Ahmad Mashadi
Senior Curator, Singapore Art
Museum (Singapore)
Born in Singapore in 1966. Graduated from Singapore National University in
Economics and joined Singapore Art Museum as curator of its inaugural exhibition
in 1996. Curatorial projects include “SENI Singapore 2004,” 49th Venice Biennale
(2001), and 26th Sao Paulo Biennial (2004). Specializes in contemporary art in
Southeast Asia. Lives in Singapore.
Singapore Biennale 2006
Curatorial Team: Ahmad MASHADI (SAM/NHB, Singapore)
Ahmad Mashadi is currently Senior Curator at Singapore Art Museum. He was
coordinating curator for Home Fronts, a component within the recent SENI
Singapore 2004, an international contemporary visual arts festival of Southeast
Asian and Asian art, featuring over 90 artists from 14 countries and regions. He
was also vice-chairman of the curatorial committee for Nokia Singapore Art 2001,
a biennial exhibition series developed since 1999, aimed at displaying the
latest contemporary art developments in Singapore. He has curated many
exhibitions, including Landscapes in Southeast Asian Art, Visions and
Enchantment, and Trimurti. He also curated Singapores first participation in the
49th Venice Biennale in 2001 as well as the Singapore representation in the
recent 26th Sao Paolo Biennial in 2004 and 10th Indian Triennale in 2000.
Art in the city (2001)
Source: Sharon M Tan
Originally published at GetAsia.sg
From now till February 3, the city of Singapore is one big art gallery, thanks
to the initiatives of the biennial Nokia Singapore Art 2001 (NSA01).
Sponsored by Nokia for the second time running, and jointly organised by the
National Arts Council and the Singapore Art Museum, Nokia Singapore Art is meant
to be a national showcase for the best Singapore's visual arts.
"This year's theme of Histories/Identities/Technologies/Spaces: Singapore Art
Today is aimed at getting people excited about the notions of history," said
Ahmad Mashadi, the senior curator of programmes at Singapore Art Museum, "and we
are also introducing CyberArts for the first time in NSA."
The festival hopes to have a broad reach across the various art disciplines,
but, in essence, it still serves to express, to question and to share.
Collaboration is also a major player, where artists work together with the free
exchange of ideas.
Said Koh Pek Hoon, deputy director of corporate communications with NAC: "Beyond
the main exhibition venues, we try to make it an 'in conjunction' type thing. We
try to incorporate or include what others are doing, like when they have already
planned their own events that fits in with our theme, we'll ask them to join
us."
The main exhibition will feature 141 works by 133 artists, and will be spread
across four main venues - Singapore Art Museum, MITA ARTrium, Singapore
Calligraphy Centre and Sculpture Square. Everything else will come under
'Affiliate and In-Conjunction Exhibitions'.
A section of the Singapore Art Museum is dedicated to CyberArts. "This is the
first time we are doing this and we are interested to see how we can sustain
such a feature," said senior curator Ahmad Mashadi. The works for the CyberArts
section were selected based on two criteria - how it explores virtual space and
virtual action.
One upper gallery at SAM has been converted into a LAN gaming station loaded
with the popular game Counterstrike, with one difference. This version of the
game incorporates urban Singapore landscapes such as HDB estates and void decks.
The Affiliate Exhibitions can be found in various art institutions as well as
outdoor spaces. You can find Deriving Spaces in a section of Chinatown,
specifically around the vicinity of Plastique Kinetic Worms on South Bridge
Road. Curated by Vincent Leow and Lim Kok Boon, it's an exhibition of art
installations and photographs. The other affiliate art spaces are at Nanyang
Academy of Fine Arts, City Hall Chambers, Alliance Francaise and Ying Fo Fui
Kuan on Telok Ayer Street.
The In-Conjunction Exhibitions can be found at numerous commercial art galleries
around the city, such as Earl Lu Gallery on Goodman Road, Artfolio at Raffles
Hotel, Bhaskar's Art Gallery on Campbell Lane, as well as at the gallery spaces
of Hotel Gallery Evason on Robertson Quay.
Each weekend, starting December 15, there will be a series of talks and forums
at the Singapore Art Museum and Sculpture Square. Covering a variety of
subjects, from Chinese calligraphy to contemporary art practices, from video
presentation to Chinese seal carving, these are free and open to the public.
Nokia Singapore Art 2001 is on till February 3, 2002. The main exhibition is
hosted in gallery spaces at the Singapore Art Museum, MITA ARTrium, Singapore
Calligraphy Centre and Sculpture Square, as well as selected outdoor spaces
within the city.
"Asian Art: Prospects for the Future"
International Symposium 1999
The purpose of this international symposium is to make an overall assessment of
the situation in Asian art at the end of the 20th century and discuss its
prospects in the 21st century within the increasingly globalizing international
art scene, based upon the results of exhibitions of Asian art that have been
held in Japan and overseas. A total of 18 people from ten countries (Australia,
China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Sweden, and
Thailand) will serve as panelists, and it is hoped that they will carry out
lively discussions from a broad variety of angles. We sincerely hope that you
will all come and participate in this perfect opportunity for reconsidering the
contemporary art of Asia in 1999.
August 20 (Fri.), 1999
[ Session One ] 10:00-13:10
Discussion: "Examining Asian Contemporary Art in the '90s, Part 1: Regional
Reports"
[ Session Two ] 14:30-17:30
Discussion: "Examining Asian Contemporary Art in the '90s, Part 2: Perspectives
of the Presenters"
August 21 (Sat), 1999
[ Session 3 ] 14:00-17:00
General Debate:"In a Global Context: Asian Art in the 21st Century"
Panelists:
Australia:
Thana Devenport
China:
Leng Lin
India:
Ranjit Hoskote
Indonesia:
Jim Supangkat
Japan:
Akiko Miki, Tsutomu Mizusawa, Hideki Nakamura, Fumio Nanjo, and Akira Tatehata
Korea:
Seo Seongrok
Malaysia:
Niranjan Rajah
Singapore:
Ahmad Mashadi
Sweden:
David Elliott
Thailand:
Apinan Poshyananda
Venue:
The Japan Foundation Forum
Admission:
Free of Charge (Capacity: 150 people)
Reservation Method:
Send you name, address, telephone/fax number, position, and birth date by fax or
post.
Reservation Deadline:
August 12 ( Thu.), 1999
Note: Japanese-English simultaneous translation provided.