The future of the NTU Centre Contemporary Art, a Singapore art space with an international following, is uncertain as it reckons with the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The NTU CAA, an exhibition center that also facilitates a closely watched artist residency program, will depart its current building in March of next year. According to ArtAsiaPacific, which first reported the news on Tuesday, the NTU CCA is facing a shortfall amid a financial restructuring.
A spokesperson for the NTU CCA told ArtAsiaPacific that the institution will “remain active” and continue “its work in research and academic inquiry through contemporary art, as well as the development of talent for the arts and cultural sector in Singapore.” ARTnews has reached out to the NTU CCA for further details.
Though the NTU CCA is not yet a decade old, it is considered a key contemporary art space in Asia, having lured some of the world’s top artists, curators, and thinkers for events programming, residencies, and exhibitions. Founded in 2013 and led by Ute Meta Bauer, the NTU CCA has hosted major shows by Joan Jonas, Yang Fudong, Tarek Atoui, Siah Armajani, and others; a show of filmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha’s art is slated for October. Former residents at the NTU CCA include curator Sally Tallant (who now directs the Queens Museum), artist Haegue Yang, and dealer Robin Peckham (who now runs the Taipei Dangdai art fair).
The news comes as the NTU CCA prepares to leave the Gillman Barracks, an arts compound that is funded by the Singaporean government. The exhibition and artist residency programs will be brought to a halt for now.