OPINION: Will Singapore Allow Disruptive Art? - Blake Gopnik

Thedailybeast.com, 12 Feb 2013
Singapore is so dedicated to tidiness that chewing gum is forbidden, or so goes an old cliché that, as it happens, is also a fact. The city-state also has strict rules about carrying open durians, the fruits loved by locals for their nauseous stink. Even the tiny food stalls in Singapore’s vast hawker centers, possibly its greatest cultural treasures, come stamped with health-department approval.
And now there are signs that Singapore’s rule makers want to disturb all this order with the mess of the avant-garde. Last month they threw their weight behind Art Stage Singapore, a commercial fair and festival of contemporary art. Full story

Filipinos dominate Singapore art fair

Philstar.com, 27 Jan 2013
SINGAPORE – The Philippine participation in Art Stage Singapore has been deemed “auspicious” as works of Filipino artists now stand at par with the region’s and the world’s best.
Critics and organizers of the four-day event that wraps up this weekend at Marina Bay Sands said this is most evident in the presence of four Manila-based galleries and artist Ronald Ventura landing on the cover of a trade magazine, Blouin Artinfo.com Asia Edition.
Art Informal, Silverlens, the Drawing Room, and Finale Art File brought the works of their respective artists – and in some cases the artists themselves – to this bustling city state where art collecting is as prevalent as playing the stock market.   Full story

Tisch School of Arts to Close Singapore School

The New York Times, 18 Nov 2012
Facing budgetary problems, Tisch Asia , the Singapore campus of New York University’s Tisch School of Arts, has announced that it will cease operations.
The Singapore school, which only offers M.F.A. degrees, opened with high hopes in 2007. The Economic Development Board had lured Tisch to Singapore to help turn the city-state into an education hub. The film director Oliver Stone served for a time as the school’s artistic director. Full story

Singapore Nurtures Art With Bureaucratic Touch

The New York Times, 31 Oct 2012
SINGAPORE — As part of its continuing quest to become a key player on the global arts scene, the Singaporean government has in recent years worked with various partners to develop the infrastructure for a major Asian contemporary art hub.
As often in Singapore, the development of the new art enclave was carefully managed by the government, with the renovation of the site, overseen by multiple agencies, including the Singapore Economic Development Board. Full story

Director of banned S’pore film: My film is not racist

Yahoo! Entertainment Singapore, 17 Oct 2012
Ken Kwek, the director of banned comedy drama “Sex.Violence.FamilyValues", has finally broken his silence.
Denying his film “is in any way demeaning or offensive to any ethnic community”, Kwek told a media conference held at the Butter Factory on Wednesday that, “In fact, far from condoning racisim, “Sex.Violence.FamilyValues” attacks racism and ignorance and all manner of negative sexual, racial and familial stereotypes using the tools of satire and parody.” Full story

Related:

1. Director of film banned by MDA defends his work - inSing.com
2. Director to appeal against Singapore film ban - theSundDaily.my

Singapore Recasts Itself as Newest Asian Art Hub

The New York Times, 12 Oct 2012
SINGAPORE — For decades Singapore has concentrated on developing its reputation as a global financial center, a focus that only recently expanded to include its cultural growth as well.
“The Economic Development Board realized that in order to make Singapore a world-class city, they needed to establish more of an artistic infrastructure,” said Sundaram Tagore, president and curator of Sundaram Tagore Gallery, which opened its fifth global location last month in the city-state. Full story

Singapore's bid to become Asia's newest art hub

The Japan Times Online, 27 Sep 2012
Gillman Barracks occupies a sprawling 6.4 hectare suburban site, located in lush green surroundings just a 10-minute walk from the nearest subway station, which used to house a British military battalion during Singapore's colonial days. This new arts district features several detached, brick buildings of various sizes with high ceilings interspersed with restaurants and bars. Extensively refurbished to the tune of some SG$10 million (¥634 million) by Singapore's Jurong Town Corporation, with joint support from the city-state's National Art Council (NAC) and Economic Development Board (EDB), Gillman Barracks is seen by many as the latest in a string of government-funded initiatives to reinvent Singapore as an Asian hub and market for contemporary art. Full story

Contemporary art destination Gillman Barracks officially opens in Singapore with 13 galleries

Artdaily.org, 15 Sep 2012
SINGAPORE.- Gillman Barracks – the new contemporary art destination in Asia – officially opens with 13 galleries from 10 countries launching their maiden exhibitions in Singapore. The galleries at Gillman Barracks will display some of the best art of our time, including works by both established and emerging artists such as Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, Heman Chong, Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara and Sebastião Salgado, among others in the ever-changing exhibitions. They will showcase the depth and variety of contemporary art practices and provide regional collectors access to a wide selection of contemporary art in one location. Full story

Artists raise questions over S’pore’s exit from Venice Biennale

inSing.com, 30 Aug 2012
The news that Singapore will not be taking part in the prestigious Venice Biennale next year has upset and baffled arts practitioners and supporters in Singapore.
It prompted newly elected Nominated Member of Parliament and actress Janice Koh to write a note on Facebook saying she is “appalled and deeply disappointed” by the move. Those who have read her post also voiced their concerns.
Visual artist and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen, who took part in the last edition of Venice Biennale in 2011, told inSing News that he found the decision “worrying”. Full story

Singapore Will Sit Out 2013 Venice Biennale

GalleristNY, 28 Aug 2012
Singapore will not participate in the 2013 Venice Biennale, according to a report in The Strait Times. In a statement released to press, the city-state’s National Arts Council said that it plans to “critically re-assess Singapore’s long-term participation” in the event. It had participated in the past six editions, stretching back to 2001. No reason was given for Singapore’s decision to withdraw from next year’s showcase. Full story

Foreign private art school given free land by Singapore Government?

