This course examines the development of modern and contemporary art in Southeast Asia, exploring the historical, cultural, and political contexts that have shaped the region’s art. Students will engage with key themes such as colonialism, nationalism, identity, and globalization, alongside museum and exhibition studies.

Indicative references :

• Apinan Poshyananda, 1992, Modern Art in Thailand: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Oxford University Press).
• Boreth Ly, 2018, Traces of Trauma: Cambodian Visual Culture and National Identity in the Aftermath of Genocide (University of Hawaii Press).
• Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez, 2010, “Art and Politics in the Philippines: Revisiting Social Realism” Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, 58, 1, pp. 53–76.
• Jim Supangkat, 1992, “The Roots of Contemporary Indonesian Art” Contemporary Southeast Asia, 14, 1, pp. 37–52.
• John Clark, 2021, Asian Modern (National Gallery Singapore).
• June Yap, 2019, Curating Nation: Museums and the Politics of National Identity in Singapore (National Gallery Singapore).
• Melissa Carlson, 2011, “Emerging Voices: Contemporary Art in Myanmar” Asian Art News, 21, 5, pp. 28–35.
• Nora A. Taylor, 2017, Studies in Southeast Asian Art (National University of Singapore Press). 
• Patrick D. Flores, 2019, Past Peripheral: Curation in Southeast Asia (National Gallery Singapore).
• Roger Nelson, 2019, Modern Art of Southeast Asia: Introductions from A to Z (National Gallery Singapore).
• Sarena Abdullah, 2018, Malaysian Art since the 1990s: Postmodern Situation (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka). 
• T.K. Sabapathy, 2017, Writing the Modern: Selected Texts on Art and Art History in Singapore, Malaysia and Southeast Asia (National Gallery Singapore).