
Constance Alice Chengliu Sheares (born 4 October 1941) is a Singaporean
arts administrator
Arts administration (alternatively arts management) is a field in the arts sector that facilitates programming within cultural organizations. Arts administrators are responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operations of the organization as we ...
, curator, and writer.
Sheares helped establish the
National Museum Art Gallery in 1976, curating its inaugural exhibition and other major exhibitions.
Through exhibitions, publications, and acquisitions initiated at the Museum, Sheares helped to shape the basis of art institutions and
art historical discourse in Singapore.
She was a curator at the
National Museum of Singapore
The National Museum of Singapore is a public museum dedicated to Singaporean art, culture and history. Located within the country's Civic District at the Downtown Core area, it is the oldest museum in the country, with its history dating back to ...
between 1971 and 1976, and 1982 to 1988, and later an independent curator and consultant for various organisations.
In 2025, Sheares was inducted into the
Singapore Women's Hall of Fame
The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ...
.
Early life
Born in Singapore in 1941, Sheares grew up in a Singapore recovering from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Sheares is the daughter of
Benjamin Sheares
Benjamin Henry Sheares (12 August 1907 – 12 May 1981) was a Singaporean physician and academic who served as the second president of Singapore between 1971 until his death in 1981. Of Eurasian Singaporeans, Eurasian descent, Sheares was b ...
, a doctor at
Kandang Kerbau Hospital who later became the second
president of Singapore
The president of the Republic of Singapore, is the head of state of Singapore. The president represents the country in official diplomatic functions and possesses certain executive powers over the government of Singapore, including the contro ...
in 1971, and
Yeo Seh Geok Sheares.
She attended the
Raffles Girls' School from 1947 to 1958. In 1959, she moved to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to attend the private boarding school,
Roedean School
Roedean () is a private boarding school governed by royal charter on the outskirts of Brighton, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1885 by three sisters to educate wealthy daughters and heiresses of aristocracy and industrial elites of the 19t ...
, until 1960.
Between 1962 and 1966, Sheares attended the
Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation.
The art collection is known particularly for ...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in European art history, later obtaining a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in Asian art history from the
University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University.
The university offers degree program ...
, studying there from 1967 to 1970.
Sheares would write her master's thesis on Southeast Asian textiles, with her later fieldwork and acquisitions for the museum serving as one of the most valuable resources on the subject matter.
In 1971, she went to work at the National Museum, where she was the curator of anthropology.
Career
Beginnings of the National Museum Art Gallery
During the 1970s, Sheares helped in establishing the National Museum Art Gallery, a period of time when Singapore was developing its museum know-how.
After National Museum's
natural history
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
collection was reorganised in the early 70s, it was decided that the freed up space would be converted into an art gallery, a facility lacking in Singapore at the time, with development starting in 1973.
Following a study trip alongside over twenty international curators in the United States, Sheares, working alongside
Choy Weng Yang, would see to the creation of a "big white-shed" for the National Museum Art Gallery, a
white cube gallery
A white cube gallery is a gallery style that is square or rectangular shape, has unadorned white walls and a light source usually in the ceiling. It typically has hardwood or polished concrete floors. In the early twentieth century art became m ...
space with white walls, lighting tracks, and power points on floors for lit vitrines.
In 1976, Sheares curated the inaugural exhibition at the National Museum Art Gallery, titled ''ART 76''.
An exhibition by invitation, the artworks were chosen based on the guidelines established by a selection committee which included Sheares herself, among others.
Eventually, 150 artworks by 92 artists were selected, featuring works by Singapore artists such as
Ng Eng Teng,
Goh Beng Kwan,
Thomas Yeo, Teo Eng Seng and
Anthony Poon
Anthony Poon Kin Soon (; 21 April 1945 – 2 September 2006) was one of the pioneer abstract artists in Singapore best known for his paintings in the ''Wave Series'' which he began working on in 1976.
Biography
Born in Singapore in 1945, Poon gra ...
.
A survey of paintings and sculptural works from that moment in time, emerging and established artists were presented side by side, with Sheares believing that the exhibition "should give rise to a much healthy controversy."
Shortly after from 1976 to 1982, Sheares would move to the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, and the designer and artist
Choy Weng Yang would take over her role as the Curator of Art. When Sheares returned to Singapore in 1982, she rejoined the museum as the Curator of Southeast Asian Ethnology, later resuming her role as the Curator of Art after Choy retired in 1985.
Further curatorial work in the 80s
Sheares was involved in the design and display of the Southeast Asian Gallery when it was renovated in 1982, and in the transfer of exhibits from the teaching collection of the then
University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University.
