Singapore Pavilion 2026: A Pause

Singapore Art Museum (SAM) announces the title and theme of the exhibition by pioneering interdisciplinary artist Amanda Heng Liang Ngim, presented in collaboration with curator Selene Yap, for the Singapore Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. About For the Singapore Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2026, Amanda Heng Liang Ngim presents A Pause, an exhibition that extends her decades-long practice of working with the body and the everyday. The exhibition transforms the pavilion into a space for rest and observation, centred on ordinary actions such as sitting, waiting, and watching. Commissioned by the National Arts Council (NAC), supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and organised by SAM, Singapore’s 12th presentation at the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia underscores the nation’s continued support for artists whose practices engage critically with the world through experimentation, participation and sustained practice. It is also a commitment to supporting Singapore artists such as Heng on international platforms, creating opportunities for them to showcase their work to a wider audience and strengthening Singapore’s presence in the international visual arts landscape. A pioneering figure in Singapore’s contemporary art scene, Heng’s practice began in the late 1980s as a response to the social and artistic conditions of a rapidly modernising city-state. Spanning performance, installation, photography and participatory acts, her work has consistently focused on the body as both subject and medium. This focus is grounded in close attention to the everyday, treated as both method and material. Heng’s practice does not follow a linear development but creates a web where core gestures and inquiries reappear across decades. In her early works, such as Let’s Chat (1996) and Walk with Amanda (2000), she established a method of unscripted, social encounter. These live performances used simple acts like household tasks or leading an audience through a hawker food centre to examine how public and domestic spaces are shaped, gendered and negotiated. The body in these works is a social body, negotiating its presence within the architecture of the everyday. Read more Toggle Installation