{"id":5533,"date":"2019-12-09T23:26:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T15:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tembusu.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/?p=5533"},"modified":"2025-09-25T12:39:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T04:39:22","slug":"accidental-director-the-uncurated-life-of-eugene-tan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/2019\/12\/accidental-director-the-uncurated-life-of-eugene-tan\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Accidental Director’: The Uncurated Life of Eugene Tan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eugene Tan is the director of National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum. He led the recent flurry of blockbuster exhibitions in Singapore such as Yayoi Kusama\u2019s <\/em>Life is the Heart of a Rainbow, Minimalism: Space. Light. Object., and <\/em>Century of Light which featured the original impressionist masterpieces from Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay and masterpieces by Raden Saleh and Juan Luna. He has also enabled the partnership of National Gallery Singapore with iconic institutions such as The Centre Pompidou and Tate. Hannah Soh interviews the director for Tembusu\u2019s Inaugural Dinner for Academic Year 2019\/2020.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\nknow you manage the National Gallery, and now the Singapore Art Museum. Can you\ntell us more about the job?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, where do I start? [both laugh]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, it is a real honour and privilege\nto be leading two of Singapore\u2019s art museums. I guess the reason why I was\nasked to head both was to try to ensure that the two museums work closely to\nserve our stakeholders and the public. I know it sounds kind of strange, but I\nthink for whatever reasons the two institutions have not been working well\ntogether in the past. The National Gallery is the newer of the two; it opened\nin 2015. It\u2019s remit is really to look at the history of art, to historicise the\ndevelopment of art in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Its focus in its collection\nis to document the emergence and development of modern art in Singapore and\nSoutheast Asia from the 19th<\/sup> Century to the present day. Whereas\nSingapore Art Museum, SAM, is a contemporary art museum. Its role is to look at\nartistic production today, the kinds of art that is being made today, and what does\nit tell us about society today and the relationship between art and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to create a synergy\nbetween the two with each being very clear about what their remits are and what\ntheir areas of focus should be. This doesn\u2019t mean they cannot do exhibitions or\nprograms that cross into each other\u2019s areas as long as each museum is very\nclear about its area of focus. But I guess this confusion has arisen in the\npast because of the term \u2018contemporary\u2019. The \u2018contemporary\u2019 in art is something\nquite complex because it is both a historical term, denoting a specific period\nin the development of art, as well as an adjective referring to the art of the\npresent. For SAM to focus on the contemporary in all its various aspects, being\na much smaller institution than the National Gallery, I suspect it is just not\nfeasible, hence the decision for SAM to just focus on the art of the present,\nwhereas the National Gallery looks at the history of art, which includes contemporary\nas a historical development as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right\nnow, the SAM is closed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we just closed to do a major\nrenovation. It\u2019s a very exciting time. We will only reopen in three to four\nyears\u2019 time. The current buildings are quite constraining for a contemporary\nart museum because it occupies two premises\u2014two former schools\u2014neither of which\nare very suitable for contemporary art. So the new renovation will add additional\nstructures which will link the two buildings and create spaces that are more\nsuitable for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nremember it being quite confusing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I think all historical\nbuildings have this problem. National Gallery faces this problem too. Because\nit was not built as a museum, it is not built for this purpose, so having to\nadapt it will lead to these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides\nstructural changes, will there be other significant changes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because SAM is closed for the next few\nyears, it is also a time to rethink the institution, so changes will come\nabout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nsomeone wanted to be in your position, what advice would you give them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[laughter]\n<\/em>I must say that I\nthink of myself as an accidental director. Because my journey in art was\u2014well, if\nI explain that then I will explain what I am trying to say. My first degree had\nnothing to do with art. It was economics and politics. I was studying in London\nat that time. It was because I was in London that there were all these museums,\ngalleries, and I started going to art exhibitions. That\u2019s how I became interested\nin art. So I studied art history only in my masters and [then subsequently my]\nPhD. And that is really how I got into art and art history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did art history against the wishes\nof my parents, you know. [both laugh]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially\nfrom economics, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, yes. And my dad was in banking.\nHe was very much against it. Luckily, my mom was very supportive. But I was\njust really interested in it; I wanted to pursue it. I had no idea where it\nwould lead me, I must say. This interest led to the PhD, and even when I\nfinished the PhD, I had no idea what I wanted to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess I was lucky because when I\ncame back to Singapore there wasn\u2019t as much going on as we have now, so there\nwere a lot more opportunities, I got a job in the arts, and I slowly developed,\nI guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nwas your first job in the arts in Singapore?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was at the LaSalle College of the\nArts as director of the Earl Lu gallery which is now the ICA [Institute of\nContemporary Arts]. It was a small centre but I was curating a lot of shows\nthere. So one thing led to another and I was then asked to take on this\nposition at the National Gallery, which I kind of felt was my responsibility to\ndo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That explains what I mean by being\nan \u2018accidental director\u2019. I never set out to be a director of a museum, but it\nwas through my interest and desire to improve the arts scene in Singapore that\nI was led to this position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing\nthen and now, what do you think of the arts scene in Singapore? How has it\nchanged?