Hindustan Times, 7 Apr 2012
Eminent filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor said Ghai spent 15 years' time and energy to create 'a centre of learning for film'.
"Whistling Woods International is not a scam. He should be applauded. It is not possible to build educational institutions at current land prices in any city and the government has to allot land for this. Tisch School of the Arts in Singapore is on land given free by the government and now that country's directors are making grade worldwide," Kapoor said. Full story

Singapore arts groups say acts altered to suit Malaysian censors

The Malaysian Insider, 8 Apr 2012
The Odyssey Dance Theatre, a contemporary dance company, which was invited to the Asian Festival of the Arts in Malaysia in 2003, said that it did not encounter any problems when performing in Malaysia, but pointed out that it voluntarily altered the costumes of one of its dance performance — from G-strings to skin-coloured shorts — to ensure that the dancers would not appear indecent.
Danny Tan, Odyssey’s artistic director, said the change was not initiated by the local censors, but a decision made by the dance company to “respect the culture of our audience”. Full story

Malaysia says Singapore ballet show can go on

MSN Philippines News, 5 Apr 2012
Malaysia on Thursday denied reports that the Muslim-majority country blocked a performance by a Singapore ballet troupe due to squeamishness over tights-wearing dancers and said the show could go on.
However, the Singapore Dance Theatre had earlier said it was too late to stage the performance after it said Malaysian authorities this week denied them approval for the weekend appearance in the capital Kuala Lumpur.
"There is no ban and the show should go on as planned," Rais Yatim, minister of information, communications and culture, was quoted saying by state news agency Bernama. Full story

Related:
Rais says loves ballet, welcomes Singapore group - The Malaysian Insider
KLPAC insists Singapore ballet application was rejected - The Malaysian Insider
Malaysia denies tutus to blame for nixed ballet - Reuters

KL bans Singapore ballet for ‘indecent’ tutus and tights

The Malaysian Insider, 4 Apr 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — A Singaporean dance troupe has been denied a permit to perform here this weekend owing to their “indecent” costumes, a Malaysian dance organisation said today.
MyDance Alliance president Bilqis Hijjas said the decision by Puspal against the Singapore Dance Theatre performing at KLPac was “deplorable” and would hurt Malaysia’s reputation as a reliable host for cultural shows. Full story

Related:
The ban on Singapore Dance Theatre — Bilqis Hijjas - The Malaysian Insider
Singapore tutus just too, too much for Malaysia - Reuters

Singapore Considers “No-Censorship Zones”

WSJ Blog, 7 Feb 2012
The Arts and Culture Strategic Review, tasked by Singapore’s government to encourage the arts and track the country’s cultural development until 2025, released a report Monday that offered a hundred or so recommendations aimed at improving the vibrancy of the city-state’s growing arts scene. Among them was a suggestion to “relax rules and regulations” governing artistic expression at designated areas and times, including removing the need for licenses for street performances. Full story

Singapore Art Museum Spotlights Local Artists and Global Collectors

Huffington Post, 26 Jan 2012
The Singapore Art Museum currently presents two exhibitions that complement each other well. One shows contemporary Asian art from private collections around the world, the other has its focus on the young generation of artists living and working in Singapore. Full story

Singapore Fringe Festival courts controversy

CNNGo.com, 16 Jan 2012
In 1993, performance artist Josef Ng sparked nationwide uproar when he snipped off his pubic hair in public as part of a protest against entrapment of gay men by Singapore police.
His performance, “Brother Cane,” so outraged the authorities that the Media Development Authority subsequently severely restricted performance art in Singapore.
A decade later, the ban was lifted and now artist Loo Zihan is restaging this attention-grabbing act again, this time as “Cane”, in the long-running platform for small, high-quality art acts and works: the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Full story

Singapore urged to relax smoking ban for performances

eTaiwan News, 13 Dec 2011
A leading Singaporean newspaper urged the government of the city state Monday to provide more flexibility on its non-smoking policy that has led to cancellation of the performance there of a new play by Taiwan-based film director Tsai Ming-liang. "Only You," which marks Tsai's return to the theater after 27 years, was originally scheduled to be staged in Singapore in February during Singapore's Huayi Festival, a festival of the arts Full story

OPINION: Singapore has spent $1.5 billion to change its reputation - Dustin Roasa

Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec 2011
Singapore, in an effort to alter its reputation as an oasis — or wasteland, depending on how you look at it — of tidy, soulless efficiency, began an enormous effort to reposition itself as an international arts hub in an effort to boost its international status and attract global capital and talent.
To that end, the government spent nearly $1.5 billion on art and culture from 2005 to 2010, one of the highest per capita rates in the world. Full story

Promoting Kannada language and culture in Singapore

IBNLive, 7 Nov 2011
Singapore Kannada Sangha, one of the premier overseas Kannada organisations, is actively involved in promoting Kannada language and culture abroad.
The Singapore Kannada Sangha is a registered body which came into existence on September 11, 1996 to promote social, cultural, educational, recreational and other welfare activities, hold celebrations in which Kannada speaking people are interested and bridge cultural relationship among the Kannada speaking people all over the world, Full story