Matthew Ngui to Lead the Singapore Biennale 2011
A few days ago, the National Arts Council of Singapore announced that Matthew Ngui )has been elected as the third Artistic Curator and Director of the annual arts festival, the Singapore Biennale. Ngui is one of the most respected artists throughout the international art world, and this appointment has the first native Singaporean in charge in charge of this event. 2009 will be the third year of the festival, and the Council is hopeful that this will secure Singapore’s position on the international map, secure the position that Singapore has so longed for, that of an international artistic hub, the center, and one of the leaders in the world of visual arts. Many of the businesses throughout the city, such as Singapore luxury hotels, benefit from the festival as well. As many travel from all corners of the world, to either participate in the festival, or to experience it as audience members.
Ngui has had years of experience in the biennale celebrations throughout the world, and along with his credentials and expertise of his own work overseas, Singapore and the Council are quite confident that he will lead this years Singapore Biennale into great success. He is known to create work that is specific to the regions and cities that he is working in, bringing the locals into the process and involving the culture from within he works. This is a concept that the Council and the Government of Singapore has been working towards for years. For not only is important to bring as many spectators and artists in from other parts of the world, it is of utmost importance to involve the local people and the local cultures.
Ngui has also been gaining experience as a curator, working on the Biennale of 2008, as well as exhibiting at the Biennale celebrations in Venice, Sao Paulo and Gwangju. In 2001 he became one of the first four Singaporean artists to represent the country in Venice, previously he was the very first to show at the Documenta Biennale in 1997. He began as a sculptor and eventually moved into the realm of performance art, installation pieces, video and public art. The 2001 Biennale will no doubt be quite a spectacular event with Ngui at the helm of such an incredibly talented group of international artists.
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