A precursor to the APB Foundation Signature Art Prize

The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) has announced the 15 finalists shortlisted for the 2011 APB Foundation Signature Art Prize.

This year’s shortlist was selected from the 130 artworks which were nominated from 24 countries and territories for the Prize. The 15 finalists come from 14 countries and territories across Asia Pacific. Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam has one finalist each, while South Korea has two finalists.

Making the selection was the jury panel of five eminent art experts: Mr. Fumio Nanjo, Director, Mori Art Museum; Mr. Gregor Muir, Executive Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts London; Mr. Hendro Wijanto, leading Southeast Asian writer, critic and curator; Mr. Ranjit Hoskote, Curator of the India Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2011 and leading South Asian poet-writer, curator and critic, and Mr. Tan Boon Hui, Director, SAM.

According to a statement from the jury panel, “The APB Foundation Signature Art Prize has proved to be highly competitive, not only because of the considerable number of nominated artworks, but also due to the sheer calibre and diversity of the artworks emerging from the region. Each of the 15 shortlisted works has stood out for its strength of concept and execution, and many are also extremely moving pieces.”

The Signature Art Prize does not rest on a system of national quotas. Rather, it recognizes the outstanding merit of the singular art-work or art project. Taken collectively, the artworks demonstrate the thriving vibrancy of art-making in Asia Pacific today. Asia Pacific artists extend and enrich their practices in diverse ways: by engaging with the heterogeneity of craft cultures, by addressing the fine-arts legacy, and through the critical application of new technologies.

The 15 finalists' works draw equally on the artists' personal experience and the historical trajectories of their societies. They reflect the artists' sophisticated responses to contemporary issues facing their region in a highly interconnected global present. The artworks also showcase the range of mediums and techniques used in contemporary art-making in the region. Their works will be on view at the Singapore Art Museum in November.