Everyday Practices: Artists Confront Adversity
Singapore Gallery Month: 7 Exhibitions to See
Ocula Member Galleries are selected by a committee of respected gallerists to present only the best of contemporary art on Ocula.
Read MoreWhether you want to discover contemporary art created by established artists or emerging talents, below you will find some of the best galleries across Singapore's vibrant art scene presenting a range of both.
Many prominent galleries in Southeast Asia have grown their roots on Singapore's shores. Established in 1996, Gajah Gallery has been pivotal in generating increased interest in art from the region. The gallery has catapulted Southeast Asian artists into worldwide recognition, staged landmark travelling exhibitions, and platformed emerging artists.
In Gillman Barracks, an art cluster within former military barracks, are local and international galleries such as The Columns Gallery, Yeo Workshop, Yavuz Gallery, ShanghART Singapore, and Sundaram Tagore Gallery. Established in 2000, with outposts in New York and London, the latter represents artists and photographers such as Karen Knorr and Steve McCurry.
STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery was founded in 2002 as a non-profit space on the Singapore River banks. Divided into a workshop and gallery, the venue holds creative workshops that support artistic experimentation with print and paper. Its gallery boasts local and international talents such as Rirkrit Tiravanija, Do Ho Suh, and Manuel Ocampo.
Explore current and upcoming exhibitions across Singapore's best galleries, institutions, and non-profit art spaces.
Read MoreOur exhibition profiles include press releases, installation images, and for gallery spaces, a selection of artworks being shown in Singapore. They also include access to profiles of exhibiting artists.
To present only the best of contemporary art on Ocula, our Members are determined by a selection committee of respected and influential international gallerists.
Singapore's museums and institutions offer an exceptional arts and culture experience. Explore our selection of the best spaces to visit.
Read MoreNational Gallery Singapore is located at the heart of Singapore's civic district and downtown core. Established in 2015, the museum oversees the world's largest collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art. Beyond its permanent collections, the museum has shown internationally acclaimed artists such as Nam June Paik and Yayoi Kusama.
Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark opened in 1996 as Singapore's first art museum. Today, it hosts the Singapore Biennale and strives to build an important public collection of contemporary art from Southeast Asia.
Singapore's art schools and universities also hold exhibitions of local and international artists. These include LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, National University of Singapore, and NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, among others.
Other museums and cultural institutions worth visiting are Asian Civilisations Museum, Aliwal Arts Centre, Objectifs – Centre for Photography & Film, Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, National Museum of Singapore, and ArtScience Museum.
Ocula Magazine has developed a reputation for thoughtful and in-depth editorial dedicated to exploring the best in contemporary art.
Read MoreOur team regularly covers shows and art news relevant to Singapore. Ocula has interviewed important figures shaping Singapore's art scene, such as June Yap, Emi Eu, and Eugene Tan, and leading artists who show regularly in Singapore galleries and museums, such as Shubigi Rao.
Ocula Magazine has also published features of artists such as Georgette Chen, Charles Lim, Heman Chong, and Dawn Ng.
In Singapore, you can view work by some of the world's most exciting artists. Below is a selection of artists with works currently on view in exhibitions showing with Ocula Member Galleries.
Read MoreSign up to My Ocula to follow artists and galleries, save artworks to your favourites, and be informed when new exhibitions and features are published.
Representing leading galleries in Singapore, on Ocula you can view a selection of artworks by important established artists and emerging new talents currently being shown in the city.
Read MoreSign up to My Ocula to follow artists and galleries, save artworks to your favourites, and be informed when new artworks become available.
Since its 1965 independence, Singapore has cultivated a vibrant arts scene spread across museums, institutions, galleries, and independent art spaces. Its strategic port location and bustling cultural hub feed into local practices, inciting explorations of regional issues and their connections to the broader, international space.
Read MoreIts core, National Gallery Singapore (NGS), is a government-funded institution that features historically significant art from Southeast Asia and exhibitions by internationally acclaimed artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Nam June Paik. Established in 2015, NGS oversees the world's largest collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art.
Nearby, Singapore Art Museum stands ground among Singapore's best contemporary art museums. From its new location at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, SAM organises the biannual exhibition Singapore Biennale and is striving to build an important collection of contemporary art from the region.
In recent years, Tanjong Pagar Distripark has grown as a bustling hub for galleries. Its industrial architecture and harbour-side location have provided ample space for artists to experiment with scale, highlighting Singapore's context as a city-state that prides itself on global connections and routes. Gajah Gallery, Artspace@Helutrans, and the S.E.A. Focus art fair are all sited here.
Gillman Barracks, the art precinct, continues to be an important venue for Singapore, located approximately ten kilometres west of downtown Singapore. The former military barrack, now a leafy enclave, is home to internationally acclaimed galleries such as Yavuz Gallery, The Columns Gallery, Yeo Workshop, and ShanghART Singapore.
Beyond museums and commercial galleries, Singapore also hosts non-profit and independent art spaces. STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery, established in 2002, holds workshops supporting practices on print and paper. Its track record includes exhibitions by Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Do Ho Suh, Manuel Ocampo, and Takashi Murakami.
Other independent art spaces around the city include Grey Projects, Objectifs, and starch. Located amid Singapore's oldest public estates in the Tiong Bahru district, Grey Projects focuses on design, writing, and curatorial research, often conducting reading groups, talks, and residencies with other partners in Asia.
With a focus on film and photography, Objectifs hosts exhibitions, screenings, and residencies to foster public appreciation for the above mediums, housed inside the Bras Basah.Bugis arts and culture precinct.
The youngest of the group, starch, began in 2021. Located in a former industrial complex north of the city, the artist-run space is an exciting venue for younger and emerging artists to experiment and develop their practices. As a space, it aims to facilitate critical conversations within an atmosphere of care and support.
Image: Singapore Skyline: Marina Bay Garden, Marina Bay Sands, and Raffles Place. Photo: Nicolas Lannuzel (CC BY-SA 2.0).
