About


The Ryan Foundation is a non-profit organisation promoting arts awareness and developing art projects to build communities in Singapore and internationally.

In its effort to reach out with art, The Ryan Foundation initiates ground-up exhibitions by drawing from the collection, and also, collaborating with institutions and collectors to stage ambitious shows. This is especially important in Singapore where there is a lack of awareness about contemporary art.

Since 2012, The Ryan Foundation has presented public exhibitions including Andy Warhol: Social Circus, which featured the largest collection of Andy Warhol's celebrity Polaroids on display in Asia. The exhibition premiered at the Gillman Barracks arts precinct in Singapore, and subsequently travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to reach out to audiences there. Andy Warhol: Social Circus attracted record numbers of audiences in both countries.

In 2017, The Ryan Foundation presented Re|Collecting Asia: Selections from Singapore Private Collections,which showcased the art collections of Singapore-based art collectors in an effort to make art collecting "cool" among young people and to encourage a collecting culture. The exhibition was the first collectors' show at held at the Gillman Barracks arts precinct in Singapore.

In the same year, the Foundation launched Ryder Ripps' Diventare Schiavo (Become a Slave) in Venice, Italy. This was a virtual reality exhibition held during the 57th Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy, which later travelled back to Singapore.

The Ryan Foundation Lecture Series was launched in 2017 with the inaugural lecture given by Hannes Koch of Random International, the co-creator of the Rain Room (2012), on 25 August 2017 at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore.

The Ryan Foundation has exciting plans for the future. It is planning exhibitions, residencies and contemporary art interventions to breathe life into the contemporary art scene, and to share that with arts enthusiasts from around the world.

  1. Opening reception of Re|Collecting Asia: Selections from Singapore Private Collections
  2. Opening reception of Re|Collecting Asia: Selections from Singapore Private Collections
  3. Opening reception of Re|Collecting Asia: Selections from Singapore Private Collections
  4. Gallery installation of Re|Collecting Asia: Selections from Singapore Private Collections

Media Quotes
"And that's what Su's Ryan Foundation attempts to do – to give accessibility to works which the everyday Joe or Jill may not get their chance to clap eyes on."
– The New Straits Times
"'We were criticised for catering to the mass market by people who were used to having white walls in galleries,' says Mr Su."
– The Straits Times
"Su started The Ryan Foundation in 2012 to support arts education in Singapore."
– The Peak