SINGAPORE.- The Singapore Biennale 2006 (SB2006), Singapore's inaugural international biennale of contemporary art, will open to the public on 4 September 2006. This major international contemporary art exhibition will feature more 95 artists and artists collectives from over 38 countries and regions including Singapore.

SB2006 highlights Singapore's prominence as an international visual arts hub, not only providing new opportunities for Singapore artists, curators and arts businesses, but also as a key enabler of exchange and collaborations for the global arts community. The presence of SB2006 is also a significant opportunity for the Singaporean public to develop a stronger relationship with contemporary art.

As the anchor cultural event for Singapore 2006: Global City. World of Opportunities, SB2006 provides the platform for the presentation of international art in dialogue with Singapore and Asia. Singapore 2006 is the umbrella event where Singapore will play host to the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group.

Organised by the National Arts Council (Singapore) in partnership with the National Heritage Board of Singapore, SB2006 opens to the public from 4 September to 12 November 2006.

The Singapore Biennale 2006 (SB2006), Singapore's inaugural international biennale of contemporary art, will open to the public on 4 September 2006. This major international contemporary art exhibition will feature 95 artists and artist collectives from over 38 countries and regions including Singapore. It will be the first significant cultural event to bring contemporary visual art practices into the daily lives of Singaporeans.

Theme

Through the conceptual framework of BELIEF, the curatorial team led by Artistic Director Fumio Nanjo, have invited a rich and varied selection of artists to examine the complex questions that surround and inform the questions of belief, which manifest in contemporary society. Under the theme of BELIEF, this groundbreaking cultural event will be experienced across the unique cityscape of Singapore - one of Asia's most extraordinary examples of cosmopolitan faiths, values and cultural heritages.

The world today is complex and diverse, fraught with war and terrorism. As Samuel Huntington suggests in his book, The Clash of Civilisations, is it really impossible for people with different values and faiths to live together peacefully? In this age of ever-diversifying and mixed value systems, what should people believe in and live by? To live moment-by-moment is also to make choices from multiple possibilities. What do we base on to live by these decisions? Some people believe in the absolute truth of religion; others believe in the rules of capitalism and economics; others in progress and development; and yet others believe in the values of nature and the environment. Love and Art can also become ways or pointers by which to live.

Although Singapore is a small island nation, different faiths, languages, and ethnic groups coexist without violent conflict. It is perhaps fitting then to reflect on the meaning of belief today in such a society. Through art, can we once again think about what binds us together as human beings? This seemingly straightforward yet potentially complex question underpins the first edition of the Singapore Biennale.

"The basis of the artist selection was generated by the way in which their practices engage with the complex and multiple dimensions of belief" Artistic Director Fumio Nanjo remarks. "In fact, many of the artists are participating in a biennale for the first time, though this was by no means a criterion for selection. A further consideration was the unique characteristics and challenges of the exhibition venues. This was also key to identifying artists and how their works would engage with the Singaporean public. I hope that this exhibition will be a stimulating, enjoyable and perhaps even stirring experience for all."

Artists, Artist Collectives & Curators

BELIEF takes many forms, and the selection of artists and art works, which will include: architecture, biotechnology, drawing, installation, new media, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, sound projects and video, will reflect this. Many of the art works will be specially commissioned new works. Some of the more internationally recognised artists participating in SB2006 include Shahidul Alam (Drik Picture Library), Shigeru Ban, Amanda Heng, Jenny Holzer, Eduardo Kac, Mariko Mori, Carsten Nicolai, Jaume Plensa and Agus Suwage.

In addition to the core team of curators, more than 35 networking curators from all over the world have also been invited to contribute information on artists. These networking curators were selected based on their expertise in specific geographical regions as well as in specific mediums (For profiles of the core curatorial team and full list of networking curators, please refer to Annex 2 & 3).

Exhibition Sites

Consideration of BELIEF is also reflected in the choice of exhibition venues. A number of art works will be placed within a selection of religious sites in Singapore, with the aim of cultivating thoughtful and unique encounters between historically important spaces of belief and art. Other exhibition sites include City Hall, the stage for many historic events associated with Singapore's nationhood; public spaces along the shopping thoroughfare Orchard Road; a Housing & Development Board (HDB) estate that provides affordable public housing for Singaporeans and Tanglin Camp, a cluster of colonial buildings that previously housed major departments of the Ministry of Defence. (For a full list of exhibition sites, please refer to Annex 4).

Two young architects, Josh Comaroff (Lekker Design) and Mark Wee (Kennel), have also been appointed as the Exhibition Designers for the Biennale. In order to meet the variety of challenges and contexts offered by the unique choice of exhibition venues, they will be working closely with the curators and the artists on the installation of the artworks for SB2006. Exhibition signage, amenities and public access will be an integrated feature of their exhibition design. .

Outreach Programmes

Alongside the Biennale exhibition the ongoing Encounters series of talks, workshops and events will continue up to and beyond the opening of the biennale in September, involving many of the participating artists. Walk the Talk - an audio guide will also be launched to guide visitors around the Biennale exhibition through 50 listening points across the 16 venues, providing information about the artworks and the contexts in which they are being viewed.

A SB2006 television programme has also been planned, with the objective of demystifying some of the preconceived notions about contemporary art and making it more accessible. Conceived as a mass broadcast television programme it will bring the presence of the Biennale into the homes of Singaporeans.

A series of education projects focusing on primary and secondary school children will accompany the Biennale. This programme will also include a number of artist residencies and workshops.

Publication

Prior to the opening of SB2006, a free fact sheet will be published giving full details about the Biennale. A comprehensive short guidebook listing all artists and exhibition venues will also be available at the opening of the Biennale. This will be followed by a full colour catalogue published after the opening, which will include installation photographs of the exhibition and documentation of all aspects of the Biennale. An updated version of the SB2006 website will be launched in mid April with a full listing of artists and sites, in addition to useful travel and press information.

Special Exhibition

'Telah Terbit' (Out Now): Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Practices During the 1970s