One of Singapore’s oldest galleries celebrating two decades

The Gajah Gallery in Singapore is named after a term for elephant used throughout the Southeast Asia region. Elephants are respected creatures throughout the area, slow and steady and faithful, and so it is perhaps particularly appropriate that the Gajah Gallery is one of Singapore’s oldest remaining art galleries. It is set to celebrate its upcoming 20th anniversary with a massive two-week show highlighting the gallery’s strengths and history.
The founder of Gajah Gallery says he got his inspiration for the name while going on an extended trip throughout Southeast Asia, looking for art and creative inspiration in general. In Thailand, he saw an elephant tied to a streetlight in the heat of the day, and he realized just how patient the animal was, waiting for whatever might come. In this vein, the Gajah Gallery has also weathered various storms, including the rapid opening and closing of other art galleries like it in Singapore, as well as an economic downturn in the country that sent other art curators scrambling.
It is perhaps a lifelong love of art that has kept the Gajah Gallery owner going, as well as a good deal of luck. He points to the Singaporean government’s investment into art as a good thing, and something that enabled artists and gallerists alike to try and pursue their creative dreams. Without that influx of government cash going toward the pursuit of art, many places, Gajah Gallery included, might not have been able to survive as long as they have.
However, twenty years ago, the art scene in Singapore was quite “barren,” to borrow the gallerist’s word. Gajah Gallery held its first show in the same year that the Singapore Art Museum opened, and it was something of a struggle to understand how to keep up with what it should be doing as well as inspire people and draw serious art collectors in to the space. At first, Gajah Gallery didn’t even have a dedicated, permanent space. It simply continued hosting popup shows around Singapore. Finally, a new space opened up for them, and Gajah Gallery grew its brand by featuring virtually unknown Indonesian artists.
A bigger space enabled bigger dreams, including featuring bigger and pricier artwork. The more art they sell and business they attract, the more Gajah Gallery is able to do. Running the gallery has turned into something of a team effort with organizers, technicians, and many others coming together to ensure constant success.
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To read more about the Gajah Gallery’s history and its look to the future, go to http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/elephant-in-the-room-how-singapore-s-gajah-gallery-embraced/3258430.html.