Cover Singapore Art Week (SAW), organised by the National Arts Council, Singapore and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, has matured into the region’s most consequential arts season
Singapore Art Week (SAW), organised by the National Arts Council, Singapore and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, has matured into the region’s most consequential arts season
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Tatler+
As Singapore Art Week 2026 unfolds across the city from January 22 to 31, the region asserts itself as a confident centre of cultural gravity, where Southeast Asian voices, global institutions and private capital converge to shape the future of contemporary art
Singapore Art Week (SAW) 2026, organised by the National Arts Council Singapore, and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, marks a decisive shift in how cultural value is produced and exchanged in Southeast Asia. From January 22 to 31, the city becomes a living platform where art intersects with patronage and influence. What began as a national celebration of the visual arts has matured into the region’s most consequential arts season—one that reflects Singapore’s evolving role as a cultural centre linking Southeast Asia with the wider world.
The 2026 edition is distinguished by its emphasis on regional agency. Artists and curators from Singapore and Southeast Asia take centre stage through major commissions, institutional collaborations and collector-led exhibitions that place local perspectives at the heart of global discourse. Rather than defaulting to western centres as arbiters of value, SAW 2026 positions Southeast Asia as a source of ideas, practices and markets in its own right.
That convergence is deliberate. Flagship fairs such as Art SG and S.E.A Focus anchor the week, while Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Art Auction 2026 signals growing confidence among international collectors. Alongside them, projects such as the Southeast Asian debut of Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama’s Digging Stars and the Southeast Asian staging of Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait demonstrate how institutional rigour and experimental ambition now comfortably coexist within Singapore’s arts landscape.
Equally telling is the depth of cross-sector engagement. Private foundations, family collectors and global brands are forging collaborations that speak to legacy-building as much as cultural capital. Curatorial partnerships with international institutions, including Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum, underscore how global players are increasingly developing content specifically for Southeast Asia.
For high-net-worth collectors, patrons and family offices, SAW 2026 functions as a barometer. It offers insight into shifting market dynamics and the recalibration of cultural soft power across the region, while reflecting a changing understanding of luxury itself—defined less by exclusivity alone than by access to ideas, relationships and long-term cultural relevance.
The following ten highlights trace how SAW 2026 unfolds on the ground.
Above Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise. Image courtesy of National Gallery Singapore.
Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise. Image courtesy of National Gallery Singapore.
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1. Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise
National Gallery Singapore’s first major exhibition connecting women artists across Southeast Asia, Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise foregrounds practices long sidelined within regional art histories. Featuring over 50 works spanning painting, sculpture, photography, performance and archival material from the 1960s to the 2010s, the exhibition brings together five artists: Amanda Heng (Singapore), Dolorosa Sinaga (Indonesia), Imelda Cajipe Endaya (Philippines), Nirmala Dutt (Malaysia) and Phaptawan Suwannakudt (Thailand). By situating these practices in dialogue, the exhibition reframes women’s contributions as structurally foundational.
From January 9 to November 15 at National Gallery Singapore.
Above Digging Stars by Ibrahim Mahama, curated by Clémentine de la Féronnière and Francesca Migliorati. Image courtesy of Art Outreach Singapore.
Digging Stars by Ibrahim Mahama, curated by Clémentine de la Féronnière and Francesca Migliorati. Image courtesy of Art Outreach Singapore.
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2. Digging Stars by Ibrahim Mahama, curated by Clémentine de la Féronnière and Francesca Migliorati
Presented by The Pierre Lorinet Collection and organised by Art Outreach, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama’s first solo exhibition in Singapore brings his materially driven investigations on labour, trade and memory into sharp regional focus. Curated by Clémentine de la Féronnière and Francesca Migliorati, this fourth edition of The Pierre Lorinet Collection presents new fabric works, collages, photographs and video. Mahama’s signature use of jute sacks and discarded materials transforms these objects into living archives—bearing witness to colonial legacies and global capitalism. In a port city shaped by circulation and exchange, Digging Stars resonates with particular urgency, connecting Southeast Asia’s lived realities to broader global systems.
From January 13 to February 8 at Block 6 Lock Road #02-10, Gillman Barracks.
Above Human Being Human: Selections from the Collection of John Chia and Cheryl Loh. Image courtesy of John Chia and Cheryl Chia.
Human Being Human: Selections from the Collection of John Chia and Cheryl Loh. Image courtesy of John Chia and Cheryl Chia.
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3. Human Being Human: Selections from the Collection of John Chia and Cheryl Loh
Drawn from the private collection of John Chia and Cheryl Loh, Human Being Human offers a reflective examination of the human condition at a moment of global uncertainty. Anchored conceptually by Keith Haring’s Radiant Baby, this exhibition at The Private Museum explores questions of identity, morality and relationality through contemporary art. The selected works probe how notions of selfhood oscillate between fixity and flux, innocence and compromise. Rather than showcasing collecting as accumulation, Human Being Human frames it as inquiry—using art to test philosophical and emotional boundaries.
From January 19 to April 26 at The Private Museum.
Above Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait. Image courtesy of Rockbund Art Museum.
Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait. Image courtesy of Rockbund Art Museum.
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4. Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait
This Southeast Asian staging of Wan Hai Hotel marks a decisive rethinking of how contemporary art is encountered—embedded in daily life rather than isolated from it. Curated by X Zhu-Nowell, executive director and chief curator of Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum (RAM), and presented by Art SG with RAM, the exhibition unfolds across the lobby and public spaces of The Warehouse Hotel.
