I love art, and I love cities.

As a cultural policy-maker in a past life, my role was to examine how art could be used to transform cities, and to apply what I uncovered to Singapore. I loved my job. I really did.

The job didn’t come with much travel. But I traveled anyway, religiously.  And wherever I went, I sniffed out those places suffused with (contemporary) art – bohemian quarters, contemporary art museums, gallery districts, artist colonies, public art displays – and I would linger there for hours, intoxicated, overwhelmed.

Sometimes, when I can, I visit a city specifically for an art-related event. I still do. If I had all the money in the world, I would just be an art-fair / Biennale tourist, hopping from city to city and event to event…

New York for the Whitney Biennale and the Armory Show… London for the Frieze Art Fair… Kassel for Documenta… Basel for Art Basel… Venice for the Venice Biennale… Istanbul for the Istanbul Biennale… Dubai for ArtDubai… Shanghai for SH Contemporary… Gwangju for the Gwangju Biennale…  Sydney for the Sydney Biennale…

What a life that would be! What a beautiful dream!

Over the next few posts, I shall be writing about art and the city, specifically major art events or institutions that I have visited in this past year of non-stop travel. I share my thoughts on the art, on the event or institution, and on how the art has (or has not) transformed the city.

First up: the Liverpool Biennale 2010.  Stay tuned.

Louise Bourgeois – Maman – Roppongi Hills – Tokyo