Forum: Time to call it a day for the Singapore Biennale

It is not often that one comes across an honest report – “

Time to shut down the Singapore Biennale?

” (Jan 6) – that rings so true as well.

My only grouse with it is that it has come a number of years too late. The implication is that the damage has been done, and it is to the reputation of the Singapore visual arts scene at that.

Unlike the writer, I am a big fan of contemporary art. While she dutifully susses out the ins and outs of the Singapore Biennale because of “faith in the centrality of art to life”, I am in it for the sheer love of it – until I fell out, that is.

It was after just a few iterations of the Singapore Biennale that I realised that the vision, curation and organisation as well as the general quality of the artworks left much to be desired.

Many of the editions of the Singapore Biennale have been notable for the wrong reasons. Much of the second edition (2011) was held at the Old Kallang Airport, which was not only far from the other venues, but also dingy, dusty and stuffy.

This same Biennale saw the censorship of British artist Simon Fujiwara’s installation Welcome To The Hotel Munber by the Singapore Art Museum after being shown for two days and without any consultation with the artist.

The 2022 edition of the Biennale was bizarrely named Natasha, purportedly to create a sense of familiarity. This concept largely fell flat and is not likely to be repeated here or anywhere.

Other than these missteps, I am hard-pressed to recall any venue, theme or artwork from the Singapore Biennale sparking any meaningful conversation.

Out of the eight editions, I enjoyed only An Atlas of Mirrors (2016).

One out of eight ain’t bad, you say. But when huge sums of public money are involved, with no or barely any accountability, as there has not been any single artistic director at the helm for two editions, and with generally lacklustre art, and presentation and organisation that don’t do anything for Singapore’s reputation as a visual arts hub, the Singapore Biennale really doesn’t have anything going for it.

Being held every two or three years notwithstanding, it is time to call it a day for the Singapore Biennale.

Colin Lim