ON 28 JANUARY 2008 AT THE SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM

　　GOH Ibu Megawatti Soekarno Putri

　　Bapak Tanfiq Kremas

　　Bapak don Ibu Rizal Ranli

　　Mr & Mrs Budi Tek

　　Mr Li Xianting

　　Mr Feng Zhengjie

　　Special welcome to the artists and friends coming from China and Singapore including Mr Fan Li Jin and Mrs Yue Min Jun

　　Friends and collectors from overseas and Singapore

　　Welcome to the Singapore Art Museum,

　　Tonight marks a number of key events for SAM. We welcome you to the newly reinstalled Glass Hall in its full glory, with the Chihully glass sculptures again taking pride of place. This first event at this revitalized Hall marks the beginning of a fantastic programming year ahead for SAM. SAM will be a happy and eventful place, so please come often.

　　We also honour the artists and art collectors from many lands who are present here in full force. This illustrates the long tradition of art collection in many ASEAN countries. In Indonesia, the legacy of great collectors can partly be attributed to former President Soekarno, who built up a collection for Indonesia. As we join our Indonesian brothers and sisters in mourning the passing of former President Soeharto, we remember the living legacy that he gave ASEAN in terms of strengthening intra-ASEAN ties. Indonesia's leadership in ASEAN continued with former President Megawati, who is kindly gracing the occasion tonight. It was under former President Megawati's chairmanship that ASEAN concluded the historic Bali Concord II, which affirmed ASEAN as a community of caring societies working together in partnership. With such strong ASEAN ties, cultural exchange and co-operation paves the way to strengthening people to people relationships.

　　It is in this spirit of strengthening ties that I take great pleasure in making the next announcement. But first a story about a shirt I was going to wear tonight in an attempt to keep up with the Feng Zhengjie and his colourful paintings. Alas all I could manage in the end was this tie. The shirt is made in Bali. The print and textile is the result of cross cultural sharing between an Italian designer, a Balinese artist and a textile weaver. The result, a new fusion of colours and materials. This tradition of cultural exchange between artists is not new, especially in Bali. However, opportunities for artists and professionals to conduct meaningful exchange on a country to country level are rare. In this spirit, NHB arranged two conferences last year, the ASEAN Museum Directors Symposium and the Asian Art Directors Forum. Both provided platforms for intellectual and cultural discourse amongst our brothers and sisters across ASEAN and Asia.

　　We now have a wonderful opportunity to further this co-operative effort. Tonight we celebrate SAM’s and NHB’s intention to partner Yayasan YDY Nusantara of Indonesia at a new facility, the New Contemporary Art Centre (NCAC), located in Songzhuang, Beijing. Through this partnership, the NCAC can be a breeching point for SEA and Singapore Art in China, thus facilitating the exposure of SEA Art to China. It will also allow SAM and our Singapore artists to be at the epicentre of Chinese art in Songzhuang. This partnership will yield :

　　a) collaborations based on exhibitions curated around our national collection and supplemented by pieces from private collectors; and

　　b) exchanges between SEA and China artists, as well as artist and curatorial residents at both SAM and NCAC.

　　What is Songzhuang? Songzhuang is the epicenter of Chinese contemporary art where some 1,500 artists live and work, including many internationally renowned artists including Fang Lijun, Qi Zhilong, Yang Shaobin and Yue Minjun. Artists, critics, curators and collectors from all over the world also gather there regularly to discuss, exchange and debate on the latest developments in contemporary art. International and local foundations are setting up there.

　　The NCAC is envisaged to be a centre of Asian contemporary art, linking China, Southeast Asia, Asia and the world. This effort represents the close friendship of three men. Mr Budi Tek, Mr Li Xianting and Mr Kwok Kian Chow. Mrs Yue Min jin and Mr Fang Lijun also played an important role. Mr Budi Tek is an avid art collector from Indonesia and the cultural philatrophist behind the NCAC in Songzhuang. He is a prime example of a pan Asian citizen. He was educated in Singapore’s Catholic High School and Catholic Junior College. Through these formative years, Mr Budi bears strong ties with Singapore. We can claim him to be an honorary Singaporean! As an Indonesian citizen, he also is well connected with the Indonesian cultural circles. With a residence in Shanghai, Mr Budi is plugged into China. Mr Li Xianting is a prominent art critic who is the key facilitator and defacto to community leader of Songzhuang in Beijing. Mr Budi, Kian Chow and Mr Li got together. Since their first meeting, the three of them are like gleeful young brothers, charting the future course of inter-Asian exchange. Credit also must be given to Mrs Yue Min Jin who brought Mr Budi to Mr Li and for Mr Fang Lijun for bringing Kian Chow to Mr Li just last December. We salute all of you for your efforts and hope our partnership will bear many fruits for the future.

　　In closing, please let me introduce you to Mr Feng Zhengjie. On first meeting him I noticed his pink shoes and lime green shirt. At my second meeting, his shirt had red roses and he wore lime green shoes. His dress sense represents his jovial and warm character. Certainly Feng Zhengjie is a fun person. He is happy and has a streak of playfulness in him. This is reflected in his paintings which are mostly happy, accessible and easy to love. Do join us in celebrating this rare opportunity to see some of his most spectacular works on display at SAM.

　　The Feng Zhengjie exhibition marks the beginning of a China Festival across our family of museums, in celebration of the Olympics in Beijing. Do watch out for the Hefner Collection at the National Museum and New Contemporary Art in collaboration with NAMOC at SAM, porcelain and artifacts from the Cultural Revolution at ACM and culminating with a Fan Li Jun exhibition early next year. Please look out for these events.

　　Thank you and have a colourful evening!