By Natalie White

The Parkview Group opens its first private museum in Singapore, kicking it off with the global art exhibition 'On Sharks and Humanity' -- a thematic, travelling exhibition that addresses the practice of shark finning and the impact of human activity on the oceans.

Museums by the Parkview Group

Driven by democratisation, passion and commitment for arts, Parkview Group opened its first museum in Beijing in 2014. Like The Parkview Museum Beijing, The Parkview Museum Singapore aims to enrich the local art scene by providing a local and international platform for artistic expression and popularisation of contemporary art.

The Parkview Museum Singapore

The Parkview Museum Singapore will involve international and local artists to create thematic exhibitions that demonstrate the multifaceted and versatile character of contemporary art, brought together by a high level of art professionalism and curation.

Located within Parkview Square, one of the most iconic skyscrapers of the Bugis cityscape with its modern interpretation of art deco architecture, the new private museum takes up the third floor of the building with an expanse of over 15,000 square feet of column-free space.

Established with the vision of strengthening the appreciation and understanding of contemporary art in Singapore, The Parkview Museum brings together artists from different parts of the world through the presentation of solo and thematic exhibitions which will demonstrate the multifaceted and versatile character of contemporary art.

Open to all members of the public with no admission charge, the private museum aims to become involved with the community as well as play an educational role by providing a global platform for the artistic expression and popularisation of contemporary art.

On Sharks and Humanity

Conceived by Parkview Arts Action, the environmentally-focused exhibition addresses the topics of shark protection and ocean conservation through a variety of art forms in a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach.

The exhibition features artists from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany and the United States.

The artworks explore and analyse the interdependent relationship between sharks, the ocean, and human beings, challenging prevailing prejudices surrounding this deeply feared creature and bringing to light the importance of sharks in the marine ecosystem.

"This is one of the few exhibitions of its kind and it reflects the social responsibility of the artists, while demonstrating the relationship between art and society," shares Huang Du, the curator of 'On Sharks and Humanity,'"these artworks reflect the participants' imagination, judgment, creativity and their sense of social duty"

Supported the exhibition is leading international non-profit organisation WildAid, whose mission is to end the illegal wildlife trade and reduce the demand for wildlife products, such as shark fin.

Prior to its first Southeast Asian stop in Singapore, the exhibition was previously showcased at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in 2014 before travelling to Moscow and the National Museum of China in Beijing in 2015.

‘On Sharks and Humanity’ will be shown at The Parkview Museum until 9 September 2017.