In Her Own Words: Centring Nirmala Dutt
Advertisement
In Her Own Words: Centring Nirmala Dutt
Sun 23 Aug | 2pm | National Gallery Singapore, Supreme Court Wing, Level 5, Glass Room | Free, registration required: https://www.nationalgallery.sg/sg/en/talks/In-Her-Own-Words-Centring-Nirmala-Dutt.html
-
This conversation centres the life and work of the late Nirmala Dutt (1941–2016). It brings together Snow Ng, a cultural worker who was in close contact with the artist in her later years, and Curator Joleen Loh. Through personal recollections of Nirmala Dutt, this programme locates her as an artist and a person in equal measure.
Archival material, including personal notes and writing from the artist, will be surfaced to accompany a discussion on her profound empathy for human suffering and engagement with social and environmental issues and how these informed her artmaking. In so doing, this talk illuminates a life and practice that demonstrates ways in which art can speak truth to power.
This programme is moderated by Lucas Huang and is held in conjunction with the exhibition “Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise”, which highlights five artists whose practices reflect enduring commitment to conceiving more equitable worlds through personal, political, and collective expression.
-
About the speakers
Snow Ng was part of the core team at the pioneering gallery of contemporary Southeast Asian art, Valentine Willie Fine Art (2007–2012), which inspired her sustained interest and belief in the possibilities of art as a conduit for social change and progress. She formed Snow Ng Advisory & Projects (SNAP) in 2019, and works with art institutions and a wide range of arts practitioners as well as corporate clients and government agencies to advise on curatorial directions, exhibition design, publications, acquisitions, corporate social responsibility programmes, and documentation and restoration of their art collections.
Joleen Loh is Curator at National Gallery Singapore. Her research engages with postwar and contemporary art from Singapore and Southeast Asia, focusing on the transnational circulation of art and ideas, gender and women’s artistic practices. She is the co-curator of “Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise” (2026), which features the work of Nirmala Dutt, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Amanda Heng, Dolorosa Sinaga and Phaptawan Suwannakudt.
Image Credit: Installation view. Nirmala Dutt. “Self-Portrait.” 1999. Acrylic and collage on canvas, 101.5 × 91.5 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
-
#NationalGallerySingapore #FearNoPower #NirmalaDutt #WomenArtists #SoutheastAsianArt
Sun 23 Aug | 2pm | National Gallery Singapore, Supreme Court Wing, Level 5, Glass Room | Free, registration required: https://www.nationalgallery.sg/sg/en/talks/In-Her-Own-Words-Centring-Nirmala-Dutt.html
-
This conversation centres the life and work of the late Nirmala Dutt (1941–2016). It brings together Snow Ng, a cultural worker who was in close contact with the artist in her later years, and Curator Joleen Loh. Through personal recollections of Nirmala Dutt, this programme locates her as an artist and a person in equal measure.
Archival material, including personal notes and writing from the artist, will be surfaced to accompany a discussion on her profound empathy for human suffering and engagement with social and environmental issues and how these informed her artmaking. In so doing, this talk illuminates a life and practice that demonstrates ways in which art can speak truth to power.
This programme is moderated by Lucas Huang and is held in conjunction with the exhibition “Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise”, which highlights five artists whose practices reflect enduring commitment to conceiving more equitable worlds through personal, political, and collective expression.
-
About the speakers
Snow Ng was part of the core team at the pioneering gallery of contemporary Southeast Asian art, Valentine Willie Fine Art (2007–2012), which inspired her sustained interest and belief in the possibilities of art as a conduit for social change and progress. She formed Snow Ng Advisory & Projects (SNAP) in 2019, and works with art institutions and a wide range of arts practitioners as well as corporate clients and government agencies to advise on curatorial directions, exhibition design, publications, acquisitions, corporate social responsibility programmes, and documentation and restoration of their art collections.
Joleen Loh is Curator at National Gallery Singapore. Her research engages with postwar and contemporary art from Singapore and Southeast Asia, focusing on the transnational circulation of art and ideas, gender and women’s artistic practices. She is the co-curator of “Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise” (2026), which features the work of Nirmala Dutt, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Amanda Heng, Dolorosa Sinaga and Phaptawan Suwannakudt.
Image Credit: Installation view. Nirmala Dutt. “Self-Portrait.” 1999. Acrylic and collage on canvas, 101.5 × 91.5 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
-
#NationalGallerySingapore #FearNoPower #NirmalaDutt #WomenArtists #SoutheastAsianArt
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
1 St. Andrew’s Road, Singapore, Singapore 178957
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherNational Gallery Singapore