The university offers degree program ...
to the museum.
During her time as curator, Sheares would bring in half a million dollars worth of contemporary art for the museum, through public funding and private donations.
Sheares was one of the visitors to the first exhibitions at
The Artists Village in
Ulu Sembawang, an artist commune in a farming area founded by performance artist
Tang Da Wu
Tang Da Wu (, ; born 1943) is a Singaporean artist who works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation art and performance art. Educated at Birmingham Polytechnic and Goldsmiths' College, University of London ...
. Works by Tang, Vincent Leow and Wong Shih Yeow would be acquired soon after her visit.
Since the early 80s, Sheares and the museum would lobby for a larger space for the display and storage of artworks.
In 1987, after six years of lobbying and discussions, it was announced that the National Museum Art Gallery would take over the
St. Joseph's Institution
St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) is an independent Catholic educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1852 by the De La Salle Brothers, it is the first Catholic school and the third oldest school in the country.
SJI has been offering a dual ...
building at
Bras Basah Road
Bras Basah Road () is a one-way road in Singapore in the planning areas of Museum and Downtown Core. The road starts at the junction of Orchard Road and Handy Road, at the ERP gantry towards the Central Business District, and ends at the junc ...
, what would eventually launch in 1996 as the
Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum (Abbreviation: SAM) is an art museum with multiple venues across Singapore. It is the first fully dedicated contemporary visual arts museum in Singapore with one of the world’s most important public collections by loc ...
.
In 1988, Sheares would leave the National Museum Art Gallery, continuing to promote art and acting as a consultant to art buyers, also lecturing on art history.
She acted as consultant to
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
...
in their acquisition of Singapore artworks for their local offices, and also curated exhibitions of the artists they supported, such as Henri Chen KeZhan,
Eng Tow,
Goh Beng Kwan,
S. Chandrasekaran
S. Chandrasekaran is a Singaporean contemporary artist known for his pioneering work in performance art in 1980s Singapore. He has held executive positions as Head of School at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and LASALLE College of Arts.
He ob ...
and Jimmy Ong.
Later curatorial work
Sheares was art consultant for the
Land Transport Authority
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of Transport (Singapore), Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore.
History Incorporation
The Land Transport Au ...
's ''Art in Transit'' programme, which integrated public art into the
Mass Rapid Transit stations along the
North East line that began in 1997 and started operation in 2003, the most geographically extensive
public art
Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
project in Singapore.
Sheares would recommend and work with artists most likely to create works that could integrated within the architectural structure of the stations, featuring works by Singapore artists such as
Tan Swie Hian
Tan Swie Hian () is a Singaporean multidisciplinary artist known for his contemporary Chinese calligraphy, Chinese poetry and contemporary art sculptures found in Singapore and many parts of the world.
Early life
Born in Indonesia, Tan migra ...
,
Chua Ek Kay and Milenko & Delia Prvački, the ''Art in Transit'' programme would continue on for future MRT lines in Singapore.
Sheares was also on the acquisition committees of the Singapore Art Museum and the National Museum of Singapore, also involved in the acquisition of art for
Changi Airport Terminal 3, and is further credited for the art exhibited at locations such as
The Istana
The Istana (from the Malay word for "palace") is the official residence and office of the president of Singapore. The palace is open to the public during scheduled public holidays and is where the president receives and entertains state guests ...
and
Parliament House
Parliament House may refer to:
Meeting places of parliament
Australia
* Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia
* Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia
* Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland
* P ...
.
In 2025, she was inducted into the
Singapore Women's Hall of Fame
The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ...
.
Publications
Sheares would write her master's thesis on Southeast Asian Textiles, further writing several books and monographs on Singapore art, some of which include ''Batik in Singapore'' (1975), ''Contemporary Art in Singapore: Where East Meets West'' (1991), ''Bodies Transformed: Ng Eng Teng in the Nineties'' (1999) and ''Paintings by Chua Ek Kay: Collection of Merrill Lynch International Private Client Group Asia Pacific'' (2000). Sheares' essay, "Threads of Tradition, Dyed and Woven," was published in
T.K. Sabapathy's book, ''Past, Present, Beyond: Re-nascence of an Art Collection'' (2002).
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
* https://oralhistoryproject.sg/Constance-Sheares
"Constance Sheares - Esplanade Offstage"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheares, Constance
1941 births
Cultural historians
Living people
National University of Singapore alumni
Raffles Girls' Secondary School alumni
Singaporean art curators
Singaporean art historians
Singaporean people of Chinese descent
Singaporean people of English descent
Singaporean people of Spanish descent
Singaporean writers
Singaporean women writers
Singaporean women curators
Children of presidents