Art and Cultural Events In Singapore To Check Out For The Remainder of 2020
If this year’s pandemic has forced the closure of exhibitions and events, we may just be starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Many museums and cultural events are now back up with appropriate safety measures in tow, with man offering online programmes together with physical ones in response to the ongoing pandemic,
There's nothing quite like art to soothe or reflect over our collective unease this year has brought, and for that, we’re grateful for the number of ongoing exhibits in Singapore that will tide us through the remainder of 2020.
Georgette Chen: At Home in the World
This exhibition makes for the first major retrospective of Georgette Chen’s works, who is one of Singapore’s most celebrated modern artists and significant figure in Singapore’s art history. The exhibition contains 69 of her most prominent works, spanning across her time in China, France, the USA, Malaysia and Singapore and traces her artistic development throughout her career, from key works and personal documents that established her reputation as an artist from the 1930s to 50s.
"Georgette Chen holds a very special place in Singapore's art history. Being the first female artist to have achieved such international acclaim, the impact she has on the development of visual arts continues to influence generations of local artists," says Dr Eugene Tan, Director of National Gallery Singapore in a press statement.
The exhibit contains her rich still life and portraiture paintings that depicts Singapore’s colourful history, where she captures everyday objects with a sense of dynamism and novelty.
Georgette Chen: At Home in the World is open daily from 10am-7pm and shown at the Level 4 Gallery and Wu Guanzhong Gallery at National Gallery Singapore from 27 November 2020 until 26 September 2021
Singapore International Photography Festival
Now in its 7th edition, the biennial Singapore International Photography Festival this year brings with it two months of international and local exhibitions across various venues, from the newly conserved 37 Emerald Hill and DECK, and key exhibits at the Esplanade Tunnel and at six Downtown line MRT stations. The festival will house works from local artists such as Robert Zhao, Pann Lim of Holycrap, Calvin Chow and more, including 31 Opencall Showcase portfolios, feauturing international and local submissions.
With this year’s theme being Departing and Arriving, the exhibition invites us to look back into the past as reference point to reframe them for the contemporary moment, through an understanding of identity and belonging. The exhibition is split between physical exhibition spaces and virtual discussion sessions, including virtual masterclasses for photographers interested in growing their photography skills.
The Singapore International Photography Festival exhibits and programmes will be held at various dates between 5 November 2020 to 30 January 2021 and is located at: 37 Emerald Hill, DECK, ArtScience Museum, Esplanade Tunnel, Downtown Line MRT Stations (Beauty World, Rochor, Chinatown Newton, Little India, Bugis, Bencoolen).
The 31st Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF)
Spanning over 70 films from over 45 countries over 11 days, this year’s Singapore’s International Film Festival comes in a hybrid format with both physical cinema and online film screenings, with a renewed purpose to discover Asian stories and deepen appreciation for cinema in Singapore.
This year’s festival will also see 22 local films, including Tiong Bahru Social Club (2020) by Singaporean filmmaker Tan Bee Thiam as opening film, including four Singaporean shorts which have been nominated for the Silver Screen Awards’ Southeast Asian Short Film competition, including The Smell of Coffee (2020) by Nishok Nishok, which premiered at the 2020 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen.
The 31st SGIFF will be hosted across multiple Festival venues, including Shaw Lido, Filmgarde Bugis+, Oldham Theatre, The Projector and virtual platform The Projector Plus, from 26 November to 6 December. Tickets go on sale 6 November, 12pm via www.sgiff.com, SISTIC and www.theprojector.sg.
