Singapore Biennale 2006
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Saturday, April 13, 2002
Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
March 2002
Arts and Culture
We will develop the Arts to enhance our economic competitiveness and promote our international image as a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, a Creative Singapore. Through the Arts we can nurture a more creative and adventurous spirit, and build an environment that encourages Singaporeans to explore, innovate and invent. This will deepen our cultural capital, and help Singaporeans to create value in an innovation-driven economy.
The opening of the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay this October will provide the facilities to attract and present world-class performing arts events as well as local and other arts performances to cater to all Singaporeans. We will continue to invest in new arts and cultural facilities. For the longer term, we are exploring the establishment of a new international museum of modern and contemporary art.
To bring arts closer to people and people closer to the arts, MITA will launch an "Arts Everywhere" initiative. We will work with agencies like HDB, schools and People's Association to make our arts, culture and heritage a relevant and palpable part of Singaporeans’ daily lives. We will promote more public sculptures, arts performances, and arts and heritage education programmes to widen our cultural experience.
We will also support the development of artists by building up our Arts education institutions, and through programmes that give our artists greater international exposure. We will promote both traditional and contemporary arts so that we can maintain our heritage and identity, while keeping apace with Arts development elsewhere. We will encourage artists to fuse our rich multicultural heritage with contemporary forms to create distinctively Singaporean expressions.
We will enhance the contribution of Arts to business, by promoting design and other forms of applied arts with a Design Singapore initiative. We will also grow the Arts industry by strongly promoting Arts Tourism together with Singapore Tourism Board.
Media
Our long term objective is to foster a competitive print and broadcast industry. We liberalised the media industry in June 2000, issuing new licenses to SPH and MediaCorp to undertake additional broadcast and newspaper operations. MITA will continue to encourage the local media industry to restructure and improve its operations. We will revise our newspaper and broadcast laws to keep abreast of the new media and economic environment.
We will draw up a strategic blueprint - "Media 21" - to develop both traditional and emerging media sectors including film and digital media, to establish Singapore as a media hub. We will continue to introduce digital broadcasting technology in line with market developments.
The advent of the Internet and the convergence between the various media, brought about by rapid technological advances, have opened the doors for Singaporeans to the world, providing them with easier access to information, and bringing them into closer contact with western culture and world-wide trends. This will impinge on every aspect of our lives. We will continue to monitor the implications of these trends for Singapore.
Heritage
We need to strengthen our emotional and social bonds by staying connected within our community and to the nation in this rapidly changing world, as a Connected Singapore. MITA will promote and provide wider access to shared experiences of our culture and heritage, in fun and interesting ways that reach into the communities. The Asian Civilizations Museum at Empress Place Building, which showcases the ancestral cultures of Singapore, will be ready in 2003. The Singapore History Museum will undergo re-development in 2003 and double its exhibition space.
Maybank hosts Art Exhibition by Artists with Disabilities at Balai Seni Maybank, Menara Maybank
12 June 2001 Press Release
An art exhibition featuring works by artists with disabilities opened at Balai Seni Maybank, Menara Maybank today. The art exhibition entitled DUO SENSITIVITY, Maybank-Very Special Arts Part-With-An-Artist Exhibition is jointly organised by Maybank and Very Special Arts (VSA) of Singapore. The exhibition feature the works of twelve artists with disabilities from the Republic of Singapore who had a three-month tutelage programme with nine renowned professional artists for the Republic.
The art exhibition was officially launched by His Excellency K. Kesavapany, Singapore High Commissioner to Malaysia at Balai Seni Maybank today.
Dato' Richard Ho, Vice Chairman Maybank in his welcome address said that The Maybank-Very Special Arts Pair-With-An-Artist Programme involved renowned Singaporean artists who have volunteered their time to be mentors to this special group of artists with disabilities.
"For the past seven years, Maybank Singapore and Very Special Arts Singapore have worked together to help nurture the artistic talents of artists with disabilities in Singapore. Their works exhibited at Balai Seni Maybank is the culmination of a three-month tutelage programme sponsored by Maybank in collaboration with Very Special Arts there. "
"Today's art exhibition is indeed a befitting conclusion to the programme. It is a strong testament to their determination, courage, and immense artistic talents. "
"Maybank will continue to encourage and more importantly provide resources and facilities to support programmes which will promote the dignity of individuals and enable the public to appreciate their capabilities and contributions. Through this exhibition, we also hope to raise the profile of artists with disabilities and allow their works to gain greater recognition and appreciation by a wider audience." said Dato' Richard Ho.
