A public programme organised by artist Chu Hao Pei and his collaborator, The Little Rice Company.
Hao Pei was one of the three pilot residents invited to join the SAM Residencies pilot programme earlier this year.
Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum.

Singapore Art Museum (SAM) announces its first international batch of residents. Following SAM’s first open call for applications in December 2020, which received close to 1,000 applications, 18 residents have been selected to be a part of the first cycle of the SAM Residencies. 15 independent practitioners and 3 art collectives have been offered a studio-based residency across four residency types – Artist Residency, Community & Education Residency, Curatorial & Research Residency and EX-SITU: Art Spaces Residency. Residents hail from countries and regions across the world, including Argentina, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and more. Each residency will span a period of between one to six months, starting from October 2021.

One of the most comprehensive residencies programmes in Asia, SAM Residencies aims to support artistic experimentation and innovative practices, encourage collaboration and exchange, and engage both the art community and the public at large. There will be opportunities for the public to interact and engage in dialogue with the residents through programmes such as studio visits, film screenings, talks, performances, and workshops. Featuring four residency types, the interdisciplinary SAM Residencies is open to artists, curators, art organisations and artist-run spaces, as well as community and education-focused art practitioners. These residencies will take place in physical spaces in Singapore and will offer open spaces for social interaction between the residents, the wider art community, and the public, serving as a catalyst for collaborative and collective activities to develop.

The topics and themes explored in each residency cycle will reflect contemporary concerns. The Cycle 2021/2022 focuses on the notions of intimacy, infrastructure, and the impact of technology on contemporary life.

The full list of selected residents in Cycle 2021/2022 is as follows:

Artist Residency
○ Chok Si Xuan (Singapore)
○ Aki Hassan (Singapore)
○ Vishal Kumaraswamy (India)
○ Sikarnt Skoolisariyaporn (Thailand)
○ Sherie Sitauze (Zimbabwe, lives and works in the United Kingdom)

Community & Education Residency
○ Barbara Cueto (Spain, lives and works in Germany)
○ Johanna Palmeyro (Argentina)
○ Rebecca Vickers (United States, lives and works in Thailand)
○ Yip Kai Chun (Hong Kong)

Curatorial & Research Residency
○ Hera Chan (Hong Kong, lives and works in the Netherlands) and Edwin Nasr (Lebanon, lives and works in the Netherlands)
○ Rizki Lazuardi (Indonesia)
○ Arianna Mercado (Philippines, lives and works in the United Kingdom)
○ Moad Musbahi (Libya, lives and works between Libya and United Kingdom)
○ Bhavisha Panchia (South Africa)
○ Primer (Denmark)
○ Berny Tan (Singapore)
○ Jeannine Tang (Singapore, lives and works in the United States)

EX-SITU: Art Spaces Residency
○ Bras Basah Open (Singapore)

The first batch of Cycle 2021/2022 residents will be in residence between October 2021 to March 2022. Each resident will develop at least one public programme during their time in residency.

Singaporean artist Aki Hassan, who will be starting their residency this October, shares,

“I am looking forward to introduce a collaborative element to my practice and using the studio space to test new methods of installation. It is truly exciting to be supported in my next phase of artistic exploration and research.”