In conjunction with the opening of ENVISION: Sculptures @ the Garden City and Singapore Art Week 2016, iPreciation organised a public talk titled “Commissioning Public Art in the City” on Friday, 22nd Jan 2016 @ Ngee Ann Auditorium, Asian Civilisations Museum.
Video recording clip is available upon request, please email us at enquiry@ipreciation.com
Speakers:
Gu Wenda is one of the world’s leading international contemporary artist from China. Born in Shanghai in 1955, Gu graduated from Shanghai School of Arts in 1976. In 1981, he received his MFA from the China Academy of Arts and continued to teach in his alma mater from 1981 – 87. Later in the same year in 1987, Gu moved to the USA to study at The Academy of Art College, San Francisco and started his life as an independent artist. To date, he has participated in numerous international solo exhibitions and prestigious platforms such as biennales, art festivals and art fairs across the world. Gu’s work has been included and referenced in many publications and recent art history books. Gu is widely collected by many international museums and public institutions world-wide. He currently lives and works between Shanghai and New York.
Andrew Mead is an internationally experienced architect specialising in the planning, design and construction of rapid transit stations and associated facilities. He graduated from the University of Sheffield in 1985 and is a registered Architect in the U.K. Since 2013, Andrew is currently Chief Architect of the MTR Corporation in Hong Kong managing a team of over 100 people, responsible for design quality and management of all MTR’s rail projects. Andrew has wide technical knowledge of metro design and operations, having 30 years’ experience in the design and construction of over 200 metro and light rail stations in London, Toronto, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong. From 2008 – 2013, he was Principal Design Manager, Architect at Land Transport Authority Singapore, responsible for the development of the Downtown line and Thomson Line.
Francis Wong is currently Chief of Art Management in CapitaLand. He studied Architecture in Cambridge University, UK and Conservation Studies in York University, UK. He has over 20 years of experience working as an architect in the public and private sectors before joining CapitaLand in 2006. Some of his award-winning projects include the Singapore Art Museum at the former St Joseph’s Institution. In CapitaLand, he has held various key positions in design and project management, including Chief Development Officer of The Ascott Limited. Francis writes the “Art @ CapitaLand” column for CapitaLand’s online Inside Different Geographies magazine and is the author of the book CapitaLand: The Art of Building Communities. He has conducted many art appreciation talks and tours to CapitaLand staff, CapitaLand tenants, and the general public.
Moderated by Dr Kenson Kwok, who is the Founding Director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum in Singapore. Dr Kwok graduated with B. Architecture (Hons) from the University of Sydney in 1972 and went on to obtain his PhD in environmental psychology from University College London in 1983. At the end of 2009 Dr Kwok retired from an eighteen year career with the National Heritage Board of Singapore. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (silver) by the Singapore government, he was also conferred the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur in 2005 by the French government. Dr Kwok currently serves on the board of Singapore’s National Gallery, and on committees of the National University of Singapore Museums and the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society.
