Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize
Asia Pacific’s Top 15 Announced
www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/signatureartprize
The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Foundation are proud to announce the 15 finalists shortlisted for the 2011 APB Foundation Signature Art Prize.
This year’s shortlist was selected from 130 artworks nominated for the Prize. The 15 finalists come from 14 countries and territories across Asia Pacific and will vie for the Grand Prize of SGD 45,000.
The Finalists are:
Ash Color Mountains (2009–10) by Aida Makoto
The Past Moved (2010) by Bui Cong Khanh
The World is Flat (2010) by Chang Yoong Chia
Empire’s Borders I (2008–09) by Chen Chieh-jen
The Water Diviner (2008) by Sheba Chhachhi
Lama Sabakhtani #01 (2010) Ms. Ay Tjoe Christine
Static No. 12 (seek stillness in motion) (2010) by Daniel Crooks
Needling Whisper, Needle Country/Embroidery Project (2009–10) by Kyungah Ham
Mobile Landscape (2009) by Kim Jongku
Second-Hand City (2010) by Michael Lee
You who are my love and my life’s enemy too (2010) by Imran Qureshi
Bomb Ponds (2009) by Vandy Rattana
The Last Cannibal Supper (2010) by Greg Semu
Baston ni Kabunian, Bilang Pero di Mabilang (Cane of kabunian, numbered but cannot be counted) (2010) by Rodel Tapaya
Thin (2009) by Mr. Yang Xinguang
Making the selection was the jury panel of five eminent art experts: Mr. Fumio Nanjo, Director, Mori Art Museum; Mr. Gregor Muir, Executive Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts London; Mr. Hendro Wijanto, leading Southeast Asian writer, critic and curator; Mr. Ranjit Hoskote, Curator of the India Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2011 and leading South Asian poet-writer, curator and critic, and Mr. Tan Boon Hui, Director, SAM.
According to a statement from the jury panel, “The Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize has proved to be highly competitive, not only because of the considerable number of nominated artworks, but also due to the sheer calibre and diversity of the artworks emerging from the region. Each of the 15 shortlisted works has stood out for its strength of concept and execution, and many are also extremely moving pieces. The Signature Art Prize does not rest on a system of national quotas. Rather, it recognises and honours the outstanding merit of the singular art-work or art project.
Taken collectively, the artworks demonstrate the thriving vibrancy of art-making in Asia Pacific today. The 15 finalist works draw equally on the artists’ personal experience and the historical trajectories of their societies. They reflect the artists’ sophisticated responses to contemporary issues facing their region in a highly interconnected global present. The artworks also showcase the range of mediums and techniques used in contemporary art-making in the region. Asia Pacific artists extend and enrich their practices in diverse ways: by engaging with the heterogeneity of craft cultures, by addressing the fine-arts legacy, and through the critical application of new technologies. We look forward to viewing the works when they are presented at the Singapore Art Museum in November.”
The 15 finalist works will be exhibited at the Finalists Exhibition at SAM from 11 November 2011 to 4 March 2012. The jury panel will select one work for the Grand Prize (SGD 45,000) and three works to receive the Jurors’ Choice Awards (SGD 10,000 each), and announce the winners at the Awards Ceremony on 17 November 2011.
A People’s Choice Award (SGD 10,000) will also be given to the work with the most votes from the public. The public can find out more about the finalists and vote for their favourite work online at www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/signatureartprize from 1 October 2011 (closing date 16 November, 12:00 Singapore time, GMT +8), or cast their votes in person at the Finalists Exhibition.
