What to See at Art Remembers Before It Closes

Summary

• Art Remembers features artworks centred on Southeast Asia, including new commissions and National Collection works
• Where is Art Remembers held? The exhibition is currently held at National Gallery Singapore, City Hall Wing, Level 3, Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery 1 and City Hall Chamber
• Dates: Runs from 21 August to 18 October 2026
• Is Art Remembers free? A General Admission ticket is required; free for Singaporeans, Permanent Residents, and Gallery Insiders
• Featured artists: Robert Zhao Renhui, Krack!, Josh Kline, Vanghoua Anthony Vue, and Stephanie Syjuco
• Curator tour: 9 October 2026, led by curators Lisa Horikawa and Seng Yu Jin – book here 

Art Remembers is an exhibition in Singapore that brings together artworks centring on Southeast Asia, curated in response to archives: the official records, personal photographs, mass media images, and even traces in nature that shape how we understand our past.

If you have a couple of hours to spare on your day off, or if you're visiting Singapore for a couple of days, the exhibition offers an accessible way to discover how contemporary artists tell stories of overlooked histories and forgotten lived experiences.

What is Art Remembers about?

Art Remembers features new commissions alongside pieces from the National Collection. The artists draw on personal memories, historical records, and archival material to offer alternative readings of the region's past. 

At the same time, the show highlights how artists use technology, from algorithmic systems to digital collage, to imagine the archive of the future as something alive rather than static. This pairing of past and future makes the show a thought-provoking exhibition in Singapore.

From newly commissioned works to reworked archival materials and technology-driven installations, here is what to look out for.

Fading Marks by Vanghoua Anthony Vue

Lining the main corridor of the exhibition are the works of Hmong Australian artist Vanghoua Anthony Vue, whose artwork looks at a lesser-known chapter of the Vietnam War. His paintings depict grainy archival images from a television documentary, merged with his own childhood memories, giving the work a fleeting, ambiguous quality that mirrors the nature of memory itself. In this way, Vue's practice becomes an empowering means of documenting histories often absent from official archives and public consciousness.

Mendjelang Hari Gemilang (Towards a Glory Day) and Tanah Impian (Dream Land) by Krack!

Head for one of the large open spaces in the exhibition, where Yogyakarta-based printmaking collective Krack! presents Mendjelang Hari Gemilang (Towards a Glory Day) and Tanah Impian (Dream Land) in an eye-catching display. Striking red walls, prints covering the walls, and more prints hanging overhead make the installations hard to miss.

Mendjelang Hari Gemilang (Towards a Glory Day) is an immersive mural built from archives and imagery tied to the Japanese Occupation of Indonesia during World War II, with pages from a Japanese-sponsored propaganda magazine affixed across an octopus's tentacles. Alongside it, Tanah Impian (Dream Land) draws on 100 years of Indonesian popular culture, from political propaganda and advertisements to comic strips, movie posters, and magazines; from a mass of research and archival material, reconstructed to reflect the Indonesian Dream and the changing definitions of "nation."

Want to know more about any of the prints on display? This installation has you covered – handy printouts can be found along the sides of the exhibition space.

The Fish Does Not Know the War is Over by Robert Zhao Renhui

There's history behind the humble tilapia, and Robert Zhao Renhui's video installation traces it from wartime Singapore to postwar Taiwan. Introduced to Singapore during the Japanese Occupation as a reliable food source, the fish went on to become one of Taiwan's most prized commodities, while it still swims wild through Singapore's canals and reservoirs today.

Told from the tilapia's imagined point of view, the work uses archival research, film, and images to explore migration, belonging, and what it means to naturalise, showing how even the natural environment can hold onto the legacies of war and empire. Sit and stay a while to watch the films unfold; the full story rewards a slower look.

Block Out the Sun by Stephanie Syjuco

Displayed on a long table is Block Out the Sun by Stephanie Syjuco. In 1904, over 1,200 Filipino people were brought to the United States and displayed at the St Louis World's Fair in a faux village that the artist has described as a living "human zoo." Working from photographs of the fair, the artist obscures the faces of the people on display with her hands and re-photographs the images – thwarting our ability to see their faces, she gives back a measure of privacy and dignity to people who were put on show without either.

Powdered iPhone by Josh Kline

As you make your way out of the exhibition, take a moment with this one. Josh Kline, a Filipino American artist, made this work during a residency at Singapore Tyler Print Institute. For the work, iPhones – devices we use every day to record our lives – are pulverised and turned into paper. It is installed alongside another of Kline's works, a wallpaper installation that envelops the entire space with photographs of sakura blossoms set against the futuristic architecture of Gardens by the Bay.

Tips for your visit

Art Remembers – Curator Tour

To get the most out of this exhibition, consider joining the curator tour on 9 October 2026, where you'll get to hear directly from exhibition curators, Lisa Horikawa and Seng Yu Jin, and learn about the research and ideas behind the works. Spots are limited.

Book your spot here

Making the Most of Your Visit

If you're visiting on your own, take your time to move through the space. The exhibition itself is spread across several sections, and it's worth giving yourself at least an hour to experience it all without feeling too rushed.

Since you'll already be at the Gallery, make a day of it. Art Remembers is one of several reasons to visit this art museum in Singapore, and it's easily paired with the rest of the Gallery's collection and ongoing exhibitions. Round off your visit with a meal or a wander through the building (and enjoy the air-conditioning amidst the sweltering Singaporean heat).

See What’s On at the Gallery

Become a Gallery Insider

If you find yourself coming to the Gallery often, whether to work at a cafe, catch up with friends over coffee, or return for an exhibition, becoming a Gallery Insider member turns every visit into something a little easier and a little more rewarding: unlimited access to every exhibition; first dibs on daily tours, before spots fill up; two hours of free parking; and discounts of up to 20% across selected dining, programmes, and shopping.

Become a Gallery Insider

Plan your visit

Art Remembers runs until 18 October 2026 at National Gallery Singapore. A General Admission ticket is required, and entry is free for Singaporeans, Permanent Residents, and Gallery Insiders.

Whether you are a local looking for your next weekend outing or a visitor exploring the best of the museums in Singapore, this exhibition is well worth a place on your list.