Singapore Art Museum to promote Southeast Asian art in China

By Adam Majendie

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Indonesian art collector Budiardjo Tek plans to set up private galleries in Jakarta and Bali and to fund a contemporary art center near Beijing to promote Southeast Asian artists such as Putu Suta Wijaya and Agus Suwage.

Tek will be chairman of the New Contemporary Art Centre in Songzhuang, Beijing, according to a release from the Singapore Art Museum, which is collaborating with the collector in the project. Kwok Kian Chow, director of the Singapore museum, will be deputy chairman of the center.

``Art gives special meaning and inspiration to life,'' said Tek in the release. ``Being an Indonesian educated in Singapore, I am passionate about Asian contemporary art.''

Songzhuang, about 23 kilometers (14 miles) east of Beijing, has become a focus of Chinese contemporary art, attracting some 1,500 artists, including Fang Lijun, Qi Zhilong, Yang Shaobin and Yue Minjun, the release said.

Singapore Art Museum and Yayasan YDY Nusantara, founded by Tek, will form a partnership to develop the center in China, including exchange programs for artists and research. The New Contemporary Art Centre, with 2,000 square meters of gallery space, is due to open in late 2008.

Tek is president director of Jakarta-based chicken processor PT Sierad Produce.

To contact the writer of this review: Adam Majendie in Singapore at adammajendie@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: January 28, 2008 04:22 EST