To Hold Humanity: Art SG and The Humane Agency
Within the increasingly layered and cosmopolitan landscape of Singapore Art Week (SAW), art functions not merely as a visual object or cultural commodity, but as a meeting point: a space of encounter where ideas, experiences, and differences can be collectively negotiated. This role becomes especially significant with the first-time presentation of S.E.A. Focus at ART SG, a strategic collaboration that marks a new chapter for the platform while expanding the field of dialogue surrounding Southeast Asian contemporary art – towards a broader global context. By integrating S.E.A. Focus into one of the region’s leading international art fairs, Singapore further reinforces its position as a cultural node that brings regional practices into conversation with international audiences, collectors, and discourses.
Together with ART SG, S.E.A. Focus operates as one of the key pillars of SAW as a site of convergence between art, market, and critical discourse. Here, art is positioned as a shared language that enables dialogue across (cultural, geographic, ideological, generational) boundaries; further strengthening the promised cosmopolitan agenda of SAW. In response to the fragmentation caused by global uncertainty, SEA focus positions art as a make-shift “solution”, and offers the possibility of pause: to slow down pace-and-perception, to open onself towards reflection, and to invite human connection. Their treatment of art is adjacent to the abstraction of a White Cube/Space, as contexts are diluted and aesthetics become objects/subjects of focus.
This narrative is explored through the curatorial theme of The Humane Agency, curated by John Tung with artistic consultation by Emi Eu, Executive Director of STPI. Rather than positioning artists as distant observers, the theme foregrounds the artist as an active agent of their respective realities. Their art spotlights their compassion, sensitivity, and ethical responsibility as “assets”, in response to the machine-generated narratives that increasingly circulate, or dominate, our world. The Humane Agency proposes that artistic practice holds the capacity to remain rooted in our humanity, where art becomes containers of articulating how we feel, understand, and respond to the world.
Within this curatorial framework, the works presented are not merely intended to “represent” issues, but they establish them as topics to be discussed; creating emotional and intellectual meeting points between artists and audiences. Art becomes a medium to connect personal experience with collective conditions, and allows complexity to surface without simplifying the realities at hand. By bringing together practices from both established and emerging artists, S.E.A. Focus 2026 constructs a narrative that is diverse, non-linear, and intersecting, ultimately reflecting the dynamism of Southeast Asia itself.
As a meeting point within the broader ecosystem of SAW, S.E.A. Focus at ART SG also underscores the importance of cross-sector collaboration between curators, galleries, institutions, and the art market, in building a sustainable arts ecosystem. More than an exhibition, the platform opens up spaces for knowledge exchange, the development of curatorial practice, and potentially the expansion of networks for Southeast Asian artists. In this context, art is not only displayed, but activated as a shared space where solidarity, imagination, and future possibilities can be collectively negotiated.
