The exhibition that changes itself while the doors are open: Singapore Art Museum brings “The Present is Unstable”

The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) opens today, 2 October 2026, the exhibition “SAM Collection: The Present is Unstable” at its “SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark” space. It is the third exhibition curated from the museum’s collection, but the first to change itself while the doors are open — an experiment the museum considers the boldest it has ever undertaken, as redhot.sg reports.

The concept is unusual: there is no single fixed theme. Works will be brought in and taken out over time, in new relationships with one another, while the public is invited to trace its own paths among the works. The first group of works will be shown from 2 October to 18 July 2027, while from February 2027 a second group will take its place — returning visitors will find the exhibition completely different, even though the name stays the same, according to the official website of the Singapore Art Museum.

The first group also includes the three-channel installation “I Witness” by artist Hao Jingban, a work commissioned by the Han Nefkens Foundation, the Mori Art Museum, M+ Hong Kong and SAM. Chief curator Shabbir Hussain Mustafa says the exhibition’s central question is: how can we understand the present through works of the past?

The opening programme includes a conversation with Hao Jingban and Han Nefkens, as well as a curator-led tour on 3 October. Admission is free for Singaporeans and permanent residents.