The new Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Gillman Barracks opened officially on Oct. 23, 2013.

The opening of this centre marks an exciting milestone in arts for Singapore. Located alongside a cluster of international galleries, it is a national research centre of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), developed with support from the Economic Development Board.

The research centre was meant to be the anchor for the Gillman Barracks area of international art galleries that was envisioned at Asia's up-and-coming destination for contemporary art.

On its opening night, the CCA also featured a series of performances, exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and improvisations.

Titled “Free Jazz”, it will take place during the opening months of the CCA. The series aims to partner the arts community and hopes to emulate the spits of jazz music making.

Ute Meta Bauer, the founding director of the CCA, said: “The CCA aims to serve as a cross-disciplinary platform merging the exhibition of contemporary art with a significant investment in research. Its residency and fellowship programme will bring together a diversity of creative intellectuals from around the world, including artists, writers, curators, researchers, and academics to share, collaborate, and exchange.”

Having worked for over 25 years in the arts world, Professor Bauer has curated numerous exhibitions and presentations on contemporary art, film, video, and sound, with a focus on interdisciplinary formats.

Prior to her tenure as an Associate Professor at MIT, Bauer also served as the Founding Director of the Office for Contemporary Art, Norway. She was previously the dean of the school of fine arts at London’s Royal College of Art.

Professor Bauer’s vision for the Centre for Contemporary Art is to map out a strategic approach towards art and culture, integrating the Centre's varied programmes of research, exhibitions, education, residencies and public programmes holistically.

The Centre’s artist residency programme will facilitate the production and creation of works by established and emerging international and Singaporean artists, helping to foster a more vibrant contemporary arts scene in Singapore.

NTU President, Professor Bertil Andersson, explained that the CCA fits into the larger vision of the university: “Art is important to any culture and society. Contemporary art often crosses intellectual boundaries and fuses diverse forms, media, and technologies."

He also said: "Art plays a significant role in NTU’s academic and research agenda, precisely because it can bring together different pathways to knowledge and create new aesthetic forms, technological innovation, and intellectual perspectives.”

The new Centre for Contemporary Art will work closely with NTU’s School of Art, Design and Media to further the growth of Singapore’s burgeoning arts scene.  Hopefully, as time goes by, the Centre maintains its vision of openness and diversity, and helps to promote an arts industry in Singapore that is accessible to all.

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