The Artists Village
Encyclopedia
The Artists Village is a contemporary art
group in Singapore
. Founded by contemporary artist Tang Da Wu
, it enabled like-minded contemporary artists to critically re-look and examine existing assumptions, values and concepts of art-making in Singapore. The Village as Singapore's first artist colony, enabled artists explore radical new ways and ideologies in making art that is in synch with the societal changes and state of affairs in the late 1980s.
The Village emerged in 1988 by Tang, a performance and installation artist who had returned to Singapore with his English wife Hazel McIntosh and his then five-year-old son Ben Zai after spending more than 10 years there furthering his art education in Britain. The returning family found home at 61-B Lorong Gambas in Sembawang
and provided rent-free by Tang's relative. Since then Tang invited like-minded artist friends to stay and use the 1.6-hecture kampung space, amongst the durian
trees and farm animals. Artists like Wong Shi Yaw had converted a chicken coop
into his very first studio space. From 1989 on, the locality came alive with avant-garde performances and art exhibitions by artists living in the forested enclave; there were 7 artshows alone in that particular year, with their landmark performance and installation artshow titled The Happenings held at the Nanyang Technological Institute. At the height of the Village history, the enclave housed 35 artists living and working in the area, with 50 others participating in other art activities by the Village.
In 1990 They had The Time Show 24-hour art event which brought together artists working in all forms of multimedia, in one artshow. Sadly in that year, the land where the Village had been on, was repossessed by the Singapore Government for urban development. They briefly relocated themselves to some rental houses in the Naval Base area, and nomadically in places like the now-defunct Hong Bee Warehouse in Robertson Quay
, Middle Road
and other parts of Singapore.
The Village was hit with another setback in 1994, as a result of a public performance by artist Josef Ng during The Artists' General Assembly organized by the Village and another arts group 5th Passage Artists, at the Parkway Parade
Shopping Centre. The act of snipping pubic hair
in public by Josef then, provoked the National Arts Council to freeze all funding on performance art in Singapore; a ruling that was lifted only in 2003 after nearly 10 years. During the period, the Village had only one major project - the Tour De Art Lah! held in conjunction with the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1996. Many Village artists had to sought for projects overseas. In the late 1990s, new memberships by Jeremy Hiah and Woon Tien Wei steered the Village towards new controversies in art by engaging in artist collaborations and interdisciplinary exhibitions with artists from other parts of Southeast Asia
. In 1999, the show Post-Ulu at The Substation
featured a 12-hour overnight poetry recitals, live DJ sets and performances, while the B.E.A.U.T.Y show in 2002 engaged art collectors by paying the art collectors to acquire the works of art on display at Utterly Art Gallery. In all, the new generation of TAV led by Hiah and Woon held some 13 art events over the 4-year period since joining the Village. They have also tackled performances at new locations; places like Heritage Conservation Centre, and even to Pulau Ubin and Bali to explore new heights in art-making, as a collective group. This is a contrast from the individualistic expressionist approach by the first-generation members.
The Village continued to grow and rejunvenated with new provocative projects and ideas with new members joining the group. At the same time, the older members have branched into new directions with newly-created spaces such as Plastique Kinetic Worms, Your MOTHER Gallery and p-10, for themselves.
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
group in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Founded by contemporary artist Tang Da Wu
Tang Da Wu
Tang Da Wu is a Singaporean artist who works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation art and performance art. Educated at Birmingham Polytechnic and Goldsmiths' College, University of London, Tang gave his first solo exhibition, consisting of drawings and...
, it enabled like-minded contemporary artists to critically re-look and examine existing assumptions, values and concepts of art-making in Singapore. The Village as Singapore's first artist colony, enabled artists explore radical new ways and ideologies in making art that is in synch with the societal changes and state of affairs in the late 1980s.
