SINGAPORE.- The Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore announced the inauguration of its Residencies programme with 18 Singapore and international artists. CCA Residencies is one of the three key pillars of CCA, alongside Exhibitions and Research.

CCA Residencies hosts artists, curators, critics and scholars. At its core is a studio programme for artists dedicated to facilitating the production and creation of work, knowledge and research by established and emerging artists from Singapore and from other parts of the world. The programme will position Singapore as a forum of cultural and artistic exchange in Asia.

CCA Founding Director, Professor Ute Meta Bauer said, “Unique to the CCA Residencies programme is an emphasis on research and knowledge production complementing contemporary artistic production. This underlines CCA’s position as a young research centre and new gateway for accessing practices and discourses within Southeast Asia. The CCA Residencies programme feeds into our holistic approach of intertwining three platforms: exhibitions, residencies and research.”

The first artists in residence are:

•Tiffany Chung, USA/Vietnam: Chung is exploring the British civilising mission, cartography and maps, the aftermath of colonisation and modernisation during her residency.

•Sam Durant, USA: Durant’s research practice will concern Singapore’s history in the context of the larger Southeast Asian region, particularly in relation to the Bandung ’55 conference and the non-aligned movement.

•Koh Nguang How, Singapore: Koh will present his on-going archive collection the Singapore Art Archive Project @CCA “(SAAP@CCA)” and facilitate research and collaborations with artists and curators during his residency.

•Lee Wen, Singapore: Lee has been exploring different strategies of time-based and performance art since 1989. His work has been strongly motivated by social investigations as well as inner psychological directions using art to interrogate stereotypical perceptions of culture and society.

•Charles Lim, Singapore: Lim explores issues such as the environment, territorial borders and de-territorialisation. During his residency, Lim’s research will look into notions of borders, histories and everyday life, and how these may be generated through our perceptions of the sea to create SEA STATE for the Singapore Pavillion at the Venice Biennale 2015.

•Ana Prvacki, Singapore/USA: Prvacki is researching and “transcribing” the local cloud formations. She is interested in connecting and exploring ideas of sensuality, meteorology and humidity.

•Mona Vatamanu & Florin Tudor, Romania: Mona Vatamanu and Florin Tudor’s artistic practice spans diverse media including film, photography, painting, performance, and site-specific projects. Through their works, they confront the traumatic legacy of Communism in their native Romania and Eastern Europe, while wrestling with the ongoing challenge of how to process history. As part of the residency so far they have taken a look at the surrounding environment of both the natural jungle-like environment and various constructions happening in Gillman Barracks to explore various social dynamics.

Other artists in residence who will join CCA by early 2015 are:

•Simryn Gill, Australia/Malaysia •Newell Harry, Australia •Bani Haykal, Singapore •ISE, Malaysia •James Jack, Japan •Matthew Mazzotta, USA •Arjuna Neuman, Australia/UK •Pratchaya Phinthong, Thailand •Anocha Mai Suwichakornpong, Thailand •Yee I-Lann, Malaysia

Residencies are a productive and impactful way to support practice and research on contemporary art. The artists were chosen from a list of 45 artists by a committee of art professionals in Singapore, after a rigorous nomination process from 23 international curatorial professionals. The selection process included an assessment of their research proposals that had to contribute to the artists’ current or new research project.

Artists in the CCA Residencies programme are each offered a studio, rent-free, for an average period of two to four months. There are seven studios, located in Gillman Barracks (Blocks 37 & 38), varying in size from 61 to 84 sqm. Artists receive a stipend and those based outside of Singapore are accommodated at the CCA apartments for the duration of their residency. Augmenting the CCA Residencies is a public programme of talks, open studios and events as well as a concurrent visiting curators programme to facilitate local and international engagement at different levels.

The first upcoming Curator in Residence, Henrik Folkert, Conservator / Curator Performance of Film & Discursive Programs at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (24 October to 20 November 2014) will explore the Singapore art scene and through his research feed into the public programming for Theatrical Fields (22 August to 2 November 2014).