Trend Report: Art Foundations in Singapore
Tanoto Art Foundation, Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation, M Art Foundation, Bayin Foundation, The Eight Foundation, The Institutum
Installation view of Rituals of Perception at the New Bahru School Hall, 2026, curated by Tanoto Art Foundation. Image courtesy of Tanoto Art Foundation.
Transnational private foundations have chosen to set up base in Singapore within the last five years, and have become pivotal to shaping the art landscape in the country. Beyond supporting local institutions and artists financially, some of them have organised talks and exhibitions as a method to deepening exchanges and artistic research. In this trend report, we look at a selection of Singapore-based foundations: Tanoto Art Foundation, Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation and M Art Foundation, among others.
Belinda Tanoto. Image courtesy of Tanoto Art Foundation.
Yenn and Alan Foundation Founders, Yenn Wong and Alan Lo. Photo by Russel Wong. Image courtesy of Kim Association.
Many of the foundations cite both Singapore’s cosmopolitan and multicultural nature as the main draw for them. Belinda Tanoto, Founder of Tanoto Art Foundation, explains that Singapore’s unique position aligns with their foundation’s aims. She says, “Our mission is to create meaningful connections between Southeast Asia, the wider Asian region, South America, and beyond. Singapore as a global hub means that foundations like ours can operate with agility and responsiveness.” Bayin Foundation, who recently worked with artist Zarina Muhammad on Gentle Ferocities (2024), expresses that beyond Singapore’s status as a cultural hub, the country represents a vision of coexistence and integration.
Alan Lo, Founder of the Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation, echoes both sentiments. He says, “Singapore is a place that celebrates so many different cultures, which made it the best place to support institutions in the region.” At the same time, the opportunities that the country affords are crucial for them. He elaborates, “For transnational artists who are showing in Southeast Asia for the first time, the chance to interact with the Singapore-based art community, and have this global exchange, is beneficial.” For these philanthropists whose businesses operate from other countries like Indonesia, Hong Kong and Mongolia respectively, the ease of mobility and cross-cultural dialogue are key considerations for them.
Their love and passion for art also propels their work in Singapore. Tanoto references a personal story for her interest in Southeast Asian art. “For me, art starts with family. My mother grew up in a small town in Sumatra with no access to museums or galleries, yet she was surrounded by beautiful handmade ulos textiles—the first objects she collected. That early eye for beauty eventually led to her passionate support of Southeast Asian arts,” she enthuses. Continuing, she says, “To her, art is a way of bringing people together across cultures—a belief that underpins the Tanoto Art Foundation (TAF) today.” Vir and Simran Kotak who founded The Eight Foundation, also speak of their childhood experiences that have led to their interest in art. For Vir, his grandfather was a collector and patron of the arts, while Simran grew up with aesthetics as an important part of life.
Yet despite having shared motivations, each foundation has their own unique interests that they hope to cultivate. M Art Foundation, whose director Zong Han has been based in Singapore from 2022, positions themselves as a flexible platform existing outside of institutional formats. They support the arts scene by working directly with artists whose practices navigate the complexities of global identity. For instance, Heman Chong’s work, Perimeter Walk (2013-2024), is a long-term, research driven project whose development and eventual exhibition at UCCA Dune, Sharjah Biennial 16 and Singapore Art Museum, were supported by M Art Foundation.
Installation view of Shuang Li, Alliance, 2026. Image courtesy of the artist and Kim Association. Photo by Chia Wei Ling.
In contrast, the Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation grounds itself physically within Singapore through its space, Kim Association. Its interests however, extend beyond the country. Lo states, “We are primarily interested in supporting projects for transnational artists of Asian origin. We do one to two major projects at Kim Association, as well as host Singapore-based art collectives and non-profits to do their projects in our space as a venue sponsor.” Their recent two showcases are a direct reflection of their aims. Their exhibition with artist Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo) in 2025, Indigenous Power (Ancestral Wisdom) was Kim Association’s inaugural exhibition and delved into Puppies’ transnational background across intersections of identity, visibility, and personal history. Shuang Li’s video work Alliance presented in 2026 was a co-commission with Kunsthalle Basel, and repositioned Li’s perspectives living across Asia and Europe as a universal metaphor for inhabiting non-spaces.
