Art Places from the Singapore Art Archive Project
Koh Nguang How
9/8/2019 – 9/9/2019
Opening: Friday, 9 August 2019 at 19:00
Opening Hours
Tuesday - Friday, 16:00 - 18:00
Address: The Boxing Club, Rr. Mark Isaku 8, 10000 Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo
Stacion - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina is pleased to present the exhibition "Art Places from the Singapore Art Archive Project” by Koh Nguang How.
The Singapore Art Archive Project (SAAP) is a site-specific work-in-progress, first conceptualized in 1999 at the home of Koh Nguang How and only given its name in 2005 at p-10 (artist-run space). As the term “archive” usually refers to a place or institution and “archives” would be the materials in its collection, therefore the SAAP pretends/acts as an archive related to art in Singapore and its wider international connections
Based on working in the National Museum of Singapore in the late 1980s, Koh encountered many artists who were also “collectors” and “archivists” of art ephemera. Artists also have large volume of their own art works, personal records and items related to their practice or interests. However, not every artist would have a place in the history of their own countries or national collections. In reality, many artists do not care very much to be part of the official art histories or collections but most of them do. However, many artists and their family members waited too long to organize their “collections”, some of the knowledge were lost when the collectors (artists) and inheritors left us without making the materials with better or proper identification.
The Singapore Art Archive Project (SAAP) deals with the lack of a proper art archive in Singapore. The SAAP also served the needs of people searching for reference materials when it is not on tour or exhibitions.
The collection for Singapore Art Archive Project began with newspaper cuttings (English & Chinese) when Koh was a student in junior college in 1980 that were required for study purpose. Koh was also doing art as a subject, so naturally his focus was more on art related articles. Koh continues to collect, document and archive developments till this day.
Koh Nguang How was born in Singapore, in 1963. He worked with the National Museum Art Gallery as curatorial assistant from Oct 1985 to Jan 1992, which provided him with a learning environment about the art world. His artistic practice started in 1988 and encompasses photography, collage, installation, performance, documentation, archiving and curating. He is associated with the art collective The Artists Village since its inception in late 1988, where he also documented many of its artists and activities. He started to exhibit art archives from 1992 in “Performance Week” at Gallery 21, Singapore; next in 2004 in “ERRATA: Page 71, Plate 47. Image caption. Change Year: 1950 to Year: 1959; Reported September 2004 by Koh Nguang How” at p-10, Singapore. He initiated his “Singapore Art Archive Project” (SAAP) in 2005; subsequently presented various thematic works and exhibitions under the SAAP.
He presented 30 years of newspaper cuttings in a work “Artists in the News” during the 3rd Singapore Biennale in 2011. He created four exhibitions under the project “Singapore Art Archive Project @ Centre for Contemporary Art” during his residency at the inaugural NTU CCA Residencies at Gillman Barracks in 2014/2015. He presented “Singapore Art Archive Project” in the Inaugural International Exchange Program, Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, S. Korea, in 2015/2016. He presented the “TAV Archives” in “SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now” at the National Art Center, Tokyo and Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in 2017.
Art Places from the Singapore Art Archive Project with Koh Nguang How is part of the Public Program of Summer School as School 2019, supported by the National Arts Council Singapore.
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