News from Singapore

 

Singapore Art Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Singaporean artist Robert Zhao Renhui and curator Haeju Kim as the artistic team for the Singapore Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (Biennale Arte 2024). The 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Foreigners Everywhere, is curated by Adriano Pedrosa and runs from 20 April to 24 November 2024.

Zhao is an interdisciplinary Singaporean artist who has exhibited globally in international biennales and institutions around the world and won accolades for his artistic practice. In his practice, Zhao takes an interdisciplinary approach in his exploration of the complex relationships between nature and culture. Over the past eight years, he has rooted the pressing topic of the Anthropocene to our Singaporean environment, investigating the potential of secondary forests as key sites of regeneration and regrowth.

Kim’s curatorial approach emphasises the consideration of the body, time, and memory as key elements, while also engaging with topics including ecological perspectives, locality and its planetary connection, and questions of coexistence through her research. Collectively, Zhao and Kim’s shared research synergies reimagine the possibilities of mutual co-existence, multi-species flourishing and more connected ways of being in our precarious present; and through the Singapore Pavilion, provide a vision for life and regeneration for a more ecologically minded future.

More details on Zhao’s presentation for the Singapore Pavilion will be revealed in due course.

Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is committed to the development of artistic practices by supporting critical research and artwork production, and profiling Singaporean and Southeast Asian artists internationally. Singapore’s participation at the prestigious International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia (Biennale Arte) underscores this commitment to present the finest examples of Singapore contemporary art and highlight our contributions to artistic discourse to a global audience.

 

Biennale Arte
Biennale Arte is the most established international contemporary art event and widely regarded as the most significant. Established in 1895, it is one of the oldest and most important non-commercial platforms to showcase contemporary art, and a premier stage to showcase Singapore’s visual artists to the world and connect them with the global art world.

 

Singapore’s Participation

Singapore has been participating at Biennale Arte since 2001. In its most recent editions, the Singapore Pavilion has featured artists such as Shubigi Rao (2022), Song-Ming Ang (2019), Zai Kuning (2017) and Charles Lim (2015). The 2001 to 2022 editions of the Singapore Pavilion were commissioned by the National Arts Council. For the 11th edition in 2024, SAM has been commissioned by NAC to organise the Singapore Pavilion. The list of participating artists in previous editions can be found here.

 

About the Singapore Pavilion

Since 2015, the Singapore Pavilion has been located in a dedicated and newly restored 250sqm space in a complex of buildings called the Sale d’Armi, which is centrally located and easily accessible within the Arsenale, a key site in Venice. The Sale d’Armi consists of a cluster of four 16th century barracks built with brick and stone, each with a wooden roof. It lies opposite the intersection between the long Corderie and Artiglierie buildings, where the main central square of the Arsenale is situated.