The skyline of Singapore is set to become a backdrop for a profound cross-continental dialogue this month as Singapore Art Week (SAW) 2026 officially kicks off. While the city-state has long been a gateway for Southeast Asian art, this year’s edition marks a historic turning point with an unprecedented spotlight on African contemporary masters.
At the heart of this cultural exchange is the inaugural Print Show & Symposium Singapore, a ten-day event running from January 22 to 31, 2026, at the STPI Creative Workshop and Gallery.
The Power of the Multiple: STPI’s Landmark Debut
The Print Show departs from traditional gallery surveys by framing printmaking as a radical, political act. The accompanying symposium, titled The Politics of Print: Elephant in the Room (January 23–24), will gather 25 global thinkers to debate the “afterlives” of images—from 19th-century transnational legacies to the modern disruption of NFTs and memes.
Ethiopian-American artist Julie Mehretu serves as a focal point of the exhibition. Showing in collaboration with BORCH Editions, Mehretu presents works like Third Seal (2020), where her signature architectural layers are translated through complex sugar lift and photogravure techniques. Her presence underscores a theme central to the week: how the medium of print allows artists to reproduce, resist, and reclaim history.
Beyond the Press: African Artists Across the Island
The African presence at SAW 2026 extends far beyond the STPI workshop, with major installations and exhibitions spanning the city’s premier art districts.
PHOTO: ART OUTREACH
Ibrahim Mahama: A Ghanaian Vision at Gillman Barracks
In one of the most anticipated solo debuts in Southeast Asia, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama presents Digging Stars at Art Outreach (January 16 – February 8). Mahama, recently named one of the world’s most influential artists, has transformed the historic Gillman Barracks with his “Brutalist” creations.
The exhibition features:
- Jute Sack Assemblages: Reclaimed cocoa sacks that serve as “living archives” of global trade and colonial labor.
- Rubber Residues: New works utilizing neglected materials from defunct Ghanaian factories, drawing haunting parallels to Singapore’s own history as a 20th-century rubber giant.
- Performance Lecture: On January 24, Mahama will deliver a keynote at Marina Bay Sands, discussing his mission to fund cultural centers in Ghana through global art success.
Nigerian Modernism and Contemporary “Visual Prayers”
At ART SG, the region’s leading art fair at Marina Bay Sands, the Lagos-based kó gallery is staging a cross-generational dialogue that bridges Nigerian history with modern identity:
- Obiora Udechukwu: A legend of Nigerian modernism, Udechukwu showcases works inspired by the Uli and Nsibidi design systems, reflecting on the trauma and recovery following the Nigerian Civil War.
- Modupeola Fadugba: Fadugba’s latest series celebrates the Ojude Oba Festival. Her works utilize “layered surfaces” of gold leaf, beads, and burned paper—a technical precision born from her background in chemical engineering.
- Diana Ejaita: Known for her iconic New Yorker covers, the Nigerian-Italian artist presents “visual prayers”—installations that use negative space and West African textiles to explore the quiet rituals of migration.
A Global Nodal Point
By positioning African icons like Mahama and Mehretu alongside Western titans such as David Hockney and Jeff Koons, Singapore Art Week 2026 is asserting itself as more than a regional fair. It is becoming a “nodal point”—a place where the Global South meets the global market to redefine the future of contemporary art.
