Singapore Biennale

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Singapore Biennale at City Hall.

This cardboard furniture, originally designed for the Biennale Opening Party VIP tentage (used by VIPs including Lee Hsien Loong) was designed by Nathan Choe and Robin Wau. It was later exhibited at Tanglin Camp, City Hall, and Shigeru Ban's Cardboard Pavillion at Singapore Management University.

Shigeru Ban's Cardboard Pavillion at Singapore Management University which housed the Biennale's main information centre and gift shop.

The Singapore Biennale (Chinese: 新加坡双年展) is a biennale in Singapore which commenced on 4 September 2006 and ended on 12 November. The theme of the biennale was "Belief". The event was held in various locations throughout Singapore.

The biennale was the first of its kind held in Singapore and featured 195 artworks, from 95 artists and artist collectives from 38 different countries. The event was part of the Singapore 2006 events which included the 2006 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event was organised by the National Arts Council (which also organised the annual Singapore Arts Festival, until that event was replaced by the Singapore Biennale) in conjunction with the National Heritage Board.

The biennale featured different types of contemporary art including drawings, paintings, installations, new media, performances, photography, video, publishing, sound, wall painting, and furniture. Artists of note included Shigeru Ban, Jenny Holzer, and Takashi Kuribayashi

The Curatorial Team for the Singapore Biennale was headed by renowned curator Fumio Nanjo. The other curators involved in the "Belief" exhibition were Roger McDonald (Japan), Sharmini Pereira(Sri Lanka/UK) and Eugene Tan(Singapore).

1 Exhibition Venues
2 Major events
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Exhibition Venues

The event included exhibits displayed in various venues, which were:

Tanglin Camp, a former military camp and hospital
City Hall
The newly renovated National Museum
The high end shopping belt of Orchard Road
Singapore Management University
Sculpture Square
National Library
The Padang
Singapore Art Museum
Block 79, Indus Road. (HDB Flat)
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore River
Tanjong Pagar railway station
Masjid Sultan
Saint Joseph's Church
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator
Kwan Im Thong Cho Hood Temple
Sri Krishnan Temple
Maghain Aboth Synagogue

The City Hall was restored temporarily for the event was also used from 11 September to 20 September as a registration centre for the IMF and World Bank meetings (Biennale exhibits in City Hall were closed during this period.

7 of the sites are religious spaces, tying back in to the Biennale theme: Belief. These sites represent Singapore's main religions and the artworks the sites each reflect the nature of the religious belief itself. Most of the works were site-specific, such as Indian artist, Ashok Sukumaran's "Everything is Contestable" light installation at the Armenian Church. Another remarkable artwork was Chinese artist, Jennifer Wen Ma's "Alms" which was a video displayed at three different sites, namely Maghain Aboth Synagogue, Saint Joseph's Church and Masjid Sultan. It reflected the emphasis on acts of altruism in the all three religious beliefs. The nature of these sites and artworks was intended to blur distinction between a holy site and an art gallery, all in a reverent manner.

Most venues were modified for use for the Singapore Biennale by the architecture firms Kennel LLP or Lekker Design.

[edit] Major events

1 September 2006 Opening Party The opening party was held at the Padang and highlighted a fashion show by students from LaSalle Arts School and Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama , a projection on City Hall by Jenny Holzer, and a motion-controlled balloon sculpture by Usman Haque. The main party area was open to the public, and hosted by popular nightclub in Singapore, Ministry of Sound. The VIP tent was open to all artists, organizers, and invited guests including Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore. Exclusive events included a performance by the Tang Quartet inside a latext tent by artist Ana Prvacki. This performance was enjoyed by the Prime Minister of Singapore on cardboard furniture designed exclusively for the Singapore Biennale by designers Nathan Choe and Robin Wau. This furniture was based on a modular, flexible concept and changes function depending on position.