The Humane Agency
The eighth edition of S.E.A. Focus was held from 23 to 25 January 2026 and, for the first time, staged within ART SG at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands Singapore. Created by John Z.W. Tang, the 2026 edition explored the theme The Humane Agency, showcasing a selection of works by established and emerging regional artists.
In times of unsettling change—of borders, climates, and belonging—it is not simply these shifts that define us, but how we choose to respond. The Humane Agency traced the quiet force of artists who, through image and material, act not as chroniclers of crisis but as participants in the difficult, necessary work of compassion.
Here, the person is neither subject nor symbol, but a site of relation. Across a range of artistic media, this edition of S.E.A. Focus drew together practices that resist detachment. Instead, they insist on proximity: to histories unsettled, to environments imperilled, to lives in motion. The presentation emerges at the intersection of three global currents: the persistence of conflict and the longing for peace; the intensifying ecological crisis; and the movement of peoples across and beyond nation-states. Art, in this context, becomes a mode of attention—slowing perception, deepening feeling, and remaining our capacity to care.
What binds these works is not a single message but a shared ethic: that empathy is neither ornamental nor optional. It is method. It is urgency. It is the first step toward imagining futures less estranged, less extractive, more entangled.
The humane, then, is not a theme but a horizon. And the artist—through acts of making, sensing, and remembering—becomes not only witness to the world, but a vital agent in its refiguring.
Southeast Asia's
Contemporary Art Platform
S.E.A. Focus is a leading showcase and art market hub dedicated to Southeast Asian contemporary art. It aims to bring together a fine curation of established and emerging artistic talents to foster a deeper appreciation of contemporary art and artists in the region.
SAM S.E.A. Focus Art Fund
Established in 2023, the SAM S.E.A. Focus Art Fund recognises iconic works of contemporary Southeast Asian art by facilitating their entry into the Singapore Art Museum (SAM)'s collection.
With the sponsored fund, outstanding work(s) presented at S.E.A. Focus will be chosen by a selection panel to be acquired for the collection.
Stories
Natee Utarit: “At the spiritual level, we are not different at all.”
Thai artist Natee Utarit reflects on the conclusion of his six-year-long ‘Déjà vu’ series, and gives a sneak peek into his new works for S.E.A. Focus 2025.
Patrick Flores: “The diplomatic impulse is a relational impulse and underlies much of artistic and curatorial work.”
Curator Patrick Flores unpacks the key themes behind the exhibition ‘Chances of Contact’ and shares his observations on the role of collaborations in Southeast Asia.