Performance still of Chang Yuchen, Coral Dictionary (a lecture), 2025. Image courtesy of Tanoto Art Foundation.
For Tanoto Art Foundation, their interests primarily lie across geographic and ethical axes. They focus on artist practices from across Southeast Asia, to the wider Asia region and South America, while championing women and underrepresented artists. An artist who embodies what they seek is Chang Yuchen, who created Coral Dictionary (2019) during a residency on Dinawan Island. Tanoto explains, “Her drawings include Malay proverbs I grew up with—phrases that would sound foreign to many outside the region—rendered in delicate pencil drawings of coral. The work explores language, identity, and what gets lost in translation, holding multiple worlds at once.”
As a burgeoning arts hub, Singapore also holds great potential for these foundations to shape its landscape. The Institutum, founded by Malaysian art collector Dr Andreas Teoh and the late Tan Boon Hui, endeavours to cultivate greater support for emerging artists through its multi-faceted programmes. Among its recent notable projects is The Institutum Series on Southeast Asia Fund which will foster scholarship and artistic practice at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. In collaboration with Hampi Art Labs as well, a joint showcase that began in 2025 was displayed at ART SG 2026, before culminating in a large-scale exhibition in India that will be announced soon.
Agung Kurniawan, The God of Small Things, 2020-2021, acrylic on linen. Image courtesy of S.E.A. Focus. Photo by Darren Soh.
For the Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation, they hope to grow Singapore beyond its limited boundaries. “Singapore inevitably is still a pretty small scene, so we would love for the Singapore art community to embrace more of the global landscape, not just Southeast Asia,” says Lo. He elaborates, “This is perfect timing as many international institutions are starting to allocate more resources to research Southeast Asia, whether for future exhibitions or acquisitions.” In order to achieve this goal, they were the founding sponsor of the SAM S.E.A. Focus Art Fund in collaboration with both Singapore Art Museum and S.E.A. Focus, from 2023 to 2025. This enabled the museum to acquire artworks exhibited at S.E.A. Focus into their collection. To extend the artists’ global reach, an international curator was invited to join the selection panel each year.
Tanoto believes that a vibrant ecosystem requires multiple approaches. She says, “Public institutions are vital, and private foundations can complement them by being nimble and experimental.” She considers their practice of collecting as a different, and intentional way of growing knowledge and connections. “Collecting, for us, goes beyond stewardship. Our collection is a living resource that preserves cultural memory, supports evolving local identities, and sustains artists through grants, long-term loans, and institutional partnerships,” she states. For their recent presentation, Rituals of Perception (2026), works from their collection were exhibited, including those of Hu Xiaoyuan and Heidi Lau. The exhibition, which explored the intimate dialogue between embodiment and material, featured over 20 artists from the Global South, and was accompanied by panel discussions and other public programmes that facilitated engagement with the works.
“Collecting, for us, goes beyond stewardship. Our collection is a living resource that preserves cultural memory, supports evolving local identities, and sustains artists through grants, long-term loans, and institutional partnerships.”
Performance still of Melati Suryodarmo, If We Were XYZ: Performing Seven Scores, 2025. Image courtesy of Tanoto Art Foundation.
Looking ahead, the various foundations seek to build upon the milestones they have achieved thus far. Tanoto Art Foundation will continue developing their current TAF Conversation Series, which emphasises ideas and shared histories. It was first initiated in Hong Kong in March 2025, before expanding to Singapore and São Paulo. Tanoto states that for 2026, “Our focus is to strengthen and expand a South-South network of artists, curators, and practitioners. Through this, we aim to deepen regional exchange while situating these conversations within a broader global context.”
The Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation will also continue its support of institutional acquisitions, as a crucial way of supporting the ecosystem. “We are so pleased to see other platforms adopting similar models such as ART SG SAM Fund which was subsequently launched at a bigger scale and attracted support from other patrons,” says Lo. He concludes, “An art ecosystem can only be successful with collective effort from the wider community.” With these transnational foundations injecting new energy into the cultural landscape, the regional arts scene can look forward to thought leadership and artistic growth at greater heights.
“An art ecosystem can only be successful with collective effort from the wider community.”
