Singapore Art Week Forum 2025: Art Publics

The Singapore Art Week Forum 2025 is a joint initiative by the National Arts Council, National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum, supported by the Singapore Tourism Board. The Forum, themed Art Publics, gathers international artists, curators, and museum and urban practitioners to rethink art’s relation to the public. A full-day event, it will feature a keynote lecture and two panel discussions.  

Celebrated Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates will give the Forum keynote lecture, drawing from his interest and training in urban planning, preservation and transformation. Gate’s practice focuses on space theory and land development, sculpture, and performance, redeeming spaces that have been left behind through environmental and community activations. The post-lecture conversation will be moderated by curator and critic Patrick Flores. Flores is Chief Curator at National Gallery Singapore and is concurrently Professor of Art History and Criticism at the Department of Art Studies, University of the Philippines, Quezon City.  

The afternoon will feature two discussion panels. The first panel will focus on the connections between audiences, social discourse and community development, and will explore how institutions and artists ethically consider, define and work with their stakeholder communities. The second panel discussion will examine how collectors and philanthropists work collaboratively with communities and artists, spotlighting the role of philanthropy in supporting artistic practices and audience development.