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Singapore launched a major arts festival on Monday, September 4, aimed at creating a cultured image for the city-state ahead of its biggest ever international conference.
The two-month-long Singapore Biennale 2006 features nearly 200 artworks from 118 artists.
The Biennale, inspired by festivals in Europe and Asia, is part of Singapore's bid to foster a thriving arts scene and convince the rest of the world that it is more than just a place to make money.
"This inaugural international biennale of contemporary art is a culmination of the growth in visual arts in Singapore, underlying Singapore's position as an international visual arts hub, as well as a vibrant cosmopolitan city," said Lee Suan Hiang, chief executive of the National Arts Council and organiser of the Biennale.
The festival opens ahead of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Singapore involving some 16,000 delegates which begin on September 19.
More than half the items were commissioned for the festival, which includes works by more than 60 Asian artists.
"So it's quite a strong focus on Asia, we are linking many Asian artists to the international network," said renowned Japanese curator and art critic Fumio Nanjo, the artistic director for the Biennale.
Nanjo, who was the commissioner for the Taipei Biennale in 1998 and has run other international art shows, promises the Singapore exhibition will be one of the "best and biggest" events of its kind.
The exhibit locations include a former British military camp, the 118-year-old National Museum and seven religious sites to reflect the Biennale's "Belief" theme.
Among them are a synagogue consecrated in 1878 for the growing community of Jewish migrants who settled here in the 1800s, a Buddhist temple built in 1884 and Singapore's first Christian church, constructed in 1835.
"Many sites have a very strong character itself, sometimes very historical, sometimes because it is a religious site. And because it's used by the military before and these old sites will make a special kind of ambience for this Biennale," added Nanjo.
Artists featured at the festival will include the 76-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and Karachi-born video artist Bani Abidi.
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