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think for young people like\nyourself, there is now so much going on here. I have trouble keeping up with\nall the exhibitions. Apart from all the museum spaces, there are all these\nindependent art spaces that are opening and doing really interesting shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art now has a very vibrant feel.\nEven when I returned to Singapore, the circle was still very small. In fact, I\nknew Margaret [Dr. Margaret Tan, Senior Lecturer and Director of Programmes in\nTembusu College] because she was at LaSalle at that time as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was\nDr. Margaret teaching?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, I think she was teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there\u2019s a lot more going on now,\nbut that means there\u2019s a lot more people working in the arts, so I suppose\nthere are less opportunities, right?\u2014as compared to when I was starting out my\ncareer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I think it is good that there\nare so many young people interested in the arts. I think this is important\nbecause it is only through this that the arts becomes much more important to\nsociety. Not necessarily more people being artists, curators, or critics but\njust being advocates and understanding why art is important for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nwas personally in SOTA for a few years, in visual arts. After SOTA, many of us\ndidn\u2019t do art anymore, mainly because of the stereotype that you don\u2019t earn\nmuch from art. Do you think there are enough opportunities, especially after one\ngets an arts diploma or degree?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think so. I think the whole\necology is much more fully developed than it was when I was starting out. Apart\nfrom the museums, you have all the independent art spaces, the non-profit\nspaces\u2014like the CCAs and the ICAs \n[Centres and Institutes for Contemporary Arts]\u2014but also the commercial\nsector, all the galleries\u2014for example, the Gillman Barracks\u2014art fairs\u2014I know\nthere have been some high-profile art fairs that have left, but some are coming\nin as well. So I think the whole ecology is there. Once we get the ecology\ncomplete, the arts scene will grow from strength to strength; more and more\nopportunities and jobs created in the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How\ndoes it compare to the London arts scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was doing my masters and my\nPhD, London was going through this vibrant period. It was the time of the\nYBAs\u2014the Young British Artists\u2014with Damien Hirst and all his friends who\ngraduated from Goldsmiths. So at that time London was the centre of the art\nworld. I think Singapore has that kind of potential, firstly, to be the centre\nof art for the region, a place where artists, curators, and collectors all\ncongregate. It\u2019s this kind of exchange of ideas that makes an arts scene\ntriumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s\nquite hopeful.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So are you back in art now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorry.\n[both laugh] <\/em>After finishing SOTA I\ndecided to pursue other interests as well. I\u2019m doing sociology now.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know, we have art history in NUS\nnow. It is a program we started with National Gallery [Singapore] and the History\ndepartment [in NUS]. A few of the curators and I teach some of the courses. I\nteach the contemporary art course as well as a bit on Time Traveller: The Curatorial in Southeast Asia<\/em> [AH3202].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nare some topics you discuss?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On contemporary art, we look at\ncontemporary art as a historical and ongoing development in art. So it looks at\nthe juncture between the modern and the postmodern which became the basis of\ncontemporary art. It starts by looking at Pop Art, then Conceptual Art and\nMinimalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For curation, you will get a sense\nof history of the development and evolution of exhibitions, and how\nspecifically in Southeast Asia, some of the exhibitions connects with modernist\nhistories as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are thinking about it, you\nshould do some of these courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are\nthere any upcoming projects you would like to share with us?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have the Singapore Biennale that\nis going to open in November which is going to be pretty exciting. It\u2019s\norganized by SAM, but because SAM is undergoing renovation, it is going to be\nheld at the National Gallery this time. The National Gallery is one of the main\nvenues, along with Gillman Barracks and a few other venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The artistic director is Patrick\nFlores. He\u2019s a great friend and a great curator. So I\u2019m looking forward to the Singapore\nBiennale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This article is part of a series of interviews of Singapore’s cultural icons who were guests for Tembusu’s Inaugural Dinner for Academic Year 2019\/2020. See the other interviews here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Header and Feature Image Photo Credit: National Gallery Singapore<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the interviewer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Soh is a Year 2 NUS student whose bio will be submitted soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hannah Soh interviews the director of the National Gallery Singapore and the Singapore Art Museum for Tembusu\u2019s Inaugural Dinner for Academic Year 2019\/2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":5593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","publication_type-interview","theme-arts","theme-society","scope-singapore","flavour-informative","flavour-inspiring"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5533"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5624,"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533\/revisions\/5624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tembusu3.nus.edu.sg\/treehouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}