URBANOA

It is with great pride and joy that I have been given the opportunity to stage the very first Southeast Asia platform at the tenth edition of the Florence Biennale. 

For ten years, I have steadfastly sought to work with exciting Asian artists who work with such creative fervour to deliver world class exhibitions, setting off a truly impressed audience to talk about their shows for years to come. I have witnessed the arts scene in the region flourish, as economies develop and strengthen. Southeast Asian Cotemporary Art has become a balm for our aggravated souls, a portal for social commentaries, as it leads us to face the stark realities that socio-economic progress has delivered to our very doorsteps.

The theme for the Biennale is particularly fitting, Art and the City – as the collective of artists we invited to join the project all hail from frantic Asian metropoles in varied states of development, with governments grappling with the needs and desires of millions – artists from different nations, political persuasions, and personal backgrounds. In an increasingly fragmented world, the works offer a reminder of our shared dreams and hope to wake us from to the perils of progress, for the sake of humanity. 

The ride to ensure the success of the project has been somewhat quixotic, but with our sleeves rolled up, all proud to be part of the project and represent the region, everyone has worked with sheer determination. We express immense thanks to our generous sponsors, all participating artists, the National Arts Council, Singapore, the Singapore International Foundation, the Lee Foundation and the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, and of course my unfaltering teammates Smita Karunan and Romina Diaz, and all who have extended their generous hand. They have all made the project all the more sweeter, più dolce, and a strong booste to our unrelenting drive to ensure the success of this pioneer project.

Roberta Dans

Director and Curator

Artesan Gallery + Studio

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