Present Tense

Present Tense is a creative platform that amplifies emerging voices in contemporary illustration. It embraces illustration as a medium rooted in experimentation and immediacy, and as a vehicle for responding to social, cultural, and creative concerns of young people today.

This inaugural edition of Present Tense examines ideas of change and transition. It draws inspiration from SAM’s upcoming collection exhibition, in which artworks will shift and be introduced over time, allowing new meanings to emerge through these evolving relationships. The four commissioned illustrators are free to interpret this theme through their lived experiences, broader societal conditions, or even fictional realms. The works may reflect on the complex emotions that change brings: from uncertainty and instability, to hope and possibility. They can tell a story, build a world, or explore abstract representations.

Present Tense will be presented in two phases. First, the four illustrations will be exhibited in an interactive showcase at VivoCity, where the audience will be invited to vote for their favourite work. This winning work will then be adapted into an activation at the museum’s café, SIP at SAM, which will be unveiled during Singapore Art Week 2027. In this way, Present Tense functions as a platform that is shaped by and relevant to the public.

Present Tense

Art Calendar