Conference paper, Saturday, October 20th, 11.15 a.m.
Eugene Tan: New Art Environments in Singapore and Southeast Asia
Therefore, in Singapore, there is an understanding by the State of the role that art now plays in the globalised world and the benefits it can bring, economically and in terms of international profile. There is therefore an anachronistic situation where the State wants the benefits of this new globalised economy and multinational capitalism, while at the same time, trying to assert control over the way it develops and in the process not allowing the scene the conditions it needs to develop.
The failure of state institutions and initiatives in Singapore and Southeast Asian countries has given rise to the emergence of private and artist-led organizations and initiatives which have taken on the role in driving the development of art in Southeast Asia. It is these organizations that have played and continue to play an important role in the development of art in the region. Cemeti Art House and Cemeti Art Foundation (renamed Indonesian Visual Art Archive), Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Founded in 1988 by artists Mella Jaarsma and Nindityo Adipurnomo. The Cemeti Art House organises exhibitions, performances, discussions, and artists’ talks. In 1995, the Cemeti Art Foundation was founded, which maintains an archive of contemporary Indonesian artists.
Big Sky Mind, Manila, Philippines
Founded in 1999 by 3 young artists, it functioned as an artist-run space and gallery café. It supported the development of hybrid art forms, including visual art, poetry, performance, video and film. Occupying two floors in a departmental building, Big Sky Mind was a meeting place for contemporary artists working outside of the mainstream. However, it was closed in 2004 due to lack of funding. This is a common problem facing many non-profit and artist-run spaces. There is a lack of a culture of philanthropy in Southeast Asia when it comes to the arts.The Substation, Singapore
Since its founding inauguration in 1990 by playwright Kuo Pao Kun. New, the Substation has supported a wide-range of avant-garde cultural activities from dance to concerts, from performance to poetry recitals. It is housed in a transformed three-storey former power station, and houses a theatre, a gallery, a dance studio and an open-air performance space. Through its annual Criteria programme, it presents new works by emerging contemporary artists.Para/Site, Hong Kong
Para/Site was founded in 1996 and is a non-profit making art space run by independent artists in Hong Kong. It is also supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. It recently started an off shoot called Para/Site Central, which is being hosted in a commercial gallery, and is the smallest exhibition space in Hong Kong. It aims at promoting quality works by young emerging artists.Apart from organizations working directly with artists, also organisations such as Asia Art Archive, who facilitate research in Asian art.
Asia Art Archive
AAA was set up at the end of 2000 by Claire Hsu. It grew out of her frustration, whereby information on contemporary art from mainland China was considerably hard to come by when carrying out my research in London at the end of 2000. It has since evolved into one that has generated a collective awareness of the urgent necessity for the documentation, interpretation and dissemination of knowledge in the field. The archive now offers one of the most comprehensive and publicly accessible collections of material relating to contemporary Asian art in the world with over 22,000 items to include ephemeral, published and multi-media material. Its facilities are free and available to all via our website and physical space.What I’ve outlined are some of the challenges facing the development of art in Singapore and the region. I think that governments need to be more honest as to their purpose and vision of the arts and perhaps learn more from the organizations who are working more closely with the artists and arts community, to find out what the community really needs to develop.
