Art In Public Space, Singapore

Focusing on art in Singapore’s public spaces, Art in Public Space offers spatially-informed perspectives of how art shapes, and is shaped by, the formation of public spaces in Singapore. Highlighting voices from architecture, urban and historical studies, and art history, this volume reconsiders the centrality of art practices situated in public space for engendering local and global modes of urban space, culture, identity, economy and labour. The opening essay by architectural theorist Lilian Chee discusses the relationship between public space, art, and its public audiences. This essay is complemented by an extended interview with eminent art historian T.K Sabapathy about the future of public art in Singapore. In the second section, writers Selene Yap and Nicholas Lua examine artworks that lead the reader into myriad urban spaces, ranging from the construction of art spectacles to community-focused art at the fringes of mass housing and home interiors. As art in public space diversifies in its reach, durations, and affinities with multiple audiences, this volume asks what art in the public realm might mean for Singapore today, and what is at stake given the rapid transformation of its proverbial urban site.