Digital access to collections is an important function of many Southeast Asian art archives. As digital resources and nodes for peer-to-peer sharing, these archives play an important role in seeding new research and cultivating a regional historical consciousness.

Focusing on the Southeast Asia Performance Collection and Indonesia Visual Art Archive as case studies, curators Annie Jael Kwan and Farah Wardani examined how these archives have used digital tools to grow their discursive communities, collaborating with organisations and navigating intellectual property regimes in this conversation moderated by gallery curator Kathleen Ditzig.

This discussion was part of an online workshop, “Archival Intelligence,” that brought together artists, researchers and archivists from the region alongside lawyers and Arweave, a blockchain seeking to create a ‘permanent Internet’. Together, they discussed about sustainable Web3 solutions that could serve marginalised artists, independent spaces and cultural histories which are at risk of being lost.

This programme took place at National Gallery Singapore on 9 Oct 2022, as part of October Gathering.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions expressed are those of the speaker/s, and do not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore.

All copyright within this recording, without limitation, are retained by their respective owners.

Join Joel Sherwood-Spring, Simon Soon and Tammy Nguyen as they advocate for open-access knowledge. This session explored different strategies for reclaiming and granting greater access to knowledge. From institutional partnerships, to leveraging the public domains of specific nations, and to the individual labour involved in creating resource guides and artworks, this panel delved into the techniques and urgencies that have empowered individuals and collectives to resist the legacies of neocolonialism. The conversation also touched on the increasing levels of exclusivity when it comes to who gets to study, write and speak about our cultural histories. This discussion was moderated by Gallery Curator Kathleen Ditzig.

This discussion was part of an online workshop, “Archival Intelligence,” that brought together artists, researchers and archivists from the region alongside lawyers and Arweave, a blockchain seeking to create a ‘permanent Internet’. Together, they discussed about sustainable Web3 solutions that could serve marginalised artists, independent spaces and cultural histories which are at risk of being lost.

This programme took place at National Gallery Singapore on 9 October 2022, as part of October Gathering.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions expressed are those of the speaker/s, and do not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore.

All copyright within this recording, without limitation, are retained by their respective owners.

“SEMBUH” is an expanded version of Kamal Sabran’s Ssegar Angin performance, presented at the Venice Biennale in April 2022. Based on Kamal’s sound therapy research on performance as a method for Malay traditional healing, the project offered an alternative take on the revitalisation of the angin (wind) transpiring within the panggung (physical space) through an immersive sound and dance experience. Anchoring the panggung and charging the space with aural energy, the performance moves the public towards healing and recovery.

About Concert for the Haunted

As the sonic programme accompanying October Gathering, Concert for the Haunted invited sound artists, musicians and movement artists to respond to the thematic threads and inquiries arising across its sister programmes. How do binaries of self/other, nature/culture, body/mind continue to haunt us even in the present? Through encouraging deep listening, sound becomes a seeding moment for healing, cross-pollination and the unearthing of neglected but deep connections between the human and non-human. Concert for the Haunted proposed a re-alliance with intuitive and embodied ways of knowing and encouraged expanded imaginings of togetherness through modes of listening.

This performance took place at National Gallery Singapore on 15 October 2022, as part of October Gathering.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions expressed are those of the speaker/s, and do not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore.

All copyright within this recording, without limitation, are retained by their respective owners.

Welcome to Padang Spotlights! These special episodes are dedicated to unearthing our archives to bring to life the rich narratives of Southeast Asian artists and art spaces. Each spotlight tackles a thought-provoking question posed by a researcher and features new exclusive interviews that illuminate the lives and legacies of prolific artists.

In this spotlight, Gallery curator Cheng Jia Yun continues her research journey following her curation of well-loved Singaporean artist Chng Seok Tin’s exhibition Drawn Through a Press (2021). Through intimate conversations with artists Tan Sock Fong, Dahlia Osman, Chen Shitong, and archivist Koh Nguang How, Jia Yun delves deeper into the impact of Chng’s work and how her collaborative spirit has allowed the printmaking community in Singapore to thrive.

