WHO ARE WE? WHAT DO WE DO?
OH! Open House is an independent arts organisation that tells alternative stories of Singapore through art. Since 2009, we have provided more than 60,000 people with the unique experience of appreciating art and heritage outside of museums and galleries – from strangers’ homes to underutilised public spaces. We work with artists to present art in unconventional locations, or in surprising new ways. Through our diverse programmes, OH! creates opportunities to understand and connect with the everyday on a more meaningful level.
HOW DO WE TELL STORIES?
We offer programmes that combine art and heritage. We put artworks that respond to spaces they are housed within i.e. they are site specific – they tell stories of the spaces they are housed in and/or can only be best experienced within those spaces. We offer:
Art Walks
We are experience specialists. Nobody does tours like we do. In the format of guided tours, audiences get to step into private homes and spaces to see museum-worthy artworks. Art exhibitions can leave audiences feeling disconnected – art-speak can be intimidating; or else people use art as selfie backdrops. In this sense, heritage walking tours can connect visitors much better with the neighbourhoods, with our spaces. What differentiates us with heritage walks is that you don’t just learn, you experience through the art and the stories that lie within. Today, our art walks remain unique and popular despite that free heritage and art trails are dime in a dozen. Close to 5,000 ticketed guests visited our 2018 edition in Emerald Hill.
Art Experiences
We have turned terraced houses into museum and artworks. We have converted HDB staircases into galleries – you get to start from the highest floor, make your way down, with each floor encompassing a different work, a different story. Whilst transforming spaces with artworks, we give audiences a chance to explore Singapore and learn about her.
We are experience specialists. Nobody does tours like we do. In the format of guided tours, audiences get to step into private homes and spaces to see museum-worthy artworks. Art exhibitions can leave audiences feeling disconnected – art-speak can be intimidating; or else people use art as selfie backdrops. In this sense, heritage walking tours can connect visitors much better with the neighbourhoods, with our spaces. What differentiates us with heritage walks is that you don’t just learn, you experience through the art and the stories that lie within. Today, our art walks remain unique and popular despite that free heritage and art trails are dime in a dozen. Close to 5,000 ticketed guests visited our 2018 edition in Emerald Hill.
Art Experiences
We have turned terraced houses into museum and artworks. We have converted HDB staircases into galleries – you get to start from the highest floor, make your way down, with each floor encompassing a different work, a different story. Whilst transforming spaces with artworks, we give audiences a chance to explore Singapore and learn about her.
WHAT DO WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE?
Provide alternative ways to experience art, outside of museums and galleries.
Give Opportunities
Give local artists opportunities to experiment with site-specificity – to unlock or even create new meanings to our everyday spaces.
Challenge Audiences
Challenge audiences to think deeper about the immediate environment they inhabit, and the larger context of Singapore.
OUR ORIGIN STORY
“When I first moved to Singapore, I shifted with my few belongings into a shophouse. I wanted to use the space better, so I invited an artist, Xiao Yun, to do something. All I gave her was a house key. No guidance, no parameters. I enjoyed the process and final installation so much, I thought, “Why don’t my neighbours do the same thing?” Alan [co-founder] was the first person who not only loved the idea, but wanted to do it. For our first few art walkabouts, it was just Alan and me with a part-time team. Today, we have a full-time team, and we are an Institute of Public Character. We continue to bring art out of museums and galleries and into our everyday spaces, bringing art to the public. Most importantly, we give artists opportunities to lead national conversations – to question our way of life, to chart our way forward.”
— Oliver Bettin, Co-founder
WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY ABOUT US?
“I like seeing regular paraphernalia from the school classrooms and the residents’ own decor amongst the exhibits… Each OH! Open House event I’ve managed to attend has been memorable and different...”
–– @Pickleandpepper, Audience, OH! Emerald Hill
“I have always appreciated OH! for its courage to challenge Singapore. I would even use the word ‘radical’, for the fact that it made art walkabouts a thing in a tightly-regulated city, and introduced art into neighbourhoods where some people do not even have the slight interest to step into a museum to look at art. It forces artists to explain art to (sometimes illiterate) kopitiam uncles, and forces yuppies to listen to stories about back alleys and people whose voices are small and forgotten. It forces the exchange between the unlikely, ruffle some feathers, and get us thinking.”
–– Lim Qi Xuan, Designer and Sculptor, worked with OH! in 2015 – 2016
BOARD MEMBERS & ADVISORS
Christophe Mayol
Chairperson
Christophe is currently Head of Derivatives for AIA Group, Asia's largest life insurance company. Prior to that, he led interest rates trading and financial engineering activities of a French bank in Asia-Pacific for 15 years. He is based in Singapore. Christophe holds a MScEng from the National Institute of Applied Sciences, Lyon, France.
