singapore art week 2025 returns with a feast for the senses

singapore art week 2025: Art Takes Over

Singapore Art Week (SAW) 2025 is set to electrify the island with its 13th edition, running from January 17 to 26, 2025. Featuring over 130 events, this ten-day visual arts celebration transforms Singapore into a dynamic stage for creativity, collaboration, and community engagement. SAW showcases both local and international talents across galleries, public spaces, and unconventional venues, offering an immersive art experience for all.

View of S.E.A. Focus 2024. Image courtesy of the National Arts Council | all images courtesy of Singapore Art Week

A Decade of Creative Brilliance with Singapore Art Week’s Legacy

As Southeast Asia’s premier visual arts season, Singapore Art Week has become synonymous with originality and inclusivity in the arts. Organized by the National Arts Council (NAC), SAW continues its tradition of fostering collaboration and community. The 2025 tagline, Art Takes Over, embraces diverse artistic expressions, spanning mediums and disciplines, while creating a platform for emerging voices and seasoned creatives.

Highlights include marquee events like ‘ART SG’, ‘S.E.A. Focus’, and ‘Light to Night,’ as well as the highly anticipated return of the Singapore Pavilion’s ‘Seeing Forest’ by Robert Zhao Renhui from the Biennale Arte 2024 in Venice. With free entry to many exhibitions, public art performances, and family-friendly activities, SAW 2025 ensures that art remains accessible to all.

‘Seeing Forest’ by Robert Zhao Renhui at Singapore Art Museum

Unveiling Artistic Wonders and Diverse Highlights of SAW 2025

The festivities kick off at Tanjong Pagar Distripark with ‘Yee I-Lann: Mansau Ansau,’ a poignant exploration of Southeast Asian indigenous narratives. Also during SAW, visitors are granted free access to many SAM exhibitions including ‘Seeing Forest,’ an immersive commentary on ecology and Singapore’s environmental histories. Complementing these exhibitions are the Sonic Sessions both SAW weekends (January 17-18, and 24-25), for an eclectic lineup of performances with acts like Subsonic Eye, Bakers In Space, Pleasantry and more.

For those seeking the unconventional, the ‘Con-Temporary Art’ travelling gallery offers a whimsical miniature white cube complete with tiny art displays, inviting audiences to view art in unexpected spaces. Meanwhile, the ‘SATS Experiential Center’ at The Arts House Annex blends culinary creativity with digital art in ‘DIGikat’ by Yang Derong, making it a must-visit destination for those who crave multisensory experiences.

Artwork by Miss Weronica, part of travelling gallery ‘Con_Temporary Art’

‘Light to Night: Do You See Me?’ returns to illuminate the Civic District with a blend of thought-provoking art installations and mesmerizing light projections. This year’s theme invites visitors to reflect on visibility and perception, resonating deeply with Singapore’s ongoing celebration of its 60th anniversary. Other displays include the specially curated ‘Spectra’ light show at Marina Bay Sands, which integrates cutting-edge visuals, soundscapes, and water displays. Meanwhile, the Lewin Terrace in Fort Canning Park transforms into an 11th-century speculative fiction realm with ‘Before and After the Unknown,’ a multimedia exhibition by Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen. Blending expanded cinema, video games, and sculptural art, the project reimagines Singapore’s past, merging botanical and historical fragments into a fantastical narrative.

Light to Night Singapore | image © National Gallery Singapore

As part of SAW, the National Gallery Singapore (NGS) honors the life and legacy of Kim Lim, a Singapore-born sculptor and printmaker, with the retrospective ‘Kim Lim: The Space Between.’ Running until February 2, 2025, this major exhibition features over 150 works, making it the most comprehensive showcase of Lim’s career. Her art reflects a distinctive Minimalist approach influenced by material cultures encountered during her extensive travels. The retrospective highlights key sculptures, prints, maquettes, and never-before-seen photographs, offering a profound exploration of her philosophy and her resistance to conventional identity frameworks. Kim Lim’s masterful balance of space, light, and rhythm underscores her enduring influence and the depth of her artistic vision.

‘Kim Lim: The Space Between.’

On the second weekend, the focus shifts to Gillman Barracks with ‘Techno Diversions: Nothing has to be the way it is’ by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore. This exploration of technology and humanity culminates in ‘Art After Dark,’ two vibrant nights (January 24-25) of live music, drinks, and creativity featuring a line-up curated by New Mongrels ranging from hip hop and rock to electronic and R&B – with acts such as nkei, Bellied Star and rhyu.

The ‘Pierre Lorinet Collection: Space at New Bahru’ explores the multifaceted concept of space, featuring an exclusive glimpse of works by Ugo Rondinone and Tracey Emin from the private collection of Pierre Lorinet. Highlights include Danh Vo’s recreation of the Statue of Liberty fragment and Sterling Ruby’s Thermohaline, which redefine the relationship between environment and memory.

Liz Deschenes, Gallery 4.1.1 (version 2) #2 | image © The Pierre Lorinet Collection: Space

Further, Affective Architecture at the Blackbox of 42 Waterloo Street explores how digital realms shape human emotion and perception. This immersive exhibition by new media artists such as Ong Kian Peng and Debbie Ding leverages virtual reality and expanded cinema to investigate themes of history, technology, and ecology, establishing an intricate web of interconnected narratives.

Other highlights of SAW include ‘Monet Inside,’ a media art exhibition that reinterprets the cherished masterpieces of Claude Monet, the painter of light, through a modern lens, accompanied by music. From his beginnings as an Impressionist in Paris to the grand saga of his Water Lilies series in Giverny, the exhibition showcases the radiant and passionate journey of the artist, who found glimmers of light even in the most challenging moments of his life.

SAW 2025 further shines the light on the region’s cross-cultural connections, such as ‘Beyond Giving, Inspiring Change,’ a collaborative showcase of Thai and Singaporean glass artists presented by Bangkok Glass Company. These works embody the spirit of giving and innovation that define the contemporary arts scene. Furthermore, curated by John Tung, Singkarpor REMIXED stands as an immersive art installation, employing the spirited scenes AikBeng Chia has captured to develop large-scale photographic collages. Blended with the artist’s own humorous style, the new works embody a country bustling with life and activity in each individual piece. The project blurs the lines between photography and interactive art, inviting visitors to engage deeply by photographing themselves within the installation.

Singkarpor REMIXED | image © AikBeng Chia

‘DIGikat’ by Yang Derong at The Arts House Annex merges digital artistry with traditional ikat weaving, presenting a harmonious fusion of technology and craft. Vibrant LED projections paired with jacquard fabrics celebrate diversity, while resonating with Singapore’s multicultural identity. At The Private Museum, ‘Of Dreams and Contemplations: I am All but a Story,’ delves into gallerist Richard Koh’s private collection. This deeply personal exhibition offers a window into Koh’s journey as a collector, bridging memory and emotion through over 50 selected works from his illustrious career.

‘Art After Dark’ at Gillman Barracks

Key Visual – Beyond Giving Inspiring Change | image © Bangkok Glass Company

ART SG

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Yee I-Lann, Measuring Project: Chapter Seven, 2022. Digital inkjet pigment print (Giclée) on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper. courtesy of Silverlens (Manila/New York)