In an age of smartphone schedules, pop-up reminders and Facebook timelines, a hanging wall calendar might strike us as something preciously outmoded. There is nothing sentimental, however, about the 36 wall calendars recently presented by the Chinese artist Song Dong at Hong Kong’s ArtisTree arts venue.
The third edition of Art Stage Singapore (January 24–27) coincided with Singapore Art Week and the first “public showcase” of the Centre for Contemporary Art at Gillman Barracks prior to its long-awaited opening later in the year. January thus became a merry onslaught of openings, special exhibits, artist talks and performances across the island-city.
The recently held Art Camp (12/25-30) was curated by artists Satadru Savon Bhanduri and Shawon Akand, who invited 30 artists from five South Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka) to participate. The five-day long residency was held in the village of Rahimpur in Kushtia (a south-western district of Bangladesh).
Housed on one floor of an imposing 1970s industrial building, the Remex Centre, are the immaculate white interiors of Spring Workshop, the brain child of its dynamic founder and director Mimi Brown. With four working studios and two (currently rather dusty) terraces, and a total of 1,350 square meters, Spring had its soft opening in December 2011, since when its program has slowly gathered pace.
Don’t let the size fool you. Ai Weiwei’s “little black book” will leave a lasting impression. Weiwei-isms is a volume of truisms by one of the most significant albeit, controversial artists practicing today.
