Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century

“Siapa Nama Kamu?” means “What is your name?” in Malay. The inaugural exhibition of the DBS Singapore Gallery poses this question, inviting visitors to consider how art may relate to issues of self and community, and what it means to look at Singapore through its history of art.

An important platform for studying and presenting the cultural and aesthetic identity of Singapore from the colonial period to present day, the permanent exhibition starts from the 19th century and traces how local and regional contexts, international influences and individual creativity shaped and transformed the development of Singapore art. Highlighted in the display are multiple facets of Singapore art, derived from the interweaving of diverse cultural values and expressions, fluid exchange of ideas, and continuous experimentation by local artists.

The curatorial narrative explores six themes placed in a broadly chronological sequence, each one examining a key phase in the history of art in Singapore: Tropical Tapestry, Nanyang Reverie, Real Concerns, New Languages and Shifting Grounds; there is also a special section Tradition Unfettered  that surveys the Chinese ink movement from the 1940s onwards.