japan)
58. Koki Tanaka (Japan)
59. Zai Tang (UK/Singapore)
60. The Mamitua Saber Project
i. Bakudapan Food Study Group (Indonesia)
ii. •• PROPAGANDA DEPARTMENT (Hong Kong/China)
iii. Mark Sanchez (The Philippines)
61. titre provisoire (Germany)
62. Verónica Troncoso (Chile/Germany)
63. Wu Tsang (USA/Germany/Switzerland)
64. Wendelien van Oldenborgh (The Netherlands/Germany)
65. Vandy Rattana (Cambodia/Japan/France)
66. Carlos Villa (USA)
67. Marie Voignier (France)
68. Vanghoua Anthony Vue (Australia)
69. Jason Wee (Singapore)
70. Zakaria Omar (Brunei)
71. Zakkubalan, in collaboration with RyuichiSakamoto (USA/Japan)
72. Robert Zhao Renhui (Singapore)

#BiennaleFinale performances



#BiennaleFinaleDay 1

 

Music performances by 10vacations, Quite Quiet, Akid Amir and the Kribo Brothers, Subsonic Eye, and Sobs, were broadcasted live on Saturday, 21 March 2020, as part of the Singapore Biennale 2019 closing weekend performances.

 

#BiennaleFinaleDay 2

 

Dance and music performances on the final day of the Singapore Biennale 2019 closing weekend, were broadcasted live on Sunday, 22 March 2020. The performers line-up :

  • Unexpected Sounds – Reimagining the Erhu, Performance by Actor and Musician Ayden Sng
  • En/Un/Re/Multi Fold, Dance Performance by LASALLE College of the Arts
  • Circus Performance by Edwin Cirque
  • Cajon Performance by Beat’ABox

 

and music performances by Bani Haykal, Leon Wan, and Jorud.

highlights

Intimate Apparitions

Khairullah Rahim

2019

Mixed media installation

sitsit sa kuliglig. (whatever circles from the center)

Lani Maestro

2019

Mixed media installation: wooden structure, capiz shells, marble and metal

Telling stories from outside and inside

Verónica Troncoso

2019

Fabric scrolls, photographs, sketches, audio recording and performance