Singapore Art Week 2021 Embraces Local Focus and Hybrid Formats Amid Pandemic

Singapore Art Week (SAW) ran from 22 to 30 January 2021, shifting priorities toward local audiences and artists due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The state-sponsored event, supported by the National Arts Council, Economic Development Board, and Singapore Tourism Board, featured over 100 events with hybrid physical and digital components. More than 40 projects were new commissions by Singapore-based practitioners, the highest number yet for SAW. Events included an online .gif sticker exhibition, augmented reality experiences at Gillman Barracks, and a drive-through exhibition titled Moo Moo Park at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre. Artworks were also displayed at bus stops and in trains. The S.E.A. Focus art fair at Tanjong Pagar Distripark adopted a fluid, open exhibition format with works from 27 galleries, featuring Ho Tzu Nyen's video installation The Critical Dictionary Of Southeast Asia (2017–) and rattan puppets by Iwan Effendi. Singapore Art Museum presented CosmicWander by Choy Ka Fai, an exhibition on shamanic dance cultures featuring immersive videos and digital avatars, which parodied Singapore's national branding with a flyer mimicking the 'Passion Made Possible' campaign. Curated exhibitions included Networked Bodies by Ong Kian Peng and Maybe We Read Too Much Into Things by Berny Tan. Choy Ka Fai's performance lecture on 22 January live-streamed on YouTube included a consultation with a 'Chinese Jesus' medium who predicted the pandemic would end in 2021.