Sculpture Square
155 Middle Road, Singapore 188977
Sculpture Square - a non-profit, independent arts organisation - is Singapore's first contemporary art space designated for the advancement of 3-dimensional art practices and productions. With a focus on contemporary practices, Sculpture Square hopes to highlight and examine prevailing approaches to creativity and their reception. It also aims to push towards fresh frontiers by forwarding new ways of thinking and art making in the 3-dimensional domain.
Officially opened in 1999, Sculpture Square's role extends beyond showcasing works by local and international artists - it wants to bring the world of 3-dimensional art to the community and to bridge the gap between the public and artists as well as act as a regional hub for contemporary 3-dimensional art.
Sculpture Square's main exhibition gallery, Chapel Gallery was once the first Baba (Straits Chinese) Malay Methodist Church. Built in 1870, the Chapel Gallery was initially a Christian institute for young men to meet for daily worship and for recreational purposes. In 1891, the Methodist Women's Foreign Missionary Society (WFMS) bought the building for its growing Tamil (Methodist) Girls' School. It also held 'Malay' worship services for a congregation composed mainly of Chinese who spoke Baba Malay. Four years later, WFMS sold the building to the Baba congregation and the church was simply known as the 'Malay Church' and later known as the Middle Road Church.
The Middle Road Church grew rapidly in the early part of the 1900's. Before long, Hokkien and Hakka services were added to the Malay services. Due to the expanding church, it moved to new premises at Cuff Road in 1930, and it was known as The Straits Chinese Methodist Church but was renamed Kampong Kapor Methodist Church after its geographical vicinity in 1957. During the period of the Second World War, the vacant church in Middle Road was converted into a Chinese restaurant called May Blossom Restaurant. At the end of the war, it was converted into a motor workshop and parking area.
Forgotten and falling into disrepair, the church was rediscovered in 1995 by Sun Yu-Li. An architect turned sculptor, he was concerned with Singapore's lack of appropriate spaces to exhibit three-dimensional work and installation and saw in the potential of the former church as well as its adjacent building (formerly a hotel). Together with Edmund Cheng (the current Chairman of the National Arts Council), they garnered financial support from both public and private sectors to convert the former church and its adjoining building were into an art-housing site. In May 1999, after extensive renovations, Sculpture Square was unveiled to the public, housing 2 exhibition galleries (Lower Gallery and Chapel Gallery), a 15-seat classroom, office spaces, library, artist-in-resident room, outdoor exhibition spaces and a restaurant.
Sculpture Square's efforts at conservation have been recognised by the government. It is now an important link along a string of non-profit arts organisations and facilities in the Waterloo arts district.
|
