Welcome Home! – Utterly Art Artists Return to 20B Mosque Street
New Space for the Arts Embraces Past Tenants for Its First Exhibition
From 6 March to 5 April 2026, Visual Arts Centre and Utterly Art proudly present Welcome Home! Artists Return to 20B Mosque Street, a group art exhibition that reunites artists long associated with Utterly Art within the very building that once housed the gallery for over a decade. Now reimagined as an inviting new art space combining a retail art gallery and an art studio under Visual Arts Centre, 20B Mosque Street opens its doors not only to the public, but also to its artistic past.
For twelve years from 2012 to 2024, 20B Mosque Street served as a pivotal location for Utterly Art, one of Singapore’s longest-running independent art galleries known for championing emerging and mid-career Southeast Asian artists. Many collectors, artists, and art enthusiasts fondly recall the space as a site of discovery where new talents were first encountered and creative friendships forged. With Visual Arts Centre now taking up residence, the building enters a renewed chapter, welcoming Singapore’s arts community back to a familiar address in Chinatown’s historic district.
Welcome Home! reflects the feeling of returning to a familiar place-where artists reconnect with their roots and audiences are invited to discover a new creative home. Dedicated to supporting Singaporean artists, this new art enclave – the VAC Art Gallery and Studio aims to become a welcoming platform for local talent while nurturing emerging voices from across Southeast Asia.
The first exhibition Welcome Home! Features a total of twenty artists, with works by Andre Tan, Melissa Teo, Nathalie Laoue, William Sim, Aaron Gan amongst others, bringing together a diverse multi-generational roster of Utterly Art’s artists, many of whom have participated in solo or group exhibitions at the venue. Through painting, printmaking, works on paper, and mixed media, the exhibition showcases both signature styles and newer directions in their practices, mapping the artistic growth that has unfolded since they first exhibited at 20B Mosque Street.
Presented as the inaugural exhibition of Visual Arts Centre’s Chinatown gallery and studio, Welcome Home! symbolically links past and future.
While Utterly Art represents the space’s artistic heritage, Visual Arts Centre introduces a hybrid retail gallery and art studio model – offering exhibitions, art courses, workshops, and cultural programmes that engage both aspiring learners and seasoned collectors. The result is a welcoming, multipurpose arts environment where making, learning, exhibiting, and collecting intersect under one roof.
"This new space for the arts embraces its past tenants in a meaningful gesture of continuity. By inviting Utterly Art and its artists back for the first exhibition, we honour the legacy of the space while opening the door to new possibilities. It is a homecoming for the artists, and a home-opening for Visual Arts Centre."
A unique series of Singapore-centric cultural programmes and workshops-including Singaporean Motif Batik Painting, Peranakan Tile Painting, Urban Sketching, and more will be presented at 20B Mosque Street, responding to the growing interest in hands-on art experiences among both locals and international visitors.
Situated in the heart of Chinatown, the location is highly accessible and immersed in a vibrant environment rich in heritage and tradition, offering a meaningful setting for cultural exchange and artistic engagement.
Exhibition date/time: 6 March to 5 April 2026, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-7pm daily, and Sunday 10am-6pm
Exhibition Opening: 5 March, 6pm onwards
Exhibition programmes: Meet the artists! 14 March, 11am-1pm [Be taken through a tour of the exhibition and ask the artists any questions about their artworks!]
Andre Tan's work employs bold graphic imagery and traditional ornamental motifs to examine labour, identity, and nationhood in Singapore. The labouring figure becomes a symbolic carrier of collective memory, where personal effort intersects with cultural heritage, prompting reflection on how national narratives are formed, sustained, and remembered.
Synopsis
Welcome Home! – Utterly Art Artists Return to 20B Mosque Street marks the opening of a new chapter for artists, audiences, and the arts community within Singapore’s historic Chinatown district. Set in the newly established VAC Home for the Arts at 20B Mosque Street, the exhibition brings together artists whose practices reflect ideas of return, belonging, memory, and place.
The exhibition explores the notion of “home” not only as a physical space, but as an emotional and cultural anchor-one shaped by lived experiences, collective histories, and evolving identities. Through painting, mixed media, and contemporary visual languages, the participating artists respond to Singapore’s urban landscape, social narratives, and personal reflections, offering diverse yet interconnected perspectives on what it means to come home.
Situated amidst the rich heritage of Mosque Street, the exhibition resonates with its surroundings, where tradition and contemporary life intersect. Welcome Home! invites the public to rediscover art within an intimate and welcoming environment, encouraging reflection, dialogue, and renewed engagement with local artistic voices.
More than an exhibition, Welcome Home! signals the beginning of an active cultural space-one that will host exhibitions, workshops, talks, and community programmes-positioning 20B Mosque Street as a vibrant meeting point for art, culture, and creative exchange. Welcome Home! invites the public to step into this cozy new home for the arts exploring the exhibition while taking part in a range of introductory, beginner-friendly art workshops.
A host of exciting programmes has been lined up, including a Watercolour Painting Workshop with Ong Kim Seng on 15 March, 9.00am-12.00pm. Other upcoming workshops include street-style doodling with graffiti artist ANTZ, caricature drawing, botanical watercolour painting, and more.
Visitors can look forward to a vibrant calendar of workshops and art courses at this new art space-designed to inspire, welcome, and make art accessible to all.
Exhibition Details
Theme: Welcome Home! Utterly Art Artists Return to 20B Mosque Street
Exhibition date/time: 6 March to 5 April 2026, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-7pm daily, and Sunday 10am-6pm
Exhibition Opening: 5 March, 6pm onwards [By invitation]
Exhibition programmes:
Meet the artists! 14 March, 11am-1pm [Be taken through a tour of the exhibition and ask the artists any questions about their artworks!]
For Media Preview: 5 March, 11am onwards
Contact: 90056716
Media Contact
Iola Liu | 9239 8226 | [email protected]
Visual Arts Centre | 6255 0711