As an added bonus, listen out for the harmonica melodies by the artist, which she performed for her student Dahlia Osman’s birthday celebration!

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Researcher, Host & Co-editor: Cheng Jia Yun

Co-editors & Producers: Erica Lai, Joleen Loh, Kelysha Cheah Kassim

Audio production, Music & Sound design: Chong Li-Chuan

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Go to www.nationalgallery.sg for more podcasts and Southeast Asian art!

This lecture performance by artists Zarina Muhammad and Tini Aliman draws from and unfolds from fragments from each of the auto-ethnographic aspects of Zarina and Tini's respective practice. The performance was presented as part visual conversation, part pragmatic prayer, part eulogy, part temporal installation that traverses the hiding places of love, grief and queer spirits, the soundscapes of trees as conduits, the inventories of intimacies, the necessary spaces of silence and the ways love loves difficult things.

Following this is a conversation between the artists, historian Chris Baker, economist Pasuk Phongpaichit and curator Adele Tan.

This performance lecture took place at National Gallery Singapore on 16 Oct 2022, as part of October Gathering.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions expressed are those of the speaker/s, and do not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore.

All copyright within this recording, without limitation, are retained by their respective owners.

Desire is both powerful and fundamental. In old Siam, the expression of desire in words and pictures was open, celebratory and humorous. Among non-elite women, sexuality was seen as a strength and was something that was not confined to the young. Royals were portrayed as passionate.

However, modernity brought about change. Some sought to deny the power of desire and to limit its expression, and female sexuality was seen as dangerous. Yet, old currents still swirl under the surface and defy this denial of sexuality. Historian Chris Baker and economist Pasuk Phongpaichit explore the power of desire: from temple murals in the 18th century, to poetry in the 15th century, and protest in the 21st century.

This talk took place at National Gallery Singapore on 15 October 2022, as part of October Gathering.

Disclaimer: This talk contains some sexual references. Listener discretion is advised. The comments and opinions expressed are those of the speaker/s, and do not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore.

All copyright within this recording, without limitation, are retained by their respective owners.

“To be an artist is ... just like shit in a clogged toilet, stubborn shit that can’t decide whether it wants to be flushed or to stick around…”

Composed as an irreverent dialogue between masculine and feminine narrators, this book of essays by Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook is an uncategorisable fusion of art criticism, feminist theory, art pedagogy, gossip and autofiction. This first English translation of her essays was prepared by eminent translator Kong Rithdee and edited with an accompanying essay by Roger Nelson and Chanon Kenji Praepipatmongkol.

This event marked the launch of the new research publications imprint, National Gallery Singapore: Art Writing. This peer-reviewed imprint celebrates the diverse voices and genres of writing that create the discourse of art in Southeast Asia, both historically and in the present. Going beyond conventional art history, books in this imprint include compilations of artist writings, art criticism and experimental approaches to the image.

This live reading and discussion took place at National Gallery Singapore on 15 October 2022, as part of October Gathering.

This is a recording of a live reading of extracts from Araya’s compelling and humorous writings by artist Heman Chong, writer Amanda Lee Koe and Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook herself, and a sharing on the development of the book by Roger Nelson.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions expressed are those of the speaker/s, and do not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore.

All copyright within this recording, without limitation, are retained by their respective owners.

Photography has been seen on the walls of the art museum since the 1930s. However, since then, questions have continued to be raised as to what sort of photography and whose photography should be collected and displayed? The role of photography within an art museum is often complicated by its varied, multiple roles in daily life – its non-art functions, which have caused confusion, arguments and schisms. Artists Sean Lee, Mintio, and librarian Janice Loo revisit this medium with respect to a museum’s role in society. This discussion was moderated by Gallery Senior Curator Charmaine Toh.

This panel discussion took place at National Gallery Singapore on 16 Oct 2022, as part of October Gathering.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions expressed are those of the speaker/s, and do not represent the views of National Gallery Singapore.

All copyright within this recording, without limitation, are retained by their respective owners.