Artists are said to be the chroniclers of our time and our society. As Singapore marks its 60th birthday in 2025, these exhibitions pay tribute to the works and lives of artists past and present.
In 1965 when Singapore gained independence, the art scene was not only in its infancy, it was also largely overlooked in a time of urgent nation-building.
Arts and culture were secondary when the government and its people were fuelling the engines of economic growth. Nevertheless, artists beavered away at their industry. Through their own mediums – oil, Chinese ink, watercolour, collage and more – artists like Liu Kang, Georgette Chen and Chen Chong Swee captured the changing scenes of Singapore, from everyday kampung activity to our bustling harbour and street life. These works have since become treasured records of our collective memory.
Singapore turns 60 this year. As a first-world nation, we now have a thriving arts scene celebrating local artists for their diverse works, with grants, publicity and public appetite supporting a maturing ecosystem. While the Singapore National Gallery showcases the celebrated artists of the Nanyang era, independent galleries are presenting to the public the bold voices of a new generation: artists who are shaping our cultural identity.
Whether through digital installations, experimental textiles, or contemporary performance, these creators are documenting our times. Here is a selection of exhibitions, brought together by galleries committed to nurturing Singapore’s artistic spirit. If every frame tells a story, each of these artworks will become the historical fabric for future generations to look back on—not just to see what Singapore looked like, but to feel what it meant to live here.
STPI Creative Workshop & Gallery: Material Moves
Until 5 October | Free admission | Mon-Sat 10am – 7pm; Sun 11am – 5pm
Showcasing 53 works on paper, Material Moves is a group exhibition of four of Singapore’s legendary artists Chua Ek Kay (1947 – 2008), Han Sai Por (b. 1943), Goh Beng Kwan (b. 1937) and Ong Kim Seng (b. 1945), who are all Cultural Medallion recipients.
Material Moves, Installation View
Depicting works that depart from their mainstay practices in ink, sculpture, collage and watercolour, the exhibition features new print and paper works resulting from the residencies of Han, Goh and Ong at the STPI in 2024, alongside works from Chua’s residencies in 2003 and 2007. Billed as a conceptual movement in the contemporary artists’ practices, the works in this exhibition showcases their material exploration and adaptation.
Goh builds on his expertise in collage with a vivid colour palette, bringing energetic strokes and textural effects of flocking to his works. Han utilises her skills as a sculptor to create works using hand-moulded paper, expressing themes of nature through relief intaglio collage and collagraphy. Ong, known for his watercolours, chooses mulberry bark paper to paint old and disappearing street scenes of Singapore from his own recollections. Chua’s selected works showcase his transition from ink to lithography and woodcutting, with two rare paintings from the 1990s exhibited on loan from National Collection of Singapore.
Ong Kim Seng, The Village Wayang at Silat Road, 2024
Fiidaa Art: 28 Frames
Until 30 September | Free admission | Mon-Fri 9am – 5pm
Collaborating with co-working space The Working Capitol, Fiidaa Art curated 28 artworks from four contemporary Singapore artists, displaying them in situ at two of The Working Capitol’s venues. Find the works of Nicholas Damiens, Jays Phua, Charles Wong on the walls at 1 Keong Siak Road, while Ling Yang Chang has his works on show at 39 Ann Siang Road. ”These artwords are part of the spaces we live in, places Singaporeans work, think and connect,” shares Sangeeta Tibrewala, founder of Fiidaa Art.
With its network of 36 restored conservation shophouses across Chinatown, Ann Siang and Telok Ayer, The Working Capitol was a natural fit for this collaboration. “We’re proud to support and exhibit artistry that uplifts both the artists and the spaces where people live and work. It reflects how we breathe new life into conservation properties through thoughtful, purpose-driven activations, with art as a key part of that,” says Benjamin Gattie, Founder & CEO of The Working Capitol. All artworks on display are available for purchase, with proceeds supporting the featured artists.
Whitestone Gallery: Sama Sama
Until 28 September | Free admission | Tue-Sun 11am – 7pm
Featuring 60 artworks by 60 artists, this group exhibition showcases a collective reflection on Singapore’s evolving history and cultural journey. A familiar Malay phrase meaning “together”, “you’re welcome” and “same”, “Sama Sama” embodies the theme that binds these contemporary artists as they write our history through their artistic expressions.
Featuring an omnibus of well-known names including Anthony Chin, Boedi Widjaja, Boo Sze Yang, Chow and Lin, Cynthia Delaney Suwito, Heman Chong, Ian Tee, Jackson Tan, Lai Yu Tong, Lee Wen, Milenko Prvački, Ng Hui Hsien, Post-Museum, Dr. S. Chandrasekaran, Sim Chi Yin and Zarina Muhammad, to name a few, the exhibition also showcases a variety of mediums from film and installation to photography and paintings. Their works explore a spectrum of themes from ecology, technology, and global crises to society, politics and identity. Curated by seasoned artist, curator and educator Dr Wang Rubing, this exhibition seeks to serve as a collective critical inquiry, using art as a medium to interrogate and reaffirm identity.
LOY Gallery: To Build A Swing
Until 30 September | Free admission | 11am – 6:30pm
In a collective exhibit titled “SG60: To Build A Swing”, curator Lexing Zhang gathers three contemporary artists who have drawn on personal reflections to create a vision of what it means to belong. The works of artists Akai Chew, Joanna Maneckji and Wan Kyn Chan are meditations on hope, concern, ambition and care for a place they call home. With his background in urban planning, Chew contemplates how rapid redevelopment risks erasing not just buildings but the visions they once embodied. Maneckji’s works emphasise the therapeutic and expressive power of collage. Her new works in this exhibition celebrate resilience and renewal, where halos, florals and textured fabrics elevate her subjects. Chan’s new installation, titled “Walkways”, transforms GPS data from personal walking routes into a glowing sculptural form. It reminds us that the story of a city is not only carried in its skyline, but in the quiet traces of those who walk it.
—
Text by: Susie Cheah
