The International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia

NAC adopts a multi-pronged approach to promote and profile Singapore’s arts and artists overseas. Singapore’s participation at the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is an extension of this commitment.

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

Singapore has been participating at the International Art Exhibition since 2001. Following a review in 2013, Singapore returned to the platform with a dedicated Singapore Pavilion sited at the newly-restored space in the Sale d’Armi building at the Arsenale, Venice, Italy. This is the first time that the Singapore Pavilion has secured a historic Arsenale site on a long term lease for twenty years.

This long term commitment is in line with NAC’s belief that Singapore’s participation in Venice will contribute to raising Singapore’s profile as an emerging centre in Asia for artistic production and research. The International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is also an important platform that will allow our artists and curators to participate in discourses and dialogues with the global arts community and open up avenues for future exchanges and collaborations with others in the international arts community.

About the Singapore Pavilion

The Singapore Pavilion is a 250 sqm 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 complex is 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.

 

 

Singapore at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

NAC is pleased to announce the appointment of artist Shubigi Rao and curator Ute Meta Bauer as the artistic team for the Singapore Pavilion at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. As an artist, Rao’s films, art, texts, and photographs have critically, poetically and humorously engaged with systems of knowledge that structure our world. Since 2014, she has been visiting public and private collections, libraries and archives globally for Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book, a decade-long film, book and visual art project about the history of book destruction.

 

The 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, The Milk of Dreams, is curated by Cecilia Alemani and runs from 23 April to 27 November 2022. Following a one-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this announcement marks Singapore’s 10th participation in Venice. Since 2015, the Singapore Pavilion has been located within the Arsenale and has featured artists such as Song-Ming Ang (2019), Zai Kuning (2017) and Charles Lim (2015). In 2009, Ming Wong’s representation of Singapore received a Special Mention at the 53rd International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.

 

Art continues to provide solace during times of uncertainty. As the world gradually recovers from the pandemic, it becomes ever more important to care for societies through continued funding and support for the arts. Singapore’s participation in Biennale Arte 2022 underscores this commitment by presenting Singapore arts internationally despite these challenging times.

History of Singapore’s Participation

Edition	Year	Artist(s)	Curator(s)
59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2022	Shubigi Rao	Ute Meta Bauer
58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2019	Song-Ming Ang	Michelle Ho
57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2017	Zai Kuning	-
56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2015	Charles Lim	Shabbir Hussain Mustafa
54th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2011	Ho Tzu Nyen	June Yap
53th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2009	Ming Wong	Tang Fu Kuen
52th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2007	Zulkifle Mahmod, Jason Lim, Vincent Leow, Tang Da Wu	Lindy Poh
51th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2005	Lim Tzay Chuen	Eugene Tan
50th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2003	Tan Swie Hian, Francis Ng, Heman Chong	Low Sze Wee
49th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia	2001	Suzann Victor, Henri Chen Kezhan, Salleh Japar, Matthew Ngui	Ahmad Mashadi & Joanna Lee