The Substation is 36 in September 2026.
In our 36 years, we’ve done many things and have had many incredible artists and arts practitioners come through our doors. We’ve built an institutional legacy and a body of collective memories that, amid today’s fast and ever-changing landscape, are rare and precious. We’ve also gone through seasons of change and have reinvented ourselves more than Taylor Swift has in eras, died and resurrected more times than—ok we’ll stop with the references here, you get it.
But through it all, one thing has never changed: our commitment to supporting independent artists at every stage of their career. The Substation has continued to create space for independent artists to make work, experiment and gather. For 36 years, The Substation has been a home for the arts.
But what is a home, if not the people who make it one?
To mark our 36th anniversary, we’ve invited some of the people behind The Substation to make their own offerings for a fundraiser. Each donation tier has been specially curated by a member of our board and in its own way, these small personal offerings also reflect the shared will to keep The Substation going.
Your contribution will support The Substation’s operations and the programmes that champion and support independent artists, from our arts residencies and exhibitions, to screenings, talks and more gathering grounds.
The Substation is Here.
And with your help, we hope to be here for many more years to come.
GivingSG — The Substation is Here
Make a donation today! Campaign ends on 1 November 2026.
DONATION TIERS
From Southeast Asian art advocates, Jean-Louis Morisot & curator Iola Lenzi:
$500
A fun day looking at art at the National Gallery
$1,000
A benefit dinner at their personally-curated residence
Based in Singapore since 1994, Jean-Louis Morisot and Dr Iola Lenzi are driven by their passion for promoting artists from Singapore and the region. They are co-founding directors of Fondation la Roche Jacquelin of Southeast Asian Contemporary Art, which has offered summer residencies for Southeast Asian artists for since 2017. Jean-Louis trained in philosophy and dabbled in finance, and is now an aspiring musicologist. An equally passionate hiker, Jean-Louis once trekked the Himalayas to raise funds for The Substation. He has served on the Board since 2016, and is currently Co-Chairperson.
Iola is a Singapore art historian and curator of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian art. Holding an LLB and a PhD in modern Asian art history, she studies visual art grappling critically with history and society, with interdisciplinary methods and comparative analysis within Asian cultural frameworks. Her exhaustive research on the emergence of contemporary art in 1990s Vietnam, spearheaded by Vu Dan Tan, Nguyen Van Cuong, and Truong Tan, underpins her claim for the region’s distinctive voice in global contemporary art historiography. Iola has curated numerous exhibitions of Southeast Asian art in Asia and Europe, and has authored and been commissioned on multilingual research anthologies on Southeast Asian art and its discourses.
$300
A private cozy dinner with arts management specialist, Audrey Wong, and a special guest artist
Audrey Wong is the Programme Leader of Master of Arts, Arts & Cultural Leadership at LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. She was Co-Artistic Director at The Substation from 2000 to 2010, and recently returned to serve as our Board Member. A recognised arts management specialist in Singapore, Audrey was an appointed Arts NMP (Nominated Member of Parliament) in 2009.
$150
A tea & coffee evening with multi-hyphenate arts manager, Yuni Hadi, and multidisciplinary collaborator, Pok Yue Weng
Yuni Hadi wears many hats as an industry-recognised arts manager, curator, programmer, and producer in Southeast Asia for her decades-long work with Objectifs Centre for Photography & Film, Singapore International Film Festival, Arts Equator, and The Substation (Moving Images programme, Substance newsletter, music gigs, and more). Yuni is the producer of the award-winning films Ah Girl (2026, dir. Ang Geck Geck) and Ilo Ilo (2013, dir. Anthony Chen).
Pok Yue Weng is a creative producer, independent publisher, film educator, and passionate collaborator. Co-founder of The Creative Room and founder of fivefingermountain, Pok is an advocate for inde-pendent creatives and community-grounded work. His love for coffee led to his self-published art and travel photobooks featuring the urban cafe cultures of Bangkok, Kyoto, and Tokyo.
$100
“The Last Communist” — a private online watch party & post-screening dialogue of this celebrated film, with the director, Amir Muhammad
An independent filmmaker and writer, Amir Muhammad is one of the pioneers of Malaysian New Wave Cinema, having directed documentaries that screened at various festivals and produced acclaimed films with directors Tan Chui Mui, Liew Seng Tat, and Nam Ron to name a few. Amir is also managing director of Buku Fixi, which has published over 200 books in Malay and English.
$50
A piece of history in the publication “Stealing Public Space: How Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Co-opts the City and Other Collective Sites”
Independently published by The Substation in 2020 in conjunction with one of our largest exhibitions of the same name, this publication is an invaluable record of 28 of the region's most acclaimed or then-emerging artists of the time, brought together in the last pre-covid excursion at 45 Armenian Street. The book inadvertently immortalises our old home with exhibition documentation that occupied all corners of the now once-again abandoned building.
Editor: Iola Lenzi
Foreword: Alan Oei
Year: 2020
Publisher: The Substation, Singapore
Cover Image: Body to Body by Chaw Ei Thein
Graphic Design: Sziyi Tuan
$25
An exclusive compilation of Singaporean music for film, curated by composer Joe Ng
Joe Ng is an accomplished film composer and sound designer with over a hundred projects in feature films, shorts, tv commercials, and art installations. No stranger to the Singapore independent community, he was the frontman of iconic 80s-90s bands Corporate Toil and The Padres, a pioneering organiser of the earliest gigs at our beloved Substation Garden, and co-founding DJ of the legendary indie anthem nights at Home Club. Joe puts together his love for music & film in this exclusive benefit compilation.
$10
Substance 电流 — an e-copy of The Substation’s vintage newsletter from the turn of the millennium
Receive an electronic copy of an iconic year 2000 issue from the personal collection of our Co-Chairperson and the newsletter’s former editor, Yuni Hadi.
The issue gives a taste of the DIY arts climate at the turn of the millennium and a glimpse of the artists, dancers, filmmakers, musicians, and writers who would become our landscape’s key movers and shakers - but will have yet to be seen in the next 26 years.
The newsletter may have ceased to be in print, but revisiting The Substation in its 10th year gives a back-to-the-future dive into where we were then and how we got here today.
GivingSG — The Substation is Here
Make a donation today! Campaign ends on 1 November 2026.