ART SG and UBS announced Filipino-Canadian inter-disciplinary artist Marigold Santos as the inaugural recipient of the ART SG FUTURES Prize, presented by UBS, at ART SG 2026. Awarded to the most outstanding emerging artist featured in the fair’s FUTURES sector, the prize includes USD 10,000 and underscores a shared commitment by ART SG and UBS to championing new voices, experimentation and the future of contemporary art in the region.

Set to be presented annually, the ART SG FUTURES Prize recognises exceptional work within the FUTURES sector, a curated platform dedicated to new artworks created specifically for the fair by rising artists, presented by galleries established within the last ten years. Santos was selected by an international jury comprising Alessio Antoniolli, Director of Triangle Network; Venus Lau, Director of Museum MACAN; and Khim Ong, Director, Collection, Public Art & Programmes at Singapore Art Museum.

The jury praised Santos for her emotionally charged, materially rich practice, which weaves together painting, installation and performance to explore migration, memory and feminine identity. Her winning presentation, shroud transfiguration (1) to (16) (2026), was shown by Patel Brown gallery, which represents Santos at ART SG 2026.

“This prize reflects our belief in the importance of nurturing emerging artists at a pivotal moment in their careers,” said Young Jin Yee, Co-Head UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and Country Head UBS Singapore. “ART SG has played a significant role in positioning Southeast Asia within the global art conversation, and through initiatives like the FUTURES Prize, we hope to continue contributing meaningfully to the growth of the region’s art ecosystem.”

Now in its fourth year as Founding and Lead Partner of ART SG, UBS marked the occasion with an expanded programme that brought together collecting, performance, sustainability and public engagement — reinforcing art’s place within everyday life.

Elsewhere at UBS’s presentation this year was the UBS Art Studio, which hosted Indonesian artist Melati Suryodarmo’s landmark performance I Love You (2007). Captured on single-channel video and performed live on 22 January, the work marked UBS’s first presentation of a live performance at ART SG, as well as Suryodarmo’s debut performance at an art fair.

The intense, long-duration performance, which saw the artist carrying a 40-kilogram glass panel for nearly three hours, was followed by a fireside conversation between Suryodarmo and Elaine Choi, UBS Art Collection Manager, offering audiences rare insight into the discipline, endurance and philosophy behind performance art.

“It was not an easy decision for me to perform at an art fair,” Suryodarmo reflected. “Historically, performance art resisted commodification. But over time, I began to consider how the market could support performance art — not to compromise its spirit, but to allow it to survive historically.”

For Suryodarmo, whose work is already held in the UBS Art Collection, the invitation carried broader significance. “I felt this could open possibilities for younger performance artists to see their practice taken seriously,” she said. “Performance art is not a side practice. It is demanding, serious, and deeply meaningful.”

First performed in Barcelona in 2007, I Love You has evolved alongside the artist herself. “My body has changed — that’s natural,” Suryodarmo shared. “When I was younger, I was physically stronger. Now my movements may be slower, but my spirit is still very active. Performance art is about accepting the body as it is.”

Central to the work is the fragility of language itself. “This piece is not about romantic love,” she explained. “‘I love you’ is a phrase people easily recognise, but language is fragile. Language shapes how we see the world, how we connect, and how we misunderstand each other.”

Extending beyond the performance, UBS’s “Art for All” initiative invited fairgoers to participate directly through a series of community-focused activities at the UBS Art Studio. In partnership with local sustainability startup Plastify, visitors were encouraged to craft heart-shaped keychains made from recycled plastics collected through UBS’s in-office initiatives, while contributing handwritten messages of love displayed within the space.

The initiative aligned conceptually with Suryodarmo’s work, reinforcing themes of connection, care and responsibility, while highlighting UBS’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and public engagement through art.

The UBS Art Studio experience continued into the UBS Lounge, where a curated presentation from the UBS Art Collection brought together multimedia works by 13 international artists under the title Closer. Exploring intimacy through painting, photography, sculpture and video, the exhibition examined personal relationships, vulnerability and emotional proximity within broader cultural contexts.

Featuring recent acquisitions by Asuka Anastacia Ogawa, Anne Samat and Pinaree Sanpitak, alongside works by Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Farah Al Qasimi, Anne Collier, Sylvie Fleury, Sarah Lai, Lee Kit, Ma Qiusha, Zanele Muholi, Christine Ay Tjoe and Melati Suryodarmo, Closer invited viewers to reflect on their own sentiments and connections — drawing art, audience and experience closer together.

Together, the inaugural ART SG FUTURES Prize and UBS’s multifaceted programme at ART SG 2026 highlight a shared vision: one that supports emerging talent, embraces experimentation across disciplines, and positions art as a powerful catalyst for dialogue, community and cultural exchange in Southeast Asia and beyond.

ART SG 2026 ran from 23th to 25th January 2026 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore. More information available here

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