NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE
Plan Your Visit
About
What is in a gift?
From social act to cultural performance or philosophical concept, the apparently ordinary act of gifting is in fact ambivalent and paradoxical, and consequently a source of fascination, vexation and debate. Unlike the economic transaction, the gift is more than the object of its exchange. It is an embodiment of an expansiveness of spirit by the giver, that often obliges its receiver, and may even unintendedly become an onerous burden.
The exhibition, The Gift, is part of a broader project titled Collecting Entanglements and Embodied Histories that is developed as a dialogue between collections of four museums.
Read moreThe Gift Curator Tours
Embark on a journey with our curators as they take you on a tour based on the themes of The Gift.
The Gift of Entanglement
Written and narrated by June Yap, this tour features works by Joseph Beuys, Donna Ong, gifts from Siam, photos of Koh Nguang How and Charles Wilp, and Tarim Basin books.
Read Transcript
The Body and its Trace
Written and narrated by Selene Yap, this tour features works by Korakrit Arunanondchai, Dolorosa Sinaga, Holly Zausner and Bruce Nauman.
Read Transcript
Of Terrain and Landforms
Written and narrated by Joella Kiu, this tour features works by Tang Da Wu, Salleh Japar, Ahmad Sadali, and Higashiyama Kaii.
Read Transcript
Artworks
Browse through all the artworks on display at The Gift. Get more information on the artists, their influences, and how these works were made.
Discover
Discover the artworks on display at The Gift a different way. Choose between exploring by floor plan, by artist, or surprise yourself with a random artwork.
History
Scroll through an overview of historical events, ranging from the political, to the institutional, and even the personal.
Publication
The Gift captures the Singapore segment of the curatorial project, Collecting Entanglements and Embodied Histories. Focusing on ideas of inter-relation and exchange manifest in history, geography and identity, this catalogue features the works of 15 artists in an examination of how the gift is performed, remembered, and entangles.
This catalogue accompanies an exhibition by the Singapore Art Museum at the National Gallery Singapore. Browse the e-catalogue in full here, or purchase a copy through the link below.
Buy the publication