War and misery, Corona, hunger and inflation - we don't want to have to endure all of this every hour.
We need distraction, the beautiful, the colorful.
This is how the days that Singapore is currently giving its citizens and guests could be outlined.
The city lights up like never before during Singapore Art Week, the Festival of Lights, the looming Chinese New Year and the resurgence of ART SG art fair – the tropical trees on the Orchard Road shopping street glow pink at night, the colonial buildings have light sculptures, and the visitors to the fair are greeted by an oversized lettering "LOVE" by Robert Indiana.
Good mood and a happy world view are the order of the day.
The island with its almost six million inhabitants profits from the global crises.
After China chained Hong Kong, the rich, their lawyers and bankers moved to the green equatorial island rather than reporting to Beijing.
Winners of economic growth from India to Indonesia are keeping their billions safe in the tax-optimized city-state, which would have acted like a safe were it not for the ongoing cybercrime.
The shaken Europe drives those who can afford it to the tropical paradise.
Because the strictly managed small state promises reliability in a sea of imponderables.
The mixture of young and old money leads to an increasing demand for art.
On several occasions, the decreed development of an art market went rather poorly: the gallery district of Gillman Barracks never took off, there can be no free scene due to censorship, and the high prices for studios make experimenting difficult.
The low point was reached when impresario Lorenzo Rudolf dumped nine days before the Singapore Art Stage 2019 opened and left the city resentfully.
But now the rebirth: While the 7th Singapore Biennale was renamed to the nonsense name "Natasha" to get a face, the new ART SG shines on its own: big, colourful, overwhelming.
On more than 30,000 square meters in the two exhibition halls of the Marina Bay Sands conference center, 164 galleries from all parts of the world are looking for buyers.
Not even a hint of provocation, contradiction or criticism can be felt at ART SG.
It's as if nobody who is dreaming of their Singapore dream wants to be woken up in a spinning world.
"Many of the wealthy in the region have decided to make Singapore their place of residence," says Magnus Renfrew, the organizer of ART SG, flanked by the head of the tourism authority on the one hand and the head of asset management at a major Swiss bank as a sponsor on the other .
Renfrew helped set up Art Hong Kong in 2008, then worked for Art Basel, and is now following the shifting winds.
“Singapore is the arts hub of the region.
There are founders and heirs and an incredible interest in Southeast Asian art.
Just as the Documenta was designed by the Indonesian collective Ruangrupa.
He says nothing about the scandal triggered by the Indonesians.
Nobody here should be frightened.