Ute Meta Bauer, an international curator and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) associate professor, has been named as the founding director of Singapore’s Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), a national research centre which will officially launch on 23 October 2013.
Ute Meta Bauer, the newly appointed founding director of Singapore’s Centre for Contemporary Art. Image courtesy Christine Fenzl.
German-born Ute Meta Bauer, who until recently was Dean of the School of Fine Arts at the Royal College of Art in London, was appointed as the Centre for Contemporary Art‘s founding director after a search described as both “intensive” and “global” in related press releases. With a background which includes tenure at MIT as Associate Professor of Visual Art as well as Director of the MIT Visual Arts Programme, and experience curating international exhibitions such as the World Biennial Forum No. 1, Gwangju, South Korea, it was Bauer’s “holistic approach towards art and culture” which won her the position, reveals the press release.
An artist rendering of Singapore’s gallery district, Gillman Barracks. Image courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
The CCA, which is located in Singapore’s Gillman Barracks, will hold its opening ceremony on 23 October 2013, coinciding with the opening weekend of the Singapore Biennale. At the launch, Bauer will outline her vision for the new centre, a vision which she hinted at in the press release:
The Centre for Contemporary Art aims to serve as a cross-disciplinary platform merging the exhibition of contemporary art with a significant investment in research (…) Having visited the region frequently over the last 20 years, it is a unique opportunity for me to be part of this founding team. I am excited to embark on my new role and look forward to working closely with my many knowledgeable colleagues to give shape to this new landmark centre.
Managed by Nanyang Technological University and supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, the CCA was touted as one of the main components of the Gillman Barracks art hub, but its opening has been severely delayed. Director Bauer aims to integrate the CCA’s “programmes of research, exhibitions, education, residencies and public programmes holistically”, according to the press release, “helping to foster a more vibrant contemporary arts scene in Singapore.”
The CCA also makes much of its residency fellowship programme, which will “bring together a diversity of creative intellectuals from around the world, including artists, writers, curators, researchers and academics to share, collaborate and exchange,” in Bauer’s words.
Cassandra Naji
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