National Gallery Singapore is making waves with its bold new exhibition Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise, a groundbreaking showcase that explores the intersection of art and activism through the work of five remarkable Southeast Asian women artists. Running from 9 January to 15 November 2026 at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Concourse Gallery, the exhibition brings together over 45 major artworks and more than 110 rarely seen archival materials — many on display in Singapore for the first time.
At its heart, Fear No Power is more than an art exhibition; it’s a powerful narrative about how women across Southeast Asia have used artistic expression to challenge dominant cultural norms and envision social change. Spanning mediums from performance and painting to photography and sculpture, the exhibition presents a rare comparative perspective on the ways creativity intersects with community, resistance, and collective care.
The exhibition celebrates the work of five influential artists whose practices evolved from the 1960s through the 2010s, a period marked by intense sociopolitical transformation in the region. These figures include Singapore’s own Amanda Heng, whose participatory works question identity and gendered social expectations; Indonesia’s Dolorosa Sinaga, a sculptor and human rights advocate; and Philippine artist Imelda Cajipe Endaya, co-founder of the feminist collective KASIBULAN. Malaysian painter and photographer Nirmala Dutt examined environmental and social injustice, while Phaptawan Suwannakudt from Thailand reimagined traditional visual languages to reflect women’s lived histories.
Organised across three thematic zones — Where the Body Thinks, Worlds Open, Refusal and Hope, and Imagining Otherwise — the exhibition traces how these artists moved from personal narratives to collective action. From reflections on memory and domestic life to broader responses to political and environmental challenges, visitors are invited to consider how courage and imagination can reshape the world around them.
More than just a celebration of artistic talent, Fear No Power is a call to recognise how art functions as a tool for social engagement, cultural dialogue, and community building. With free admission for all, the National Gallery Singapore continues its commitment to making diverse and often overlooked stories central to how we understand art and society today.