Alan Oei
Member and Executive Director
Alan is an artist-curator whose work and projects examine the intersection of art history and politics. As an artist, his work has been shown in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia and the USA. He was previously the artistic director of Singapore’s first independent contemporary arts centre, The Substation.
Liang Shi’ai
Member, Chairperson (Fundraising Subcommittee)
Shi'ai, IHG® Hotels & Resorts Senior Development Director, brings 15 years of hospitality real estate experience. With a BA in Architecture from NUS and a Master's in Hospitality Management from Cornell University, she has held development roles at Blueground, Marriott International, Rosewood Hotel Group, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Pan Pacific Hotels Group. Shi'ai is also an avid collector of contemporary art and antique maps.
Ryan Su
Member
Ryan is Head of Art and Cultural Property Law at WMH Law Corporation and represents museums, galleries, artists and art collectors. Ryan was awarded the Patron of the Arts in 2017. Most recently, he was invited to the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum’s acquisition committee on Asian art. Ryan is also Contributing Editor at ArtAsiaPacific.
Seng Yu Jin
Member
Yu Jin is the Director of Curatorial and Exhibition at the National Gallery Singapore. He completed a PhD at the University of Melbourne, on the history of exhibitions in SEA. He was previously a lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts in the MA Asian Art Histories and BA Fine Arts programmes. Now, he lectures in the Minor in Art History at the National University of Singapore.
Filippo Giachi
Advisor
Filippo is a tech executive and an enthusiastic member of Singapore' entrepreneurial community. He founded one of the digita businesses for NTT DOCOMO in Asia, and has over a decade of experience in the region. An engineer by training, Filippo holds an MBA from SDA Bocconi, Italy, and has been co-founder and board director of multiple organisations, including non-profits.
Past Members
After a 2-year transition, our founding members have stepped down – as part of board renewal – to give way to newer members to steer OH! towards new heights.
Oliver Bettin, Chairperson (2014 - 2022)
Randy Chan (2015 – 2019)
Lisa Robins (2014 - 2022)
Philip Morgan (2015 - 2022)
Tan Kheng Hua (2014 - 2022)
Tan Sue Yen (2020 - 2024)
Linda Neo, Chairperson (2022 - 2024)
Member since 2019
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Lim Su Pei
Deputy Director
Su Pei has over 15 years of experience working for the arts industry. Under the umbrella of The Old Parliament House Limited (nka The Arts House Limited), she has managed international and regional arts-business programmes held locally and across the continent in South Africa and Eastern Europe.
Tang Hui Shi
Arts Business Manager
Hui Shi received her degree in Business Administration at NUS, and has two years of experience in Myanmar where she set up a travellers' hostel. She enjoys striking up conversations and discovering stories from people of all walks of life.
Kristen Oliveiro
Community & Arts Mgmt Executive
Kristen holds a degree in Arts and Humanities from Yale-NUS College, specialising in Art Practice. Kristen has experience in diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) programming and intercultural engagement facilitation. She is interested in how contemporary performance forms challenge popular definitions of art-making.
Shannon Tan
Arts Mgmt Trainee
Shannon is currently pursuing a Diploma in Arts Business Management at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Passionate about fostering appreciation for local arts, she played a key role as organiser and programme leader for her school’s arts festival, Verve 2023. Shannon also enjoys painting in her spare time.
Goh Yun Xuan
Arts Mgmt & Community Intern
Yun Xuan is currently pursuing a Diploma in Arts Business Management at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Passionate about the arts, she believes in their power to forge meaningful human connections. From dance to visual arts, she finds joy in creative expression and shared experiences. She also enjoys slice-of-life, coming-of-age, and chick flick series.
VOLUNTEER SUBCOMMITTEE: FUNDRAISING 2024/25
Ernest Tan
Chairperson
Ernest has been a volunteer since OH! Holland Village in 2017. He had previously advised on OH! Stories and art walks. A seasoned volunteer for various causes, he has advised several charities and social enterprises. Ernest graduated from SMU with a BSc in Economics. In his non-free time, Ernest is a man in finance and former management consultant, no trust fund, only central provident fund.
Ching Bao Lin
Member
Bao is a brand and placemaking consultant and Founder of her own practice Fourth Space. She is also a trend researcher and contributing writer on Singapore cuisine. She previously spent 12 years in the Singapore public service (EDB, NAC and STB) taking on branding, marketing communications and arts programming roles. In her free time, you can catch Bao drinking natural wines, attending art events or watching films at The Projector.
Rebecca Kwee
Member
Rebecca is currently a social impact investor at LeapFrog Investments. She has over a decade of experience in social entrepreneurship, finance, and education. With a love for writing poems and speculative fiction in cafes, Rebecca is a published (and still passionate) writer, having won a Pushcart Prize Honourable Mention and participated in SGIFF’s Youth Jury & Critics Programme.