Singapore Art Week Explodes Across the City

(Singapore, January 23, 2026) ART SG 2026 officially opened at Marina Bay Sands on Thursday January 22, but events began earlier and some will continue long after all the various art work has been removed from MBS. You know what to expect, large frames hanging on walls, ceramics and glass willed into weird and wonderful shapes, colour bright and brilliant or subtle, unexpected expressions, film and fantasy, beads and bobbles. In addition to the artistic performers, among the visitors, there are those who themselves are works of art.

ART SG 2026 extends across the city with off-site programming as part of Singapore Art Week. On Tuesday it was explained to me that The Warehouse Hotel had not rebranded to become the Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait. For Art Week the lobby of the restored heritage property along the Singapore River morphed into an immersive exhibition space that blends institutional-level curation with a hospitality experience. This latest evolution of this innovative, first-of-its-kind exhibition model invites visitors into a dynamic world where film and video programmes, site-specific interventions, installations, performances, and artist-led gatherings unfold.

From the offer of cocktails served in the innovate heritage lobby the next day I slipped into the neurotic world of sentient machines at the ArtScience Museum where NOX: Confessions of a Machine was presented on 23 January. This site-specific exhibition marks Lawrence Lek’s first solo show in Southeast Asia that works across genre-bending projects that span architecture, gaming, video, music and fiction. The 2024 Frieze London Artist Award recipient is internationally known for interrogating the emotional capacity of artificial intelligence and the emergence of posthuman identity.

I was transported to a smart city in the near future, where the inner workings of Farsight Corporation come to life through interconnected works that includes NOX and Guanyin: Confessions of a Former Carebot. NOX (“Nonhuman Excellence”) is a therapy and training centre for sentient autonomous vehicles whose inner lives have begun to interfere with their performance. In this world, Farsight Corporation is a fictional artificial intelligence conglomerate responsible for developing smart city systems and infrastructures.

After the presentation I chatted with Lawrence and mentioned my interest in Guanyin, the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Compassion, as she appears in a short story I am working on. ‘She is a shape shifter,’ Lawrence informed me, who is known for his expertise in AI. He was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in AI. The event and this conversation gave me ideas for the shorty story I am wrestling with.

ART SG 2026 opened Thursday January 22 at Marina Bay Sands with a VIP preview and Vernissage at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Presented by Founding and Lead Partner UBS, the fourth edition of the fair brings together a dynamic line-up of more than 100 galleries from over 30 countries and territories, featuring expanded programming, new curatorial initiatives, and strategic partnerships. The fair opens to the public from 23 to 25 January.

From London to Tokyo, Paris to Johannesburg, Seoul to New Delhi, the fair presents works spanning diverse scales, mediums, and formats – from emerging talent to internationally recognised names – making it a must-visit cultural highlight for travellers and art lovers alike. In a first-of-its-kind cultural sponsorship, ART SG 2026 introduces new curatorial initiatives including the TVS Initiative for Indian and South Asian Contemporary Art, which will shine a spotlight on Indian and South Asian contemporary art under a dedicated pavilion bringing attention to South Asia's rich artistic perspectives and cultural narratives.

For the first time, S.E.A. Focus, the homegrown platform spotlighting Southeast Asian contemporary art, enters a new chapter at ART SG as part of a strategic collaboration to amplify its reach, offering audiences and collectors unparalleled access to art from the region. Curated by John Tung (right) for the third time, with artistic consultation by Emi Eu, Executive Director of STPI, the eighth edition of S.E.A. Focus features presentations by 16 galleries that respond to the theme, ‘The Humane Agency’.

John Tung noted: “This year’s edition of S.E.A. Focus addresses pressing themes including violence and its perpetuation, environmental crises and the displacement of people worldwide, presenting both established and emerging artists exploring these issues in dialogue. Spanning diverse formats—from wall-bound works to freestanding installations—this presentation invites audiences to engage with the questions, provocations and possibilities that Southeast Asian voices bring to these urgent conversations.”

Jin Yee Young, (lower right) Co-Head UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and Country Head UBS Singapore in her impressive opening speech stated, “We are proud to support ART SG 2026 as Founding and Lead Partner. The recently published Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting by Arts Economics highlights key motivations in Asian collecting. Among respondents in Singapore, there

is strong interest in emerging talent, especially among female collectors. Looking ahead, 81% of HNWI’s (High Net Worth Individuals) surveyed in Singapore are optimistic about the outlook for the Global Art Market in the next six months.

“With optimism high, we expect a vibrant turnout of artists, art collectors and enthusiasts at ART SG 2026. We are delighted that S.E.A. Focus will be a part of ART SG this year, showcasing this region’s artistic developments and strengthening the importance of ART SG as Southeast Asia’s pre-eminent art fair. Furthering our commitment to art, we are pleased to announce the launch of the ART SG FUTURES Prize presented by UBS, strengthening our support of emerging artists and reflecting our commitment to Asia Pacific. At the fair, UBS will present works from the UBS Art Collection in our UBS Lounge and UBS Art Studio.”