Tung suggests visitors to SG Art Week relish the experience and check out what they like most at the festival
Options: This year is the first time SEA Focus is being organised by and held within Art SG. What changes and improvements can we expect from this collaboration?
John Tung: From my perspective, there hasn’t been a significant shift in respect of SEA Focus as a platform, nor in the artist selection and curation process. Even the total area the platform occupies is still 800 sq m, which is about the same size as in previous editions held at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
What is really great, however, is that situating SEA Focus in Marina Bay Sands at Art SG itself means we’ll be able to welcome a much larger number of visitors and a broader demographic.
Singaporean art followers will also appreciate that this crossover removes the need to trek to an additional venue. Singapore Art Week comprises more than 100 events beyond Art SG and SEA Focus. There’s a lot of travelling involved, which is something that has definitely come up in conversation, though not a chief motivating factor for the partnership — just a welcome perk!
2.png
Tell us more about your 2026 curatorial theme “The Humane Agency” and its significance in times of geopolitical unrest.
With every edition, the theme we pursue normally emanates from very ordinary, mundane circumstances and conversations that I have with Emi Eu, artistic consultant for this year’s event and director for the past years. I can barely even recall whether it was over dinner or during a walk through a gallery that we were talking about the condition the world is in right now.
While drafting the curatorial statement, I was reading a lot of Ursula K Le Guin and simultaneously listening to various critiques and commentaries on her work. There was one critic who talked about how we as a species like to intellectualise tragedy and that happiness is not deemed worthy of the same mental exercise. I did not want the presentation to be completely doom and gloom — it had to highlight a light at the end of the tunnel. I think artists play an important role in this.
Artists appeal to the audience’s emotions — one of the most fundamental things that make us human. Think about Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who asserts that empathy is one of the most basal human traits. A lot of the artworks at the upcoming SEA Focus will boil down to that — the power an artist has to enable the audience to empathise with difficult scenarios and how, in doing so, we are able to work towards positive change in the world.
3.png
What excites you most about this year’s exhibitor lineup?
This year, quite a number of galleries proposed presentations showing a mix of very established and emerging artists. One example is Silverlens Gallery, presenting Imelda Cajipe Endaya, who is this matriarchal figure in the Filipino art scene, alongside Nicole Coson. They’re over 30 years apart, and I thought it was really interesting to have this great senior and a much younger, fresher personality presented together.
Then, ISA Art Gallery came along and decided to do something similar by presenting Arahmaiani and Ines Katamso. Again, it’s a titanic figure and a newer artist. It’s hardly even fair to describe Ines and Nicole as ‘emerging’, as both have made their mark in the art arena, but simply by age, there’s this contrast.
I’ve had conversations with all the artists, and there was this sense of endorsement from the older generation. This really came to light in my chat with Mr Lim’s Shop of Visual Treasures. The Singaporean boutique gallery is showcasing the esteemed Tang Da Wu alongside a selection of younger and recently graduated artists. One of Tang’s own conditions was that he would not show unless younger creatives were included too. There’s a Chinese saying about how the rear tide pushes the waves in front forward, referring to an inevitable takeover by the younger generation. That was exactly what was happening, and I felt this was a very moving and potent embodiment of what “The Humane Agency” is all about.
1.png
Whose works have you personally been eyeing?
It’s always hard to answer this question. By the very nature of developing a curated exhibition, you form an intimate relationship with each piece. Still, it’s often the technically challenging ones that attract my attention the most. We have quite a few of those sorts of outputs this year, one being Arahmaiani’s flag project, which will suspend 20 flags from the ceiling at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The image exists only in my mind right now, as it hasn’t been installed yet, but that’s something I’m extra looking forward to seeing.
I’m also anticipating Ho Tzu Nyen’s Night March of Hundred Monsters, a video installation; Jason Lim’s Tintinnabulation, and, as always, the works of my dear friend Robert Zhao, who was Singapore’s representative at the 2024 La Biennale di Venezia. This is just a smattering of projects I’m really excited about. Oh, and did I mention Tang Da Wu is building a ladder to the ceiling? That’s one where I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the technicalities of this ‘sky ladder’.
What are your insider tips for a holistic Singapore Art Week experience?
Pace yourself, bring a water bottle and an umbrella! But more seriously, art is something that’s meant to be savoured. Don’t down it all in one go like some dromedary camel in the Sahara Desert!
The National Art Council produces a guide that details a huge variety of more than 100 programmes and exhibitions held across Singapore Art Week. Pick the ones that tickle your fancy but always make sure to give yourself ample time. At a buffet, we often want to sample a bit of everything. Instead, I would suggest choosing the things you like the most and really relishing the experience.
SEA Focus will be held within Art SG at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, from 23 to 25 Jan.
This article first appeared on Jan 19, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
