The Singapore Biennale is back for 2025, and they have an ambitious goal—they want to reframe the lens through which you view the city. Featuring over 80 artists and 100 pieces of artwork, the 2025 Singapore Biennale is a grand undertaking that delves into the city’s history, diverse population, and urban development, all while refusing to limit itself to museum halls.
The Singapore Biennale has never been a typical art festival, but this year’s edition redefines limits in its range. Artworks range from monumental sculptures made of defused ordnance to interactive karaoke installations in shopping malls, all anchored in the theme of pure intention. “It demonstrates how art reframes the everyday, inviting us to reconsider the people, spaces, and layered histories that shape who we are, both individually and as a society,” the Biennale’s curators explain. Expect to encounter installations in historic estates, shopping centres, hawker centres, public parks, and more—read on for GRAZIA Singapore’s guide to how to make the most of this boundary-pushing artistic event.
Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) serves as one of the key sites for the Biennale, and is the only one that requires tickets to access, but it’s a worthy purchase. As SAM has been the curator of the Biennale since 2011, their talks and workshops offer a chance to hear firsthand from the artists behind the exhibitions and glean important context about the works on display. Across the Biennale’s opening weekend, SAM will host talks with artists Fiona Amundsen and Gabriella Holder, an outdoor performance activation at the Former Raffles Girls’ School, and a workshop on the mimeograph, a portable printing machine. SAM will also host exhibitions for the duration of the Biennale—these include Offspring, a smoke and mirror installation that appears different for each viewer, and Figures, a series of artworks tracing Indonesian history.
Singapore Art Museum is located at 39 Keppel Road, #01-02 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore 089065. Information about SAM’s Singapore Biennale opening weekend line-up can be found here.
Asian Film Archive
As one of the Biennale’s curatorial contributors, the Asian Film Archive presents Matter Matters, a visual art exhibition shining a light on lost or hidden stories surrounding Asian cinema. With this exhibition, the AFA’s contributors act as archaeologists of film, dusting off fragments of forgotten cinematic history and arranging them into a narrative. The works on display range from a semi-fictional film about Singapore’s first female filmmaker to a virtual reality installation drawing links between Southeast Asian cave art and modern cinema. Aside from this free exhibition, keep an eye out for an AFA film program next March in partnership with an Indonesian cultural collective.
Matter Matters will run from 31 October 2025 to 31 January 2026 at Oldham Theatre, 1 Canning Rise, Singapore 179868.
Civic District
A central part of the Singapore Biennale’s mission this year is to prompt us to reexamine the city’s public spaces and rapid urban development. The Civic District, as the historic seat of Singapore’s colonial government and home to the world’s largest collection of modern art at the National Gallery, offers the perfect backdrop for this reflection. You can expect to see a number of bold art installations scattered across the area in the coming months. Colombian artist Gala Porras-Kim has created installations featuring poems from migrant workers emblazoned on colourful sheets, and at the historic Fort Gate, Kapwani Kiwanga has created a floral arch commemorating Rwandan independence. On the roof of the National Gallery, Vietnamese-American artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen has forged a monumental sculpture of defused unexploded ordnance found in central Vietnam. Take the opportunity in the coming months to delve into these artworks and see Singapore’s streets in a new light.
National Gallery Singapore is located at 1 St. Andrew’s Road, Singapore 178957. Fort Gate is located at 20 Raffles Avenue, Singapore 039805.
Rail Corridor Area
The Biennale hasn’t limited its artistic endeavours to the Civic District—the Rail Corridor is another Singapore neighbourhood that is rich with history and rife with narratives to be examined and unpacked. In the past, the Rail Corridor acted as a major transportation channel between Singapore and the Malay Peninsula, making it the backdrop for a significant part of the city’s development. Its current iteration is far quieter, but no less significant, serving as a wildlife passageway and green recreational space for the public. The Biennale aims to delve into the meaning of this transformation, presenting three striking open-air installations in the Rail Corridor and the neighbourhoods adjacent to it. From a kinetic display featuring scrolled theatre backdrops to an immersive performance at the Tanglin Halt Market, the artworks presented by the Biennale unpack history, movement, and discovery. While you’re in the area, you can also explore Singapore Deviations, another outdoor installation series presented by SAM, which runs until 2027.
Singapore Biennale 2025 installations can be found at various locations along the Rail Corridor. Information about accessing the Rail Corridor can be found here.
Strata Malls
Perhaps the most unexpected backdrop to the Singapore Biennale comes in the form of strata-titled malls. You might not assume Lucky Plaza and Far East Shopping Centre have as much historical significance as the National Gallery, but in doing so, you’d be missing a key part of Singapore’s urban fabric. “The unique ownership structures [of these malls] have enabled immigrant entrepreneurs and niche communities to flourish, preserving vital pockets of social diversity in the face of the city-state’s growth,” the Biennale’s curators explain. In Lucky Plaza, Filipino artist Eisa Jocson has collaborated with domestic helpers in Singapore to create an interactive karaoke installation where you’re encouraged to sing along. At Far East Shopping Centre, Sri Lankan collective The Packet has created a pop-up internet café exploring digital artworks. These installations are playful tributes to often overlooked facets of Singapore’s diverse urban landscape, and are a perfect example of how the Singapore Biennale 2025 prompts us to take a closer look at the city we know and love.
Lucky Plaza is located at 304 Orchard Road, Singapore 238863. Far East Shopping Centre is located at 545 Orchard Road, Singapore 238882.
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