LASALLE X LTA: Curating Art in Transit for Geological Education

The Art in Transit (AIT) programme is Singapore's largest public art showcase. Under the AIT programme, local artists are commissioned to create original artworks for MRT stations, providing an opportunity for the artists to celebrate Singapore’s local history and community. These become a permanent source of delight for the millions of commuters who travel daily on the rail network. Some of these new MRT sites have rich geological and cultural histories, and LTA seeks for their permanent commissioned artworks to educate and raise awareness about these histories for the local and residential communities.

The AiT programme is expanding as the planning and development of more MRT stations are underway. Some of these new sites have rich histories, and LTA seeks for their permanent commissioned works to educate and raise awareness about these histories for the local and residential communities. 

The LASALLE group of students has been tasked to develop a Curatorial Research / Commissioning Portfolio that will support LTA's process and strategy for commissioning suitable artists for the creation of a public artwork in the stations that will: 

1. enhance curatorial and commissioning strategy
2. engage with histories of the new MRT sites, and
3. catalyse meaningful community engagement that increases the interest for public art in these transit spaces. 

The report is structured in a logically sound manner, and fits the needs arising from our project brief. The part on recommended artists is of particular interest to me. Some of the spotlighted artists were not yet on my radar. This will cut down on time required in the future for research. We may be able to use some of these for our upcoming projects.

Richard Lim, Art in Transit and Gift of Art
Land Transport Authority 

Ruth Au - Project Lead and Research

Koh Jia Ling - Research and Writing 

Minerva Chia - Research and Writing 

Nina Natasha - Research and Writing

Sri Nor Wakhidatun Nazila (Naz) - Design and Research 

Zofia Kokotowska - Design

1. Develop a meaningful and successful relationship between art, transit spaces, and commuters through the AiT programme.
2. Understand how contextual histories of MRT sites can be integrated into site- specific artworks.
3. Discover how successful community engagement activities can take place in the creation of site-specific artworks.

The Commissioning Portfolio included: 

1. An overview and analysis of three findings drawn from research methods that (1) highlighted Art in Transit's comparative edge against two other cities - Sydney and Amsterdam, (2) demonstrated ways in which artworks have been historically and comparatively integrated into the histories of place and (3) successful community engagement strategies
2. Comissioning criteria for specific place-based contexts of new MRT sites
3. Five recommended artists to consider for a specific new MRT site
4. A curatorial vision for the site and four strategies to take to execute the vision
5. An overarching strategy for community engagement and three proposed ways to manifest this strategy, and
6. Potential social and environmental sustainable ideas to execute in the future for sustainable development. 

Other appended documents that would support LTA in their future strategy plans for AiT and commissioning that the group derived were: 

1. Insights from a survey of the AiT programme that analysed key trends in the artist and artwork selection of the programme and a database of all previously engaged artists
2. A 23-artist database of artists that have experience working in public art, community engagement and site-specific artwork contextualised to histories of place that were reviewed against item #1
3. Interview questions that LTA can use in their shortlisting process for selecting artists for AiT in new MRT sites
4. Insights from the research methods that can be of use to LTA in the future.