Conceived with the SAM by the National Heritage Board of Singapore and the Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, Open Sea is one of the highlights of the Singapour en France festival, celebrating 50 years of Singapore's independance, as well as 50 years of diplomatic ties between Singapore and France.

Logically, Open Sea may be said to be in keeping with the macLYON’s exhibitions dedicated to international art, such as China (Le Moine et le Démon in 2004), India (Indian Highway in 2011) and Brazil (Imagine Brazil in 2014). Open Sea (an allusion to Singapore’s geographical location and the region’s openness to the rest of the world) presents 31 artists from 11 countries in South East Asia, from Malaysia to Vietnam, Indonesia to the Philippines, and of course, Singapore; a veritable economic and cultural crossroads at the heart of the archipelago.

Historically known for its sea routes, an alternative to the Silk Road, South East Asia has now opened up on a large scale to global trade, tourism and migration, to the extent that the specific cultures within this region have, for a long time, been shaped by a multitude of international influences and the forces of evolving modernity.

Within just a few years, Singapore in particular has become a hub, a platform, at the crossroads of a booming Southern Asian artistic scene. This city-state, a small island (700 km2, 5 million inhabitants), is truly multicultural, open to the world. Singapore's intention is to be part of a dialogue that connects the whole continent.