Inception of The Artists Village (TAV) First Open Studio Show

Official Registration of The Artists Village
12 Feb 1992
“The Artists Village” was officially registered as an art society under the Societies Act in
Singapore. Its objectives are to foster and develop an increased consciousness of the importance
of the arts and their contribution to Singapore society, by engaging in active dialogue with the
public, through the production and exposition of works of art.
With the official registration, The Artists Village and its officially registered artist members became
eligible for participation of certain officially funded events and the application for funding and space
under the new rules of the National Arts Council, which was established in 1991.
The Space
31 May - 21 June 1992
TAV and the National Arts Council jointly organised The Space, a Fringe Festival visual arts event for the Singapore Festival of
Arts 1992, at the old Hong Bee Warehouse. Forty local artists and twenty international artists participated in the event.
The Clean-Up
The search for a project
space for the Singapore
Festival of Arts 1990 by The
Artists Village accidentally
resulted in finding the
disused Hong Bee
Warehouse, which was near
the designated Bank of
China Warehouse by the
National Arts Council.
The lift maintenance
certificate in the warehouse
house suggested the
warehouse to be disused for
8 years, so The Artists
Village spent about 2
months cleaning up the
space with no electricity or
water as the actual time of
the exhibition was 3 weeks
in June. Water from the
Singapore River was used
for some cleaning purposes.
Hong Bee Warehouse situated at 60
Robertson Quay, along the
Singapore River
The “working team” of The Artists
Village
Elevation Plans of the 4 storeys
Hong Bee Warehouse
After removal of bulky trashes the
artists swept away the dirt layer