Visitors encounter film and moving-image programmes, time-based media, performances and site-specific interventions by Southeast Asian artists, including Stephanie Comilang, Ho Tzu Nyen, Joshua Serafin and Bhenji Ra, encountered alongside hotel guests and staff. Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait reframes hospitality itself as a curatorial medium, blurring boundaries between institution, fair and everyday urban life.
From January 20 to 31 at The Warehouse Hotel.
Above Singapore Art Week Forum 2026: Force·Fields
Singapore Art Week Forum 2026: Force·Fields
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5. Singapore Art Week Forum 2026: Force·Fields
Themed “Force·Fields”, SAW Forum 2026 places critical discourse at the heart of Singapore Art Week, exploring how individuals navigate and influence the systems shaping contemporary art and society. Organised by the National Arts Council, National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum, the programme features keynote sessions by international voices including art historian Claire Bishop and curator Adriano Pedrosa. Discussions examine personal agency, institutional frameworks and emerging forces reshaping cultural production.
January 21 at Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium at the National Gallery Singapore.
Above Carolina Fusilier, Inmortalistas series ( II, IV, VIII, IX), 2025. Photo by Ramiro Chaves. Courtesy of PEANA Gallery.
Carolina Fusilier, Inmortalistas series ( II, IV, VIII, IX), 2025. Photo by Ramiro Chaves. Courtesy of PEANA Gallery.
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6. Rituals of Perception
Across installations and participatory encounters, Rituals of Perception foregrounds perception itself as an artistic medium—inviting audiences to slow down and inhabit space differently. Rather than prioritising visual spectacle, works by over 20 artists such as Trisha Baga, Lotus L Kang and Tarik Kiswanson unfold through duration, repetition and embodied attention. The first major exhibition of the Tanoto Art Foundation curated by artistic director Xiaoyu Wang aligns with SAW 2026’s broader focus on accessibility and experimentation, proposing attentiveness as both aesthetic strategy and cultural stance.
From January 21 to March 1 at New Bahru.
Above Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Art Auction 2026. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Art Auction 2026. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.
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7. Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Art Auction 2026
Staged within the orbit of Singapore Art Week, Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Art Auction 2026 situates modern and contemporary works within a broader ecosystem of fairs, exhibitions and institutional programming. While specific lots are yet to be announced, its significance lies in alignment rather than spectacle—positioning Singapore as a place where collecting, discourse, and regional visibility converge. For collectors navigating shifting global centres of gravity, the auction functions as a market barometer embedded within Southeast Asia’s most concentrated visual arts moment.
From January 21 to 25 at The Singapore Edition.
See more: 7 highlights from Sotheby’s first art auction in Singapore
Above S.E.A Focus. Image courtesy of Art SG.
S.E.A Focus. Image courtesy of Art SG.
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8. Art SG and S.E.A Focus
Art SG returns for its fourth edition as Southeast Asia’s leading contemporary art fair, convening international and regional galleries across curated sectors. In 2026, its impact is strengthened by the presence of S.E.A Focus, offering a single-ticket journey through global and Southeast Asian practices. Together, the two air art fairs position Singapore as both international marketplace and regional champion, enabling collectors to navigate established names and emerging voices within a cohesive, intellectually grounded framework.
From January 23 to 25 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
In case you missed it: Art SG returns for its third edition with a dynamic programme showcasing Singapore, Southeast Asian and international contemporary art
Above Sonic Shaman. Image courtesy of TheCube Project Space.
Sonic Shaman. Image courtesy of TheCube Project Space.
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9. Sonic Shaman 2026: Borderless
Presented in Singapore for the first time, Sonic Shaman introduces Taiwan’s pioneering interdisciplinary sound festival to Southeast Asia with the theme Borderless. Positioned between experimental music, sound art and performance, the festival gathers regional and international artists, musicians and thinkers in a collective exploration of listening. Sonic Shaman’s debut signals Singapore Art Week’s growing openness to non-object-based practices—and to forms of art that unfold in time, resonance and shared presence.
From January 23 to 25 at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.
Above Philip Colbert × Aruta Soup: Playscapes of Dreams & Sea. Image courtesy of Whitestone Gallery.
Philip Colbert × Aruta Soup: Playscapes of Dreams & Sea. Image courtesy of Whitestone Gallery.
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10. Philip Colbert × Aruta Soup: Playscapes of Dreams & Seas
British artist Philip Colbert brings his hyper-saturated, lobster-led universe to Singapore in collaboration with Japanese artist Aruta Soup, whose signature bandaged rabbit character Zero also features in this presentation at Whitestone Gallery. Playscapes of Dreams & Seas unfolds as an immersive environment of large-scale paintings and sculptural elements, where art history, digital culture and cartoon aesthetics intersect.
From January 23 to March 14 at Whitestone Gallery.
Singapore Art Week 2026 runs from January 22 to 31. A full programme of exhibitions and events is available at artweek.sg.
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As Senior Editor of Tatler Singapore, Hashirin champions and refines the storytelling across platforms—curating and crafting compelling profiles, cover stories and features that spotlight visionaries shaping culture, business and impact. Driven by curiosity, she draws inspiration from the artists, changemakers and trailblazers she encounters through her work. Beyond the pages of Tatler, she is an avid supporter of local theatre and delights in seeking out art in every city she visits.
