Singapore’s art infrastructure, namely the Freeport, has positioned Singapore as a pivotal gateway in the global capital and art flows that define the international art market, capturing the imagination of an international art literati. In “Duty-Free Art,” a recent article by Hito Steyerl, Singapore Freeport is described as one of the “prime spaces for contemporary art”. Similarly, Deloitte’s report on Southeast Asia as an emergent art market in 2014 figured Singapore prominently as a financial and art market hub, as well as a key contributing factor to the growth of Southeast Asia as an art market due to its infrastructure.
Despite figuring into frameworks of economic markets and international art discourse, the Singapore Freeport is often left out of the conversation when we talk about what makes Singapore an arts city. An art and private wealth logistics hub, the Singapore Freeport is strategically located within Singapore’s Free Trade Zone, and reaps benefits such as exceptions from import duties, indirect taxes, or security deposits. It has been integral to the expansion of Singapore’s cultural scene, indirectly benefiting art fairs like Art Stage Singapore, and the creation of value chains for the circulation of art, such as being possibly related to the establishment of the Pinacothèque in Singapore.
This first presentation will cover the research threads and questions that offshoreart.co will be asking, and is also an open call for collaborators interested in this project. The presentation will conclude with a tour of Second life, a project by Debbie Ding that provides an analogy to understanding the culture of the offshore.
Venue: Grey Projects, 6B Kim Tian Rd, Singapore 169246
When: 19 Oct 2015, 7pm - 8.30pm
By: Grey Projects