KENT CHAN

A HISTORY OF CURATING IN SINGAPORE
Goodman Arts Centre, 2013

The study of curating provides a compelling route into the evolution of art and art history of Singapore: a nation on the one hand yet so young, and on the other, famously pragmatic and economically driven—with a view of cultural politics in the near distance.

The socio-economic and political forces that shape artistic production and distribution come to the fore, exerting various pressures on artists, critics, collectors, dealers, institutional players, the art-viewing public, and curators. Yet, the reverse is true as neither is wholly determined by the other; it is the constant dialectics at play which make for an absorbing study.

At the heart of this exhibition is a proposition – not through the presentation of a history, but in the suggestion of its existence. History cannot be defined singularly, but rather, is a process of becoming. One can only propose a narrative to history; it has to be encountered, pulled at and questioned. Here, A History of Curating in Singapore has merely cast the first dice.

This exhibition is collectively-curated by 6 members of Curating Lab 2012.