It’s a crazy, crazy month for the arts, whether you’re into big blue-chip artists or emerging names. For the latter, head to Lasalle College of the Arts to check out the works of more than 600 graduating students, or National Design Centre to take in the visually and socially engaging works at the third edition of GIF FEST. Meanwhile, Singapore Art Museum has just debuted a triple bill of exhibitions headlined by some pretty interesting names – more details below.
The GIFFEST is back and it’s the festival’s most expansive one to date. Supported by DesignSingapore Council and organised by culture and educational platform Eyeyah!, this third edition of the animated visuals festival will now operate over a period of three months, instead of the usual five days. This expansion allows for a richer and more engaging event line-up, featuring new fringe programming and activities every two weeks, such as talks and workshops suitable for all ages, including children.
This year features eye-catching works by 40 local and international creatives, all responding to the theme of “Imperfect”, exploring an important social issue: the impact of perfectionism in our society. The exhibition theme highlights the beauty and value of imperfection, encouraging us to question our assumptions about what is considered perfect, and challenging us to reconsider our expectations and attitudes towards design, beauty, and society as a whole.
In addition to the main exhibition, GIFFEST will feature a series of hands-on workshops, talks, and interactive programmes designed to educate and inspire attendees. These events will provide opportunities for visitors to learn more about GIF art and explore the spectrum of Imperfection and Perfection raised in culturally trending and relevant topics such as the perfectly imperfect worlds of AI, Generative NFTS, Music and Animation.
Check out the full line-up of events here.
May 18-August 26 at National Design Centre Level 1 Atrium, 111 Middle Road
For art lovers, the Lasalle Show Exhibition tends to be something to look out for this time of the year, especially if you’re interested in discovering emerging names. It’s an annual exhibition put on by Lasalle College of the Arts that showcases works by its final year Diploma, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and postgraduate students, across a wide variety of disciplines ranging from fashion design (pictured here: fashion designer Farah Sudiro’s campaign for her graduate collection), fine arts, film, animation to dance, music, theatre, arts management and more.
The exhibition has taken place online for the past two years due to obvious reasons, but it is returning in full force for the first time in galleries throughout the institution’s McNally Campus from May 19-31 with over 600 works on display (though a virtual version will also be available from May 19).
There will also be various satellite events taking place at the institution concurrently during the exhibition period, such as a presentation by graduands of the first MA Creative Writing degree in Singapore and Southeast Asia, who will be reading from their creative writing theses.
For more details on the exhibition’s extensive line-up, head here.
May 19-31 at Lasalle College of The Arts, 1 McNally Street
Singapore Art Museum (SAM) isn’t playing around this May: they’re debuting not one but three new exhibitions simultanenously. First up is Lila: Unending Play by the well-respected Singapore artist Jane Lee, who primarily deals with paint but imaginatively wields it as if it’s a tool for sculpting. This exhibition is Lee’s first solo show in a museum and the exhibition’s title Lila is a Sanskrit word that means play and spontaneity, where visitors can expect to immerse themselves in three new works (pictured) by the artist, as well as a selection of older pieces.
The second exhibition is SAM Contemporaries, which is a new biennial series that spotlights emerging practices in Singapore’s contemporary art scene. Each edition of SAM Contemporaries will feature six to eight artists , each of whom will be paired with one or more SAM curators, who will co-develop programmes and presentations in various formats. The inaugural edition is titled Residues & Remixes, and is focused on the impact of historical remnants on the present as well as the influence of new technologies on how we see, experience and understand the world. It features works by six Singapore-based artists, Yeyoon Avis Ann, Anthony Chin, Fyerool Darma, Priyageetha Dia, Khairulddin Wahab and Moses Tan.
Last but certainly not least, the third exhibition is Hito Steyerl: Factory of the Sun. The revered German-Japanese filmmaker and artist is famed for her cinematic installations that poke fun at surveillance culture, automation, digital platforms, and the art world in general.
It’s Steyerl’s debut showing in Southeast Asia, which makes this a true must-see for any art lover, and she will presenting her landmark video installation Factory of the Sun, which was first presented at the German Pavilion for the 2015 Venice Biennale. The work is a montage of YouTube dance videos, drone surveillance footage, video games, fictitious news segments, and actual documentation of student uprisings, and it invites viewers to question the role of contemporary media in constructing our reality.
Lila: Unending Play by Jane Lee is on from May 18-Sep 24 at Gallery 1, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark
SAM Contemporaries: Residues & Remixes is on at Gallery 1, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark (May 18-Sep 24), as well as SAM Hoardings along Bras Basah Road & Queen Street (May 18-Oct 29)
Hito Steyerl: Factory of the Sun is on from May 18-Sep 24 at Gallery 2, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark
Vintage specialist Aeae Furniture is back with another of its popular community markets. This edition is one for the late night cats; the market takes place this weekend from 5pm to midnight at the store in Jalan Ampas, and you can expect to find everything from plants, vintage cameras, vintage and archival garments, craft beers and cocktails alongside some evening tunes as you peruse the stylish wares on offer.
May 19-20, 5pm-12am, at Aeae Furniture, #07-01 Ho Seng Lee Flatted Warehouse, 10C Jalan Ampas
Emerging visual artist Aki Hassan, who has their work shown previously at National Gallery Singapore and received commissions from Singapore Art Museum, has finally received their first solo exhibition. Titled Entangled Attachments, the show at Yeo Workshop explores themes of non-conformity, love, change, kinship and survival through the artist’s signature sculptural installations and experimental comics.
To the artist, they perceive people’s subconscious gestures as embodied quiet resistance that persists within us as we endure restrictions brought about by societal conventions. Their poignant exhibition Entangled Attachments proposes that notions of kinship and solidarity can arise beyond how it’s typically imagined – by giving weight to the simple state of coexisting in proximity to one another, we loosen ourselves up from predominant hierarchies and ideal ties of kinship.
On now till June 18 at Yeo Workshop, #01-25 Gillman Barracks, 47 Malan Road
The prestigious Cannes Film Festival may be underway in Cannes, but here in Singapore, cinema buffs can enjoy over 20 films from the region with the latest edition of the European Film Festival, which finally returns to the big screen this year at festival venue The Projector. The festival is known to showcase the best of contemporary European cinema and the rich diversity of cultures and the craft of filmmaking from countries across the continent, with Sweden being the country-in-focus this year, opening the festival with the critically acclaimed and award-winning film Hilma.
The biopic spotlights the intense struggles the titular character, real-life artist Hilma af Klint, faced as a female artist trying to find a place for herself and gain recognition in a male-dominated field. FYI to the uninitiated: Hilma af Klint is among the earliest pioneers of abstract art in Western history, with her works predating far more well-known peers like Kandinsky and Mondrian.
But it’s not all European fare, despite the name: the festival is also a big champion of the ideas of youth and it will be presenting student films from three schools – Lasalle College of the Arts, Puttnam School of Film and Animation, Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media, and Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies – alongside the main festival showcase.
Check out the full line-up here.
May 18-31 at The Projector Golden Mile Tower, #05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road