The Village emerged in 1988 by Tang, a performance and installation artist who had returned to Singapore with his English wife Hazel McIntosh and his then five-year-old son Ben Zai after spending more than 10 years there furthering his art education in Britain. The returning family found home at 61-B Lorong Gambas in Sembawang
Sembawang
Sembawang is an area in the Northern-most portion of Singapore, encompassing the largest land mass within the Sembawang Group Representation Constituency. The incumbent Member of Parliament for the Sembawang Constituency is Khaw Boon Wan. The constituency jurisdiction extends into the Woodlands...
and provided rent-free by Tang's relative. Since then Tang invited like-minded artist friends to stay and use the 1.6-hecture kampung space, amongst the durian
Durian
The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family . Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk...
trees and farm animals. Artists like Wong Shi Yaw had converted a chicken coop
Chicken coop
A chicken coop is a building where female chickens are kept. Inside there are often nest boxes for egg laying and perches on which the birds can sleep, although coops for meat birds seldom have either of these features....
into his very first studio space. From 1989 on, the locality came alive with avant-garde performances and art exhibitions by artists living in the forested enclave; there were 7 artshows alone in that particular year, with their landmark performance and installation artshow titled The Happenings held at the Nanyang Technological Institute. At the height of the Village history, the enclave housed 35 artists living and working in the area, with 50 others participating in other art activities by the Village.
In 1990 They had The Time Show 24-hour art event which brought together artists working in all forms of multimedia, in one artshow. Sadly in that year, the land where the Village had been on, was repossessed by the Singapore Government for urban development. They briefly relocated themselves to some rental houses in the Naval Base area, and nomadically in places like the now-defunct Hong Bee Warehouse in Robertson Quay
Robertson Quay
Robertson Quay is a wharf near the source of the Singapore River and the largest and most upstream of the three wharfs on the Singapore River.-History:...
, Middle Road
Middle Road
Middle Road is a road that may refer to*Middle Road, Hong Kong, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong*Middle Road, Singapore*The Middle Road, Canada, which was renamed as part of the Queen Elizabeth Way in 1939...
and other parts of Singapore.
The Village was hit with another setback in 1994, as a result of a public performance by artist Josef Ng during The Artists' General Assembly organized by the Village and another arts group 5th Passage Artists, at the Parkway Parade
Parkway Parade
Parkway Parade is a suburban shopping centre in Marine Parade, Singapore. Opened on March 9, 1984, it has a 17-floor office tower and a seven-storey shopping mall with a basement. Developed by Parkway Holdings, the company sold the building away in 2000 to Asia Pacific Investment Company and is...
Shopping Centre. The act of snipping pubic hair
Pubic hair
Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region....
in public by Josef then, provoked the National Arts Council to freeze all funding on performance art in Singapore; a ruling that was lifted only in 2003 after nearly 10 years. During the period, the Village had only one major project - the Tour De Art Lah! held in conjunction with the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1996. Many Village artists had to sought for projects overseas. In the late 1990s, new memberships by Jeremy Hiah and Woon Tien Wei steered the Village towards new controversies in art by engaging in artist collaborations and interdisciplinary exhibitions with artists from other parts of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. In 1999, the show Post-Ulu at The Substation
The Substation
The Substation is Singapore's first and only independent contemporary arts centre. It was founded in 1990 by Kuo Pao Kun.The Substation is centrally located in the city's civic district. Venues at The Substation for hire include a black-box theatre, a gallery, a dance studio, the Random Room and...
featured a 12-hour overnight poetry recitals, live DJ sets and performances, while the B.E.A.U.T.Y show in 2002 engaged art collectors by paying the art collectors to acquire the works of art on display at Utterly Art Gallery. In all, the new generation of TAV led by Hiah and Woon held some 13 art events over the 4-year period since joining the Village. They have also tackled performances at new locations; places like Heritage Conservation Centre, and even to Pulau Ubin and Bali to explore new heights in art-making, as a collective group. This is a contrast from the individualistic expressionist approach by the first-generation members.
The Village continued to grow and rejunvenated with new provocative projects and ideas with new members joining the group. At the same time, the older members have branched into new directions with newly-created spaces such as Plastique Kinetic Worms, Your MOTHER Gallery and p-10, for themselves.
Further reading
External links
- Official website of The Artists Village
- A Brief Chronology of The Artists Village - documentation by Koh Nguang How
- Singapore MuralsSingapore MuralsSingapore Murals is an integral part of the nation's aspiration of being a renaissance city. A Public Mural is a source of heritage building, expression of the arts, national education, interactivity of interests groups.-Purpose on Portal:...
|http://murals.sg A Wikipedia page that showcase the murals in Singapore. Portal created by Social Creatives. NGO that does Community Art to make society colourful visually and emotionally]