Next big art thing: Gillman Barracks opens in Singapore

by Zoe Li

Build it and they will come is the mantra in Singapore after Gillman Barracks opened to the public on September 15.

A colonial-era structure, the barracks has been transformed into a S$9.76 milion (US$8 million) hub for contemporary arts, another step in a government-driven development of Singapore into an Asian arts hub. 

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's answer to arts and culture keeps getting delayed. The most recent date for construction to begin on the West Kowloon Cultural District is 2013. 

The Gillman Barracks project, backed by the Singaporean government, is launching with 13 international galleries selected out of 30 applicants by a government-appointed committee of private and public arts experts. 

The roster is self-consciously international, including New York-based Sundaram Tagore. Two more galleries will open next year: Germany's Michael Janssen and Takashi Murakami's Kaikai Kiki Hidari Zingaro gallery.

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