The Artists Village (TAV) was a contemporary art movement founded in 1988 by performance and installation artist Tang Da Wu. Originally located at 61-B Lorong Gambas, the Village was Singapore’s first artist colony which encouraged fellow contemporary artists to re-examine concepts, ideas and existing assumptions of art-making in Singapore. Many works produced challenged the norms and radically changed the perception of art in Singapore.

When Tang returned to Singapore with his family after spending over a decade pursuing his art education in Britain, he made Lorong Gambas in Sembawang his home. It was usual practice for Tang to invite fellow artist friends to stay and use the 1.6-hectare kampong space. Since 1989, TAV was gained reputation as a creative enclave where avant garde performances and art exhibitions took place. At its peak, TAV hosted 7 art shows, housed 35 artists, accommodated to 50 participating artists and their activities, and held a milestone performance and art installation show at the Nanyang Technological Institute, titled The Happenings.

In 1990, TAV hosted The Time Show, a 24-hour art event which involved various artists working on multimedia. However, misfortune befell that same year when the Singapore government decided to recall and repossess the land which the village stood on. After that, TAV relocated nomadically to various places such as Middle Road, the now-defunct Hong Bee Warehouse at Robertson Quay, rental houses in the Naval Base area and other parts of Singapore.

Many in the local arts community are most familiar with the controversy surrounding performance art . For nearly a decade, Singapore performance art received no funding or support and was strongly discouraged. This 10-year hiatus resulted by a public performance during The Artists’ General Assembly by TAV artist Josef Ng, sparked fury amongst the people, with the act of snipping pubic hair in public. In response to his provocative performance, the National Arts Council froze all funding on performance art in Singapore and the ruling was only lifted in 2003. During this period, many TAV artists sought opportunities overseas to embark on projects and exhibitions, and only one major show – the Tour De Art Lah! – held in conjunction with the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1996, was held.

The late 90s saw TAV welcome new members such as contemporary artists Jeremy Hiah and Woon Tien Wei. The new generation of artists together with their fresh insights helped drive new directions for the artist collective. With more controversial artist collaborations and exhibitions from Southeast Asia, TAV saw breakthrough shows which changed perceptions of local art and featured 12-hour overnight poetry recitals and live DJ sets amongst others. One show, titled B.E.A.U.T.Y in 2002 showcased pieces of works that question the ideal of beauty in art amongst art collectors.

TAV commemorated its 20th anniversary in 2008 with the retrospective exhibition – The Artists Village: 20 Years On. Featuring 25 art work by TAV artists in a spectrum of mediums from installations, video art, paintings, sculptures and performance art, the exhibition examined the significance of TAV and critically re-looked existing values of art-making. Till today, the 24-member strong collective, which consists of Cultural Medallion winners Lee Wen and Chng Seok Tin amongst other established artists, continues to engender radical shifts in art-making and encourage radical school of thought amongst the artist community.