The Enigma of Gillman Barracks
A Sudden and Abrupt Farewell
Inexplicably, the curtain came down for us just as SLA made its official announcement that it was going to rejuvenate GB with a new mix of tenants and a slew of fresh measures to inject more vibrancy into the place. The GB website which featured the galleries, on-going exhibitions, events and past exhibitions, was also “de-activated “
Expectations and Reality Check
GB was launched in 2012 with much fanfare, after a rather underwhelming Gillman Village failed to generate the crowds for a lifestyle, shopping and food hub. It was rebranded as Gillman Barracks, reverting to its original name as a military enclave, and slated to be Singapore’s “ Premier Visual Arts Precinct “
At its peak, there were 17 art galleries that opened with high expectations. It sank to a new low in 2015, with 5 galleries pulling out. The others dug in their heels and persevered. For those who left, new players have come in, like Richard Koh Fine Art, The Columns Gallery, and Arts Outreach, a non-profit organization promoting the arts in Singapore.
Art is a slow and long game. Those who stayed and continue to do so know the score and see GB as a viable venue for nurturing artists and cultivating good art.
Then came Covid at the start of 2020, culminating in circuit breaker measures, restriction in numbers, halting of docent tours, which ushered in a dry and sobering season for the art scene and generally for everything else. A few more galleries moved out and moved on after their leases expired.
In March 2021, the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, an anchor tenant of GB, closed its exhibition and residence spaces as EDB withdrew its funding for the lease. Is it yet another crippling blow to GB?
Later that year, it was announced that the Tanjong Pagar Distripark, out in the boondocks, will house the Singapore Art Museum ( SAM ) until its expected completion in 2026. This venue was also used in 2021 and 2022 for the SEA Focus – a showcase of contemporary art from Southeast Asia featuring some of the finest artists and galleries from across the region. The inaugural and second editions of SEA Focus were held in GB in 2019 and 2020.
So here’s the burning question – Has GB been a failed project where the arts is concerned? The galleries which are still holding fort at GB do not think so. It is not simply a matter of dollars and cents, drawing in the herds who follow the herds, or more organic offerings, more retail shopping, more of what is what is popping up as standard “lifestyle” templates for the masses, sort of a one-size-fits all.
Personal Reflections of a GB Art Docent
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, the art ecosystem from artist to institution is complex, dynamic, interdependent. Before you become a buyer and collector, you first learn to understand and appreciate the art. Perhaps you go to art school, get some recognized qualifications, visit art fairs, etc. Let me rephrase the question – Who’s afraid of contemporary art? For the typical man in the street – yes, very. He cannot perceive that contemporary art is the art of the present where artists tell us, in symbolic and visual language, how they look at the world around us now.
One of my all-time favourite art exhibits is a commissioned work by Anthony Chin, a local artist, for the Singapore Art Week ( SAW ) 2022, held in GB for ten days in January. It was a fleeting and fitting tribute to GB as a space where art meets history. There were 180 glass jars in total, most neatly stacked in a manner akin to a columbarium, and others scattered in various locations around Gillman Barracks. Each jar contains 5 litres of black paint representing blood in a human body and a military tag numbered from 1 to 180. Titled “The Incomplete Momotaro ( Peach Boy ) Sacred Sailors II ) ( 2022)” it relates back to the first feature animated film in black and white produced as propaganda aimed at children during the World War 2 era.
It is not particularly eye-catching or aesthetically pleasing. But when you know the back story and realize that the 180 are the fallen heroes of the Loyal Regiment stationed in Gillman Barracks who fought one of the last battles before the surrender of Singapore, this piece of art becomes powerful, moving and poignant when it resonates with something inside of you.
When I was guiding SAW 2022, I saw ( no pun intended ) that Eureka moment when it registered with the visitors – the light in their eyes, the start of a new and exciting journey into the world of contemporary art. Before they didn’t, but now they see.
Our History tours have always been popular, with groups reaching maximum capacity every Saturday afternoon. Locals and foreigner alike were keen to learn about the pioneer generation of national servicemen at GB during their stint from 1971 to 1990, and those British soldiers before them. What was GB in those days, what was life like? We had so many stories to tell…
In 2020, I wrote an article about ‘Special Moments in our Docent Journey” which was published in the Sep/Oct Edition of Passage Magazine, an in-house publication of Friends of the Museum ( FOM ). Was it Deju-Vu about the writing on the wall?
Moving on to the Art tours. In the past, it has been like a hit and miss for the same reason that people will steer away from what they do not understand. With mega events like the Singapore Biennale, SAW, etc, the footfall picks up as public interest is piqued with much publicity and media writeup
The inside scoop is that you do not need to wait for bumper events like these to visit GB. There are galleries which show blue-chip works you don’t get to see unless you travel often and in the right circles. You will also get acquainted with young and emerging artists who work closely with the galleries and see how they mature and grow over the years. Each exhibition typically lasts from 2 weeks to a couple of months, depending on whether it is a solo or group exhibition of several artists. Multiply that by 10 galleries and there will always be new exhibitions to keep you coming back for more.
Final Thoughts
GB history docents add a human element and give context to the history of the place. They inject life, colour, anecdotes of real people, real incidents, real experiences.
GB art docents are a vital link in the art ecosystem. We represent a part of the civic society with people that are passionate, focussed and trained to introduce contemporary art to the masses, at a level where they can begin to appreciate and understand Art 101.
I can imagine another Gillman Village in the making in the near future. Art galleries become relegated to faceless commercial entities with missed opportunities because people do not even make it pass the doors; the space another green corridor with some vague army history…its soul is displaced. Will the heartbeat be the same?
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