The emergence of international art festivals, either biennial (held every two years) or triennial (held every three years) has become a particularly interesting phenomenon in Asia. Japan, China and Korea have been trend-setters in this regard, establishing biennials and triennials in several cities for more than a decade. Large cities in Japan and China such as Tokyo, Fukuoka, Yokohama, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have their own festivals. Each of these festivals competes with one another to attract the most attention-grabbing artists from around the world in order to increase their international exposure.

With the goal of becoming the "Asian arts hub", Singapore launched its first "Singapore Biennial" earlier this month. Over 100 artists, including three Thais, exhibited their works in various venues around town. Paintings, sculptures, video presentations, installation art and mixed media creations have been featured in the new National Museum, the old city hall, an abandoned soldier's camp, temples, mosques, churches, a library and even along city streets.

The three-month festival, which will run until November 12, was overseen under the artistic direction of Japanese curator Fumio Nanjo. The theme for the festival is "belief".

Discussing the festival's theme, Nanjo said that in this age of constant diversification and the mixing of different value systems, the question arises as to what people should believe in and live by? Even living moment by moment is to make a choice from a multitude of possibilities, he said. What do we base these decisions on? Some people believe in the absolute truth of religion, others in capitalism, others in progress and development or in nature and the environment, he said. Nanjo stressed that love and art can also serve as pointers as to how to live.

"Although Singapore is a small island nation, different faiths, languages and ethnic groups coexist without violent conflict. It is perhaps fitting then to reflect on the meaning of belief today in such a society. Through art, can we once again think about what binds us together as human beings? This seemingly straightforward yet potentially complex question underpins the first edition of the Singapore Biennial," he notes in the official website.

Many works on display at the festival criticise Singapore on many points that are considered taboo, including freedom of expression, religious sensibilities in the country and its overemphasis on capitalistic policies.

The Singapore government intentionally scheduled the three-month festival to coincide with the country's hosting of the World Bank Summit. In order to boost the country's appearance during both events, buildings throughout the country have been colourfully decorated and cleaned up. "Keep Smiling" is the country's motto for how locals should greet visitors. Posters depicting Singaporeans smiling are everywhere. However the government's decision to warn NGOs against protesting at the World Bank Summit seems in contrast to these aims of the campaign to promote the country.

Shanghai and South Korea are also holding prominent international art festivals right now - the "Shanghai Biennial" and the "Gwangju Bienniel" respectively.

This is the first year that organisers of biennials in Singapore, Shanghai and Gwangju have coordinated their efforts so that they open at the same time. They did so in the hopes that the joint effort would help promote the arts in their respective countries. Critics from Europe and America will find it easy to fly to Asia just once for the three events, as package tours for visiting the three biennials have been offered for the first time.

In the West, art festivals such as the prominent Venice Biennial in Italy and the Documenta in Germany, aim to cultivate an international contemporary art community interested in the works produced in each locale. Once the festivals become well established, the host countries' tourism sectors also benefits.

On the other hand, festivals in Asia seem to be either held exclusively for the sake of the arts community or for the sake of tourism and marketing. Many locals in Singapore, for example, seem to be unfamiliar with a visual arts festival. Hopefully, art-related programmes including workshops, as well as local tours for the public and students, will help raise the profile of the arts community in Singapore.

The difference in how Asians and Westerners view the arts might have to do with the fact that Asian art deals with everyday life, or what we call the art of living, while much Western art is rooted in the philosophy of individuals.

Right now the art world, especially in the West, is rethinking about how to better relate art festivals to the everyday lives of regular people.

There is no one answer to this question. It depends on the artistic, cultural and societal context in each country. These factors harmonise to form the notion of contemporary art we are living with.

Phatarawadee Phataranawik