Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours in Art

The newly revamped DBS Singapore Gallery exhibition presents a layered and ever-changing story of Singapore’s art history, continually questioning itself: Whose story is this? Where is home? What is new? Who is looking? What is art for?

Explore the unique pathways and detours of artists, such as Georgette Chen, Liu Kang and Chen Wen Hsi, and see their iconic artworks from the 19th century to today.

Guided tours are available.

When: Ongoing (DBS Singapore Gallery 1 is open. Gallery 2, 3 and other spaces across Level 2 will reopen fully on 18 July 2025)
Suitable For: Adults, Families, Visitors with accessibility needs, Students and Educators
Where: Level 2, DBS Singapore Gallery, City Hall Wing
General Admission ticket required.

Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours in Art

This exhibition is an act of storytelling. It is built upon the journeys undertaken by artists as they sought to make sense of the shifting social conditions in and beyond Singapore since the 19^th century through art. These stories, told through different perspectives, offer us ways to relook at how Singapore’s art history has been written and what has been left out.

The exhibition acknowledges our diverse and cosmopolitan identities. We explore how artists considered questions of aesthetics and engaged with broader social and national concerns like colonialism, urban change and globalisation–forging alternate pathways and strategies in both medium and expression. It embraces an expanded view of Singapore’s art, offering entry points to explore issues of gender, class and labour, and touching on other disciplines and visual cultures.

We begin with images of Singapore during the context of British colonialism in Malaya. Emerging from this period, artistic communities formed during the 1930s to 1950s provided the space for artists to exchange ideas and grapple with questions about the role of art in Singapore.

After Singapore’s independence in 1965, rapid socioeconomic and technological changes fuelled the growth of fine art education and commercial design. During this time, artists moved between figurative expression and abstraction and experimented with a wide range of mediums and conceptual approaches.

From the 1980s, artists redefined methods of display and art making through installation, performance, and video. By bringing art into public spaces and forming independent platforms, they challenged conventions about where, when and how art could be experienced. No matter the period, artists have consistently initiated and inspired new ways of thinking about and making art.

The DBS Singapore Gallery is made possible through a gift by DBS.

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Early expressions of community and identity

Singapore Stories opens with images of the city under British colonial rule in Malaya. As artists explored themes of belonging and identity in times of social change, art became a way to express both personal and collective identities, anchored in the everyday lives of those who called Singapore home.

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New artistic forms and languages

Following independence in 1965, Singapore rapidly industrialised and urbanised, fuelling the growth of fine-art education and commercial design.

Through artist-focused clusters and individual creations, the section explores the adventurous spirit that underpinned the artists’ practices, as they moved between abstraction and figuration, and the intersections of art with disciplines like literature, illustration and graphic design.

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Challenging artistic conventions

From the 1980s to the 2000s, Singapore’s cultural scene grew increasingly dynamic, as artists organised their own spaces and events beyond official institutions. These artist-led platforms sparked discussions on alternative art, performances, installations and interdisciplinary collaborations across theatre and the visual arts.

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Dalam Singapore

Dalam Singapore presents a series of focused exhibitions that seek to reinvigorate and deepen understanding of Singapore’s artists and art through new research, insightful curation and engaging programming.

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Let’s Chat Further (2025) and Retired Singirl (2025--)

At the centre of City Hall Wing, Level 2 is a space featuring newly commissioned artworks by award-winning Singaporean artist Amanda Heng. In Heng’s Let’s Chat Further (2025) and Retired Singirl (2025–), visitors can drop in and engage in a series of conversations that interrogate Singapore’s art history, identity and how people, rather than national policy, form collective identities.

Exhibition Materials

Gallery 1

Exhibition content (English)

First visit?

Artwork of the day

Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours in Art

Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours in Art

Featured artworks

Exhibition Materials

Gallery 1

Gallery 2

Gallery 3

Exhibition Brochure

Access Advisory

Gallery 1

Gallery 2

Gallery 3

Exhibition Brochure

Access Advisory

Ways to experience this exhibition

Acknowledgements

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