He added that the achievements of this group of special people should serve as an example to others.
"Their achievement should serve as an example to all, that the human spirit can breach any physical or self imposed limitations with often astounding results. We have a glimpse of such possibilities in the works displayed by this special group of artists."
Present at the launch were seven artists with disabilities and two of the mentors, as well as Ms Lim Lin Da, Project Director of VSA The artists were at hand to explain their works to the invited guests and the media.
"DUO SENSITIVITY" is a result of the Maybank-VSA Pair-With-An-Artist programme launched in April 1999 in Singapore. It was initiated to improve the artistic techniques, deepen the aesthetic sensitivity and broaden the artistic perspectives of artists with disabilities, most of whom are self-taught and whose works are well received by the public. This exhibition was first successfully held in Singapore in May 2001. This is the first time the artists are showcasing their works overseas.
A total of 39 works of paintings and sculptures will be on display at Balai Seni Maybank, Menara Maybank. The art exhibition is opened to the public until 19 June 2001 at the following times: Mon-Fri (10.00 am - 6pm), Saturday (9.30 am- 1.00 pm), Sunday / Public Holidays -Closed. Admission is free. The exhibits are also offered on sale.
Feature on Chua Soo Bin
Chua Soo Bin is a Singapore photographer well-known for his award-winning work in advertising and fashion. Since 1992, he has also become an important player in the local art scene with his establishment of Soobin Art Gallery.
Forty years into his photographic practice, Soo Bin has not lost his passion for photography and art.
He specialises not only in advertising and fashion, but in recent years, he has added Chinese and Western painting and sculpture to his portfolio. His distinguished performance won him awards from the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and the French Excellent Federation International Art of Photography. In 1989, he received the Singapore Cultural Medallion.
The same year, he independently financed and produced the Portraits of Excellence, a coffee-table photographic book presenting the works of fourteen contemporary Chinese Master painters.
For Soo Bin, his passion for photography led to a love for other artistic expressions. When he established Soobin Art Gallery, he ensured that works from the respective schools are represented in its collection.
Involvement in the business of recommending fine art has led Soo Bin to establish a publishing company. Through L'Atelier Productions, Soo Bin has published fifteen art titles of coffee-table standards and print quality.
Contemporary Asian Arts Centre
stimulating research for new creative and critical works
Inauguration at Sculpture Square on Tuesday 16th April, 2002, 6.30 PM.
Address by William Lim,
Chairman, Advisory Committee,
Contemporary Asian Arts Centre.
Address by TK Sabapathy,
Director,
Contemporary Asian Arts Centre.
Guest of Honor, Professor Wang Gungwu
Director, East Asian Institute,
National University of Singapore.
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
Sculpture Society of Singapore opens.
Contact Anthony Chua and Boo Sze Yang to join.
Moleculux - luminescent bodies in hyperspace
Wine party at 1815, Friday 12th April,
Sculpture Square,
155 Middle Road, Singapore
All are welcome.
Gajah Gallery presents "Taksu" by I Made Djirna
6th April 2002 7pm
The opening will be attended by Mr. & Mrs Djirna & Guest-of-honour: Ms. Joanna Lee (Head Curator, Singapore Art Museum)
Rooted in Indonesian culture yet in tune to the modern world, I MadeDjirna is heraled as the next Indonesian master.
Djirna’s works are typically characterised by a form of wood paste which adds depth and texture.
The raw, earthy effect of the wood paste reflects the rural roots of Balinese society and evoked
the primitive instincts beneath the veneer of sophistication of modern day men.
Moleculux - Luminescent Bodies in Hyperspace
1st April to 31st May 2002
Sculpture Square
155 Middle Road, Singapore
Showcasing luminescent sculptures suspended in space, Chng Nai Wee’s “Moleculux – Luminescent Bodies in Hyperspace” is the first outdoor light installation to be held at Sculpture Square.
This unique sculpture explores the aesthetics of molecular forms, and the interplay of light intensity, colour and dynamics. Multi-coloured, industrial-quality light cables will be encased in translucent plastic, and presented at different points at Sculpture Square’s exterior site.
During the day, the sculpture will be an observed as a 3-dimensional formation of translucent acrylic panels. When dusk arrives and the lights are turned on, it will be transformed into a glowing light sculpture cast against the night sky.
Chng has always been fascinated by the intricate relationship between technology and artistic creativity, often experimenting with innovative technologies in his work. In turn, his works explore the effect of technological advancement on the individual and environment.
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