Prudential Eye Award 2016 opens today in Singapore

For the third successive year, the Prudential Eye Award 2016 takes place today (January 19) at Master Card Theatres - Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore as part of the Singapore Art Week. This writer has been invited to cover the prestigious award ceremony, along with a group exhibition showcasing the best emerging artists' works from across Greater Asia, with representing artists from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Bangladesh, India and Singapore.

The Marina Bay Sands is the official venue for the ceremony and a two-and-a-half month exhibition, which will run from January 16 to March 27 at Art Science Museum. The exhibition will shed light on 39 works from the 15 shortlisted artists for the Prudential Eye Awards in the following categories: Digital/Video, Installation, Painting, Sculpture and Photography. 

“This body of work speaks eloquently of the diversity, sophistication and vibrancy of the contemporary art-scene in Asia. In the artworks of the 15 nominee we see critical reflections of many of the most urgent socio-political issues which permeate everyday life in the region.” says Honor Harger, Executive Director of Art Science Museum.

Sakarin Krue-On has been selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016. A Silpathorn award winner (2009) and the first Thai artist to join Documenta 12 (2007), Sakarin Krue-On's works – media, video, installation and sculpture – are mostly conceptual. 

Two Bangladeshi artists – Shumon Ahmed and Promotesh Das – have made the shortlist in photography and sculpture categories respectively. 

The awards were launched in 2014 by the Global Eye Programme, a partnership between Prudential, Parallel Contemporary Art, and the Saatchi Gallery to honour the accomplishments of emerging artists in Asia and to launch a creative educational programme with the British Council.