Singapore is gearing up for their annual pinnacle celebration of visual arts through Singapore Art Week (SAW), a ten-day event of art fairs, talks, and programmes across the island’s museums, galleries, and public spaces, which will run from 17 to 26 January 2025. One of SAW’s anchoring events is S.E.A. Focus, a contemporary art platform for Southeast Asia, returning for its seventh edition at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
Kicking off with the theme “Disconnected Contemporaries”, the showcase and art market hub will bring together works of up to 40 artists across Southeast Asia, from Singapore and Indonesia to Thailand and Vietnam, to navigate the multiplicity of experiences and perspectives that continue to shape the region’s art landscape, further prompting a reflection on what being contemporary truly means.
Curated for the second consecutive year by John Tung, the exhibition will showcase works by acclaimed contemporary artists, including Indonesia’s Eko Nugroho and Budi Agung Kuswara, Filipino visual artist Lui Medina, and Thai painter, Natee Utarit. In honour of Singapore’s 60th year of independence this year, the exhibition also places strong emphasis on Singaporean talent, highlighting both established figures like the renowned watercolourist Ong Kim Seng and emerging voices such as visual artist Lai Yu Tong.
Visitors can also look forward to a lineup of signature programmes, such as the ‘SEAspotlight Talks’ that will cover topics surrounding the evolution of Southeast Asian art history, examining its trajectories through the process of curating, creating, selling, and collecting. Meanwhile, ‘OFF Focus’, a curated screening programme, will feature works by Cambodian photographer-artist Vandy Rattana and Singaporean filmmaker Royson Tan, offering a deeper exploration into Southeast Asian narratives through personal and collective histories.
S.E.A. Focus will run alongside Singapore Art Week from 18 to 26 January 2025. For more information and ticketing, click here.
