This lecture will first look back historically at the emergence of alterities in the Singapore visual arts scene in the late 1980s when experimental and process-based art practices began to proliferate. These cutting-edge practices, which have been acknowledged as the beginnings of contemporary art in Singapore, were disrupted in the mid-1990s when state funding for performance art was cut after the Josef Ng incident. The second part will discuss the art scene from the mid-1990s until today when the State became the dominant player. The reliance on state support and funding has posed several peculiar problems. For example, it has led to the gradual decline and demise of independent art spaces and art collectives. As institutionalisation increases, the periphery has been absorbed into the mainstream. Paradoxically, artists who receive state support continue to critique the very system itself, as evident in the recurring issue of censorship. What implications do these developments have on the making, display and reception of contemporary art in Singapore?
Jeffrey Say has been teaching at LASALLE College of the Arts since 1997 and helped to develop its art history programmes. In 2009, he designed the first Masters programme that focuses on Asian modern and contemporary art histories. He is presently its programme leader. As an art historian, Jeffrey undertook the first extensive study of the history of sculpture in pre and post-war Singapore, for which he has done pioneering research. He is the co-editor of Histories, Practices, Interventions: A Reader in Singapore Contemporary Art (2016).