How can a museum’s collection stay responsive to a world in flux? Singapore Art Museum (SAM) poses this question in its most experimental collection presentation to date, SAMCollection: The Present is Unstable. The third in a series of exhibitions showcasing artworks from the Collection of SAM, it invites visitors to see a changing world through an exhibition that changes with it.
From 2 October 2026, visitors will encounter a first set of artworks, including Hao Jingban’s I Witness, a three-channel installation commissioned by the Han Nefkens Foundation, Mori Art Museum, M+, Hong Kong, and SAM. A second set of works will be introduced from February 2027, creating fresh connections and juxtapositions within the gallery that give visitors reason to return as the exhibition evolves.
Rather than presenting a single narrative, the exhibition encourages visitors to chart their own path — tracing how artworks speak to one another, and forming their own connections across the ideas and perspectives that unfold through the gallery. As works are brought together alongside one another, they may surface concerns one unseen, threading questions from different moments into the world we inhabit today.
Through the periodic rotation of artworks, the exhibition takes on new rhythms and points of connection, reflecting the tensions, affinities and uncertainties that shape our experience of the present.
As part of the opening programme, visitors can join a conversation with Hao Jingban and Han Nefkens, alongside a curator-led tour offering deeper insights into the exhibition. Further public programmes will take place throughout its run, offering more ways to engage with the artworks and ideas as they take shape.
For more information , head to: https://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/art-events/exhibitions/the-present-is-unstable
