Singapore Art Week spotlights local visual art scene

Beginning on January 11, the fifth edition of Singapore Art Week will host 12 days of visual arts events spotlighting Singapore's thriving art scene.

The Singapore Art Week program is spread across a number of venues, including galleries, museums, art districts and non-profit spaces. Events include art fairs, gallery openings, exhibitions, public art walks and discussions.

At the Gillman Barracks, Singapore's visual arts cluster, a number of tenants are preparing to premiere new exhibitions, and on January 13 they'll stay open late as part of the venue's Art After Dark event.

That event will also mark the opening of "LOCK ROUTE," a public art showcase at the Barracks that will be a highlight of Singapore Art Week. New commissions by Cleon Peterson, Mel O'Callaghan and Oanh Phi Phi will be among the installations, sculptures and murals by well-known and emerging artists on display through January 30.

Many events will take place in the cultural precinct Bras Basah & Bugis, home of the Singapore Art Museum, which is hosting the Singapore Biennale through February 26. The art museum will offer a series of free weekend events and festivities in its courtyard.

In the same neighborhood, at the Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, the multimedia exhibition "Fantasy Islands" will examine the relations between Batam and Singapore, presenting new works by Indonesian and Singaporean artists.

In addition to the Biennale, other concurrent events include Art Stage Singapore, a leading fair devoted to Asian contemporary art, the boutique Art Apart Fair, taking place in the Pan Pacific Orchard shopping district through January 11, and Singapore Contemporary, back for its second edition.

At the Aliwal Arts Centre, an urban art festival will present an "annual celebration of Singapore cool," with a carefully curated selection of art inspired by street culture. The Little India neighborhood, meanwhile, will host an artwork featuring tellings of traditional folktales and mythologies as well as art installations and performances.

For art lovers who need help navigating the plentiful program of Singapore Art Week, organizers have provided itineraries depending on inclination, with suggestions for wanderers, art buffs, youths, art enthusiasts, families and Instagrammers.

Find the full program of events at www.artweek.sg.