THE SINGAPORE BIENNALE 2011 OPENS ITS DOORS TO ONE AND ALL 161 works by 63 artists from 30 countries to be featured The third edition of the Singapore Biennale (SB2011) opens its doors to the public from this Sunday, 13 March to 15 May 2011. Led by Artistic Director Matthew Ngui and curators Russell Storer and Trevor Smith, SB2011 Open House is organised by the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) of the National Heritage Board and supported by the National Arts Council, Singapore. 63 artists from 30 countries are presenting 161 works across four exhibition venues – SAM and SAM at 8Q, the National Museum of Singapore, Old Kallang Airport and Marina Bay. The exhibition title, Open House, is conceived not as a theme but as an invitation. It examines the often fiercely guarded boundaries between public and private, and the manner in which differences may be bridged through interaction and exchange. Focusing on the process of making art rather than defining its final destination, SB2011 looks at these artistic journeys in relation to the ordinary transactions and encounters we participate in every day. With its focus on artistic processes, the third Singapore Biennale marks the highest proportion of artists to date who are presenting new site-specific commissions or premieres – 34 artists or 54 % of all participating artists. It also has the strongest Asian and local representation to date, with more than 40% of the artists (27 out of 63) hailing from Asia and nine Singaporeans artists in all. Artistic Director Matthew Ngui and his team state, “We make sense of our surroundings based on the context we are in. Similarly, our focus on contemporary artistic process is also related to the everyday urban environment from which they come. As we lower our defenses and begin to appreciate the exchanges of ideas and viewpoints, we will come to realise how art can create possibilities, crossing thresholds and borders between private and public, at home and the city.” Artists include Candice Breitz, who will be premiering her entire multi-channel video installation Factum at SAM at 8Q, in which seven sets of identical twins (and one set of identical triplets) speak candidly about their lives; and Martha Rosler, whose community garden project at Old Kallang Airport, realised in collaboration with the local artists, students and community groups, considers particular histories and narratives of Singapore. Other participating artists include Charles Sandison, Elmgreen & Dragset, Martin Creed, Phil Collins and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.