Singapore Biennale 2011
Open House
13 March – 15 May 2011
Vernissage:
11 & 12 March 2011
Venues
Singapore Art Museum (including SAM at 8Q)
National Museum of Singapore
Old Kallang Airport
Marina Bay
In Singapore, at customary festivities such as Hari Raya, Deepavali and Chinese New Year, people open their homes to others, inviting them to visit, eat and talk. This is not only a gesture of hospitality and good will but also an opportunity to reflect, negotiate and exchange. The threshold between the private and the public is made permeable, if only for a moment, relaxing boundaries between individuals and barriers between groups.
Contemporary art often emerges out of a need to communicate across such thresholds of difference that may be experiential, psychological, or grounded in social and political hierarchies. As such, artists’ practices are not simply about something in the world, they are real attempts to exchange information, translate experiences and even trade places. Borders may be guarded with force, yet artists find ways to embed themselves within such systems of control, turning unspoken desires toward unexpected ends. Sometimes artists displace or exchange objects, materials and information from one context to another, revealing surprising connections between culturally divergent positions. The labour of constructing or deconstructing common objects and materials highlight the creative potential in seemingly mundane situations, suggesting fresh ways of seeing the world.
‘Open House’ examines these artistic processes and their links to the daily transactions that take place between people. From trading objects to swapping stories, from sharing food to dressing up, we are constantly making exchanges, as individuals, groups, cities and nations. In the world’s busiest port, a multicultural city built on trade, ‘Open House’ brings together artworks that offer multiple perspectives and myriad creative approaches to questions of how we move across borders, see other points of view, and form connections with others.
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 places Singapore’s artists within a global context, and fosters productive collaborations with the international arts community. In this way, the Biennale provides new opportunities for local visual artists, arts organisations and businesses, and cultivates deeper public engagement with the arts. 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. Singapore Biennale 2011 is organised by the Singapore Art Museum of the National Heritage Board, and supported by the National Arts Council, which inaugurated the Biennale.
A complete list of artists and programmes will be announced in December 2010.
Singapore Biennale 2011 Open House
Artistic Director: Matthew Ngui
Curators: Trevor Smith, Russell Storer
Venues
Singapore Art Museum (including SAM at 8Q)
National Museum of Singapore
Old Kallang Airport
Marina Bay
To register for the Vernissage, please email: vernissage@singaporebiennale.org
For media accreditation, please email: media@singaporebiennale.org
For more information, visit: www.singaporebiennale.org
Image above:
Singapore Biennale 2011 identity created by GOTO Design.
