Breaking down barriers, building stronger societies through art

1. Good morning. It is a great pleasure to join all of you today at the Singapore Art Week, or SAW, Forum 2026.

   1. Let me extend a warm welcome to our friends who are joining us from around the world, including our art expert speakers from across continents, from the Americas to Asia.

   2. I look forward to hearing your perspectives later. Thank you for supporting the exchange of diverse views and discourse at this year’s SAW.

Art and Ideas

2. This year marks the 14^th edition of SAW.

   1. Over the years, SAW has grown into a marquee event in Singapore’s arts calendar.

   2. Through an evolving and engaging mix of exhibitions and events, it plays an important role in strengthening our visual arts ecosystem here in Singapore.

      1. For artists from Singapore as well as across Southeast Asia, SAW presents a platform to showcase their work, reach new audiences and form meaningful connections.

      2. For the wider community, SAW brings art into shared civic spaces, deepening public engagement, appreciation and community bonding.

3. Since 2025, NAC, NGS and the Singapore Art Museum have also convened this Forum in conjunction with SAW.

   1. Just as the wider SAW encourages interaction between different artistic practices and styles, the SAW Forum looks to catalyse an exchange of ideas.

   2. By bringing together artists, curators, museum leaders, scholars and practitioners, the Forum aims to facilitate thoughtful discussion and dialogue on the future of art and how art responds to change – in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and around the world.

   3. In doing so, we can illuminate how art can contribute to building more connected societies, more distinctive cities and more creative economies.

      1. These, in fact, are the three key thrusts in Singapore’s Our SG Arts Plan.

      2. But I am sure that these aspirations resonate far beyond Singapore, as countries and communities navigate an era of heightened uncertainty, disruptive change, and transforming social compacts.

Art and Society

4. This year’s SAW Forum is anchored by the theme “Force∙Fields”.

   1. For most of us, when we hear the words “force field”, the first image conjured up is that of a bubble or a barrier.

   2. The Forum this year invites us to think of the systems and structures that shape art, and the forces and energies that animate the spaces that artists inhabit.

5. But artists are not just passive consumers or observers of their surroundings.

   1. Throughout history, artists have helped to shape and influence the environments where they live and work.

   2. In the stories you reflect and the narratives that you weave through your work, artists can deepen understanding, kinship and trust among individuals, groups and communities.

   3. In other words, art has an important social role.

      1. By overcoming the force fields that divide us, and breaking down the barriers between us, art can strengthen the glue that holds our societies together.

6. What does this look like in an age of increasing fragmentation and polarisation? How can we harness art to bridge the emerging divides we see across the world? Let me make two points, drawing on Singapore’s experience.

7. The first is that art should help us better understand and relate to one another.

   1. Many of us today live in diverse societies – with people from different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. It is one of the inevitable consequences of a globalised world.

   2. In some cases, we have seen how diversity has given rise to social tensions and friction. Differences, left alone, can breed division.

   3. Art can be a powerful enabler of greater social cohesion and solidarity by pointing us to our shared humanity. An important starting point is to get to know one another better, across our respective cultural tribes.

8. Here in Singapore, multiculturalism has been the anchor of our national identity since our independence 60 years ago.

   1. It remains the cornerstone of how we define ourselves as Singaporean.

   2. Art can play a useful role in bringing our communities together to better understand and appreciate one another, which is a constant work-in-progress.

9. Going beyond knowing and understanding one another, art should also encourage us to care for one another – to widen society’s tent to be more inclusive and empowering. This is my second point.

   1. Art inspires us as individuals – to see the best in ourselves and to reach for our dreams.

      1. Similarly, it should also help us recognise and support the potential in others.

   2. Through art, we can reach out to those who are different from us and build caring societies that enable and uplift all our members.

      1. In doing so, we also reinforce our collective sense of optimism and confidence in the future.

10. In Singapore, we aspire to nurture a “We First” society where our people care for and support one another, particularly the vulnerable groups among us.

    1. Here too, art plays a helpful role.

    2. For instance, the public art initiative “Next Stop: Together!” brings art into MRT stations and neighbourhoods across Singapore, using inclusive and multi-sensory approaches to reach diverse communities, including persons with disabilities. It invites us to reflect on what it means to experience and arrive together in our shared spaces.

    3. In fact, I think this morning, front page of ZaoBao. I think, there is a picture featuring an art installation on the public bus. Maybe one of you can catch the bus by chance, and see their artwork, in public spaces.

Conclusion

11. In asking questions on how structures and systems shape art, and vice versa, this year’s SAW Forum invites us to reflect on the symbiotic relationship between art and society.

    1. All of you in the art community – in your roles as practitioners, curators, museum leaders or scholars – can influence the way your societies see themselves, individually and collectively.

    2. So I encourage you to make the most of today’s discussions, to build new connections and carry these conversations into your respective practices, institutions and communities.

12. Once again, I thank NAC, NGS and the Singapore Art Museum for putting together yet another thought-provoking edition of the SAW Forum.

    1. Let me also take this opportunity to pay a short tribute to the late Dr Liu Thai Ker, who served as NAC Chairman from 1996 to 2005.

    2. Dr Liu, who passed away on Sunday, believed strongly in the potential of art to positively impact society. He carried these convictions with him as he steered NAC to reshape our cultural landscape and elevate Singapore as a global arts destination.

    3. His legacy serves as a good example for us as we engage with art and its role in our world. It is particularly meaningful, because Dr Liu is also very well known as an architect. His expertise, his professionalism, is in the physical world — infrastructure, design, cities. He is also a strong believer in arts and culture. Both the physical and the non-physical aspects that have shaped our society.

13. Thank you once again to all of you for joining us at the Singapore Art Week 2026. I wish you stimulating and meaningful exchanges for the rest of the day.