Key NY art post for Singaporean

Key NY art post for Singaporean

Former Singapore Art Museum director Tan Boon Hui has been appointed to head a key New York art institution known for advancing knowledge of Asian art globally.

He has been appointed director of the Asia Society Museum as well as its vice-president for Global Arts and Cultural Programs. He will lead the non-profit organisation's global arts and cultural activities and oversee its art collections.

Currently assistant chief executive for museums and programmes at the National Heritage Board here, the 45-year-old Singaporean starts his New York-based role in December. More than 100 candidates were interviewed for this job.

Founded in 1956 by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller III, the Asia Society is devoted to promoting a deeper understanding between Asia and the United States. It has 11 centres and affiliate offices in the US and Asia. Its New York museum presents several shows a year, the most recent being Myanmar's Moment, a series of programmes built around its ground-breaking museum exhibition Buddhist Art of Myanmar.

Mr Tan hopes to leverage on his strong connections in Asia and present projects and artists to represent "the global shift" in Asian art.

On his appointment, he says: "This is hugely exciting. This is the moment for Asian art and Asian artists to enter the narrative of global art history. I feel strongly about Asian art, having spent many years of my life understanding, studying and promoting it.

"When you look at global art history, we came in much later. But now, in every cultural capital of the world, there is an openness towards Asia."

Calling him "one of Asia's leading talents", Asia Society president Josette Sheeran says: "He brings a unique blend of vision and creative leadership to our powerful footprint, built over 60 years, in Asian arts and culture."

The National Heritage Board says "an internal replacement will be made" to cover Mr Tan's role. Its chief executive Rosa Daniel adds: "We are very proud of his appointment. It is encouraging that Singapore's arts and cultural development is advancing in the right direction. Our people are increasingly recognised for their curatorship and ability to see things with an Asian yet international lens."

Mr Tan was one of the project directors of the 2013 Singapore Biennale which went big on South- east Asian art and won nods for presenting art with a strong regional perspective. Most recently, he led the highly successful Singapour en France festival that ran from March to June. It featured the best of Singapore contemporary arts, culture and heritage in French cities, including Paris, Lyon, Lille and Nantes.

The only child of a retired bus driver father and a housewife mother, Mr Tan has never felt that the lack of an art or art history degree was a handicap to his career in the museums.

After graduating from the National University of Singapore with a master's degree in geography, he worked as an editor at publishing house Editions Didier Millet, where he selected and commissioned writers for an illustrated Indonesian Heritage series which got him interested in the arts.

He joined the Asian Civilisations Museum as an assistant curator in 1997. With a strong knowledge of South-east Asian geography and history, he worked on well- received exhibitions such as one on Peranakan jewellery in 2001. He worked his way up to leadership positions in museums here, including deputy director of programmes at the National Museum of Singapore.

Singapore performance artist Lee Wen said he was grateful to Mr Tan for "helping to legitimise performing arts during those difficult years for performance art in Singapore in the 1990s".

He says Mr Tan helped to steer the Singapore Art Museum towards greater openness, bolder forms of contemporary art and recognising home-grown contemporary artists. He pushed for survey shows of Singapore artists, including Lee, Amanda Heng and Vincent Leow.

Lee adds: "While some people may criticise him for his lack of art knowledge, as an arts administrator, I have found him to be a risktaker. Importantly, he is willing to listen to artists on the periphery. As a bureaucrat he sticks his neck out and has his heart in the right place."

This latest appointment comes as a boost for Singapore's art administrators as more take on leading positions in global institutions.

Former Singapore Art Museum curator and artist Khairuddin Hori, 40, is now deputy programming director at the reputed Palais de Tokyo, a Paris institution that is one of the world's foremost contemporary art centres. Former Singapore Arts Festival and Singapore Biennale general manager Low Kee Hong, 44, is head of Artistic Development (Theatre) at Hong Kong's new arts hub, the West Kowloon Cultural District.


This article was first published on Aug 26, 2015.
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