“There are a few (artist-run) spaces that I follow, including Hidden Space and Present Projects in Hong Kong and Comma Space in Singapore. Before I even thought to start Starch, I had a lot of conversations with Kay Meiling Beadman, artist and one of the founders of Hidden Space, and I’ve always enjoyed her generosity as a person and a friend which I find is something that you can feel translating into the space, and that has inspired me when it comes to Starch.

Comma Space, run by artists Wang Ruobing and Sai Hua Kuan, is about a 10-minute drive from Starch and they’ve had amazing lineups with really interesting works set up in the space. As for artists, one is Sarishna Nair with whom we’re working on a show in February looking at family history.

There’s also Cat Hu—I love the puns in her works and we’re inviting her to do something in 2022 as well. I’ve also particularly enjoyed the various presentations of Farizi Noorfauzi and Ryan Lim. There is a sensitivity to space that I particularly love that seems to be in each of these artists’ practices (all artists and spaces are pictured throughout this story).”

“Prior to being in the art industry, I majored in Chemistry and Biological Chemistry at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and was originally contemplating a career in teaching Chemistry (I particularly loved Organic Chemistry).

However, despite that, I was always interested in the artistic outputs and was also doing theatre during my time in NTU. I got more involved when I enrolled into Lasalle College of the Arts and started participating in exhibitions as a student before going full time into practice sometime in 2018.”

“A way that I would explain my own curatorial work is that I consider myself primarily as someone who is an enabler. Within the context of an exhibition, enabling can encompass helping artists to unpack or draw relevant ideas while considering the physicality of the space and how best to convey these ideas to a viewer. I also always consider the experience of a viewer when I curate, from how a person would navigate a space and how they might encounter
each work.

One of my favourite tips from one of my lecturers in Lasalle, artist Wang Ruobing, who also runs the independent art space Comma Space, is to always take a look after an exhibition has been installed and to see if it creates an interest for the viewer.

Apart from that, the work also includes marketing and managing logistical elements such as gallery sitting. In curating shows I often start with an idea and that ranges from a sudden thought of a possible work or even title, to simply being inspired by an artist’s work and then inviting them to show at Starch.”

“Yes, I think the role of a curator has definitely changed in recent years. Just because of the various responsibilities and various sensitivities that we need to be aware of that come not only from the actual works. A curator today may not only perform the role of exhibition making but at times may need to consider various programmes to accompany the exhibitions, produce various forms of texts and engage with audiences.

While perhaps there are people who work on these within institutions, I find the current day curator needing to wear many hats.  I think the role of a curator has evolved, and rightly so, to one that needs to be aware of the various conversations and important dialogues that have happened or are happening within the various communities including the digital sphere.”

“I do feel with the newer independent curators that we’re seeing more spaces created within our own ways outside of institutions. Not always as a way of resisting them but to also contribute to a healthier ecosystem such that we can aid in supporting others or to even re-frame artworks in different ways. Each curator also has their own interests and resonances, which could contribute to a larger dialogue in the arts.”

“Instead of a list of criteria, I’m thinking of what I look out for in a well-curated experience. I tend to try to find ways to connect and feel when it comes to works and shows, and I often find myself drawn to those that have a certain honesty.

Often times I also find myself drawn in by combinations of various ideas instead of a singular stream of thought. I enjoy when shows divert from conventional modes of presentation, opting for a more open-ended way of reading the works instead.”

“The experience (of running and planning programs for Starch) has been amazing and rewarding. One thing that I always enjoyed about exhibition making is finding ways to mount and to re-imagine the space. Starch is not a conventional gallery space which I personally find provides a level of excitement from the very beginning to the more recent shows that have taken place. It is also with Starch that I’ve met various curators and artists and that becomes rewarding, to be able to have conversations with as well as learn from various people.

… At the moment, I admit and acknowledge the privilege I have by being able to even consider curatorial work at Starch. It was amazing to see that various newer artists and curators were being supported in SAW 2021, and it was great to be able to explore the multiple potentials. What we now need to look at is how to facilitate continual (long-term) support for artists.”

“I will be presenting new works with Yavuz Gallery (as part of the art fair S.E.A Focus) for Singapore Art Week 2022 and will also be part of a group show (Bad Imitation) curated by Berny Tan and Daniel Chong in that same period. At the same time at Starch, we’ll be hosting the Chan Davies Art Prize show, sponsored by the Chan Davies Art Prize in collaboration with Lasalle College of the Arts.

I’ll also be co-curating a separate show titled dis/posit}ions with arts manager Shireen Marican which looks at education through a series of workshops on complaining, gossiping and informal forms of knowledge, which will culminate in an exhibition at 32 Kaki Bukit Crescent this month.”

Photography Phyllicia Wang Art Direction Jonathan Chia Grooming Sarah Tan

A version of this article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2022 Art & Music: The Analogue Edition of FEMALE