The President's Young Talents serves as a developmental springboard for our young talents

Mr Ong Yew Huat, Chairman National Heritage Board
Ms Jane Ittogi, Chair Singapore Art Museum
Ambassadors
Distinguished guests
Ladies & Gentlemen

1. I am very happy to join all of you here today, as we launch two exhibition highlights of the Singapore Art Week - the President's Young Talents and The Collectors Show: Weight of History.

2. The Singapore Art Week will see more than 50 visual arts events taking place all around our island city. Apart from tonight's two contemporary art shows, we also have the Art Stage showcases, exhibitions at Gillman Barracks, an Open Studio Weekend at the Goodman Arts Centre, and many other activities, talks and forums. It promises to be an exciting week for all of us to immerse in art, and to enjoy the beauty of art.

3. The visual art scene in Singapore is steadily transforming. We sometimes take it for granted, but those watching us from afar have noticed the changes. As a recent New York Times article put it, “for decades Singapore has concentrated on developing its reputation as a global financial center…[the] focus…recently expanded to include its cultural growth as well”. The signs are evident everywhere you go. The number of art exhibitions is increasing year by year.  We now have more than 900 exhibitions in a year, which works out to almost 3 a day! New galleries are also opening up, in Gillman Barracks, shopping malls and other locations. Our efforts to develop Singapore's art scene are bearing fruit.  

4. Through my Ministry – the newly set up Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth – and our partner agencies, the Government will continue to invest in the development of our art landscape and institutions. One major highlight on the horizon is the National Art Gallery, which is on track for its opening in 2015.

5. But the development of the arts cannot be done by the Government alone. The American artist and teacher Robert Henri once said, “museums of art will not make a country an art country. But where there is the art spirit, there will be precious works to fill museums. Better still, there will be the happiness that is in the making”.

6. The nurturing of this spirit of art will take time.  But we can already see it happening, from the ground-up. Over time, I am confident we will have a broader base of art audiences, volunteers, collectors and patrons. We will mature as a society with a strong sense of aesthetics and sensitivity towards diverse areas of visual art; a people with a deep appreciation of the arts as an enriching part of our lives. To achieve all this, we have to take steps now to invest in the arts. We want to create opportunities for Singaporeans to see, appreciate and enjoy art masterpieces. We also want to nurture our artistic talent, to support and recognise our local artists, and give them more platforms to showcase their creative talent.

7. That is what tonight's exhibitions are about. As part of the Singapore Art Museum's role to showcase emerging artists, the President's Young Talents serves as a commissioning platform and developmental springboard for our young talent. Many previous participants of this series have gone on to regional and international presentations. They include the art collective group Vertical Submarine who had a showcase at the Gwangju Biennale, and visual artists Donna Ong and Francis Ng who have gone on to showcase their works at international platforms such as the Venice Biennale.

8. This year's President's Young Talents features new commissions from Boo Junfeng, Liao Jiekai, Zaki Razak, Grace Tan, Ryf Zaini (pronounce: Reef Zai-ni) and Robert Zhao Renhui. They have been selected for their strengths in their chosen medium and content. I commend all our young artists for bringing this exhibition together.  This year, the museum has also brought in an external curatorial committee of seasoned art professionals to not only select, but more importantly, mentor the younger artists through the process of creating their artwork. Art apprenticeship is the oldest, and probably still the most effective, form of art learning, and I am sure the senior artists will have much that they can share with their younger colleagues. 

9. The other major exhibition opening today, The Collectors Show, is a unique initiative that allows us to enjoy more than 20 masterpieces from the private collections of international art collectors. This year's theme: Weight of History demonstrates how contemporary artists from the Asia-Pacific create work that engages draws the connections between past and present, and highlights the legacies of history, tradition and culture in their societies.
   

10. Finally, let me thank the team in the Singapore Art Museum for working hard to organise both these exhibitions. I also recognise that the museum would not be able to do this without support from the private and people sector. So I would like to thank all sponsors and supporters of tonight's shows, for your generosity in supporting emerging artists and in making these exhibitions possible. On this note, I am pleased to declare the President's Young Talents and The Collectors Show exhibitions open.