STPI Symposium 2026: The Politics of Print 23.01.2026 — 24.01.2026

About The Symposium

Presented as part of Singapore Art Week 2026, the inaugural edition of The Print Show & Symposium Singapore explores the vibrant landscape of printmaking in contemporary art. Staged in collaboration with leading international galleries, artists, thinkers and curators, the programme includes an expansive group exhibition complemented by a dynamic forum for talks and conversations. Together, these events aim to foster discourse and discovery, while celebrating the evolving future of print in contemporary culture today.

STPI Symposium 2026: The Politics of Print

How has print defined modern and contemporary art histories across geographies and generations, shaping cultural movements in the process? Conceived as a gathering for curious discussion, The Politics of Print invites speakers and audiences to participate in two days of lively conversations and debates.

Thinking about the legacies of print from the 19th century to the present, discussions will look at the transnational legacies of print as a political form; the radical use of print to drive artistic movements across Asia; current trends in collecting prints that are revealing historic shifts in the global art market; and how memes and NFTs, as works of art in an age of digital reproduction, fit into the history of print.

Punctuating these exchanges are artist roundtables with masters in their field, Michael Craig-Martin, Pinaree Sanpitak, Salima Hashmi and Rirkrit Tiravanija, plus the Singapore edition of Crit Club, a contextual performance project conceived by Cem A., the artist behind the art world's favourite meme account @freeze_magazine.

Organised by STPI, curated by Stephanie Bailey.

(Click here to learn more about The Print Show 2026.)

23 January 2026, Friday | Day 1

10.00AM – 10.30AM | Breakfast & Coffee (Light breakfast and coffee)

10.30AM – 12.00PM | The Politics of Print

• Wu Mo (Sigg Curator, M+)
• Kathleen Ditzig (Curator, National Gallery Singapore)
• Özge Ersoy (Executive Director, Asia Art Archive)
• Moderated by Stephanie Bailey (Curator, The Politics of Print, and Lead Editor, print_screen)

How political is print? This conversation looks at how print has shaped modern and contemporary art across geographies and generations: from modern master Zao Wou-Ki’s revolutionary adoption of print and MoMA’s influence on print practices in Southeast Asian art in the 20th century, to how archives of printed matter—such as catalogues and zines—are re-tracing Asia’s evolving art histories today.

12.00PM – 1.30PM | Lunch Break (Light lunch)

1.30PM – 3.00PM | New (Print) Markets, New (Print) Worlds

• Molly Steiger (Senior Vice President and Senior International Specialist, Prints & Multiples, Sotheby’s)
• Jenny Gibbs (Executive Director, IFPDA)
• Mazdak Sanii (Founder and CEO, Avant Arte) 
• Moderated by Vivienne Chow (London Correspondent and Co-author of The Asia Pivot, artnet)

Are we in a new print renaissance? As prints and editions surge in popularity, artnet’s Vivienne Chow invites leaders in the field to reflect on current trends and developments that are reshaping the global art market. What new art worlds and audiences are emerging amid generational and geopolitical shifts, and how are they redrawing today’s cultural and commercial landscapes?

3.00PM – 3.30PM | Afternoon Tea (Light refreshments)

3.30PM – 5.00PM | Keynote Conversation: Print as Practice

• An audience with artists Michael Craig-Martin and Pinaree Sanpitak
• Moderated by Adele Tan (Senior Curator and Assistant Director of Curatorial Programmes, National Gallery Singapore)

“You can make art out of anything,” says artist Michael Craig-Martin. “It is rather a question of how transformation occurs.” That profound and unruly process of artistic transformation anchors this talk, which explores how two contemporary masters—Michael Craig-Martin and Pinaree Sanpitak—have used print to bridge the gap between society and fine art.

24 January 2026, Saturday | Day 2

10.00AM – 10.30AM | Breakfast & Coffee (Light breakfast and coffee)

10.30AM – 12.00PM | Radical Printmaking in Asia

• Bishal Yonjan (Artist, curator, and member, Kalā Kulo)
• Nozomi Naoi (Associate Professor, Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore)
• Sook-Kyung Lee (Director, The Whitworth, and Professor, Curatorial Practices, The University of Manchester)
• Moderated by Siddharta Perez (Curatorial Lead, NUS Museum)

This panel focuses on radical moments, past and present, when print became a tool to call forth new artistic worlds and solidarities. Speakers include Japanese print specialist Nozomi Naoi; Bishal Yonjan, who traces a story of Global South Asia through journals produced by 20th-century Nepalese artists; and Sook-Kyung Lee, Artistic Director of the 2023 Gwangju Biennale, which featured woodcuts memorialising the Gwangju May 18 democratic movement by Malaysian collective Pangrok Sulap.

12.00PM – 1.00PM | Lunch Break (Light lunch)

1.00PM – 4.00PM | Crit Club: The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction

Crit Club is a contextual performance project by Cem A., the artist behind the art-world's favourite meme account, @freeze_magazine. Staged like a sports tournament, participants are invited to debate impossible art-related positions that playfully challenge the art world's hesitancy to embrace disagreement. In Singapore, among the world’s crypto capitals, Crit Club considers NFTs and memes as inheritors of print’s DNA.

Debate | 1.00PM – 2.00PM: Is an NFT’s Worth in the Art or the Trade?

• Chris Fussner (Founder, Tropical Futures Institute) 
• Kijun Seo (Co-founder of Planetarium Labs, PALJA, and HAP) 
• Audrey Ou (Co-founder and CEO, TRLab) 
• Clara Che Wei Peh (Independent curator)
• Moderated by Margaret Wang (Private collector and art patron)

Tete-a-Tete | 3.00PM – 4.00PM: Are all Memes Political?

• Cem A. (Artist and founder, @freeze_magazine) 
• Al Hassan Elwan (Interdisciplinary designer, brand consultant, and founder, POSTPOSTPOST™)
• Moderated by Stephanie Bailey (Curator, The Politics of Print, and Lead Editor, print_screen)

4.00PM – 5.00PM | Afternoon Tea (Light refreshments)

5.00PM – 6.00PM | Keynote Conversation: ‘The worse things are, the better the art becomes’

• An audience with Salima Hashmi (Artist, educator, art historian and activist)
• Moderated by Rirkrit Tiravanija (Artist and Professor of Professional Practice, Visual Arts, Columbia University School of the Arts)

A founding member of the Women’s Action Forum in Pakistan, Salima Hashmi’s practice demonstrates the multi-faceted roles that artists can take. Mirroring Hashmi’s concerns for equality and sustainability, while holding space to celebrate life no matter what, artist Rirkrit Tiravanija will moderate the discussion. 

6.00PM – 6.15PM | Closing Reflections

Emi Eu (Executive Director, STPI)