Singapore Biennale 2025, opening Oct 31, unpacks the ‘masterplanned’ city

SINGAPORE – At the redeveloping estate of Tanglin Halt,

, a new coffee-shop cinema, performance stage and moth larvae museum have popped up across three units.

They are some of more than 100 artworks that can be seen at the eighth edition of the Singapore Biennale (SB). International and local artists have been invited to show at the event, themed “pure intention” and opening on Oct 31. The works are distributed across four sites: the Rail Corridor, Orchard Road, the Civic District and the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.

“Pure intention looks to Singapore as a city of deliberate design and unexpected outcomes,” said SAM’s newly appointed chief curator Shabbir Hussain Mustafa at a media tour on Oct 27. “The title is an invitation to think about how intention operates, how ideas become plans, and how plans meet the unpredictability of life and place.”

SB2025 co-curator Selene Yap says the title her team – comprising fellow SAM curators Duncan Bass, Hsu Fang-Tze and Ong Puay Khim – has selected is meant to be ironic. “We live inside a really big and grand master plan.”

Her team hopes to offer a tour of the gaps in the well-oiled system that is Singapore’s efficient bureaucracy. “We’re interested in thinking through what forms of life emerge in the shadow of such intense intentionality, things that you often don’t look at in the crevices of darkness.”

Instead of the sprawling geographical scope of the SB’s previous edition in 2022 – which took art to areas such as the Southern Islands – SB2025 nestles artwork within everyday spaces in four concentrated clusters.

In each cluster, artworks are woven into the everyday fabric of the city. Some works are even edible. Buy a bottle of kombucha ($8; Sour Citrus Tea, Kumquat and Pineapple Pepper flavours) by Taiwanese artist Huang Po-Chih, made with ingredients from Xinpu that have a connection to crops once grown in Singapore.

Ms Yap says the best way to experience SB2025 is to pick a convenient spot and begin there. “There is no particular cluster that is a central thesis. You are invited to take routes you might be more curious about.”

There are estimated to be over 300 biennales globally competing for visitors, with the Venice Biennale being the most prestigious and the oldest, dating back to 1895. The format today, Ms Yap says, is “a globalised symptom of the art world economy” – adding that a common critique is that they can look homogeneous.

But she adds that biennales – which take place every two years – have a role to play. “It’s a pretext for us to bring in artists and ideas that would not otherwise have a platform, or to start a conversation with the city on a scale that institutions cannot sustain.”

Asked how Singapore can distinguish itself from the crowd, Ms Yap says “it’s less about the generic solution that the artwork provides, but more about the city as a proposition”.

“When we think about international arts audiences, their interest isn’t just in art – their interest is also seeing how artists and curators grapple with the uniqueness and the intensity of the conditions of a city-state.”

SB2025 is organised by SAM and commissioned by the National Arts Council, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. It runs till March 29, 2026 with more works – including a collaboration between Thai film-maker Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Singaporean artist Guo-Liang Tan at the Rail Corridor – which will be unveiled in December 2025.

Not sure where to start at SB2025? The Straits Times has curated four walking routes with must-see works so that you can see art as you clock your steps. SB2025 also provides free shuttle bus services on weekends and will unveil exclusive ride perks with Grab for visitors on its website.

For outdoor junkies,

. The approximately 1km route is family-friendly.

For lovers of old buildings,

. The approximately 2.5km route is for the more adventurous.

For a romantic stroll, check out malls and museums

. The approximately 1.5km route is also family-friendly.

For hot or rainy days,

.

Info:

, free and ticketed. Eligible for Culture Pass credits.

Singapore BiennaleVisual artsSingapore Art MuseumExhibitionsSingapore