KAWS:HOLIDAY Singapore concludes its exhibition
The KAWS:HOLIDAY exhibition at The Float @ Marina Bay Sands, Singapore ended three days ago. Originally slated to run from 13 to 21 November, the court on 13 November ordered the exhibition to stop, saying that it was in breach of non-profit organisation The Ryan Foundation’s (TRF) intellectual property rights and confidentiality.
The exhibition resumed on 16 November after the court lifted an interim injunction which was ordered following a lawsuit filed by TRF. The exhibition is organised by Hong Kong-based creative studio AllRightsReserved (ARR) and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.
TRF said that back in 2019, it had been in talks with ARR to bring the exhibition to Singapore, but the negotiations fell apart. According to High Snobiety, TRF accused ARR of “pushing [them] aside” from the installation project that is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.
However, according to the statement by TRF Director Adrian Chan, although no agreement was reached, ARR continues to proceed and organise the project by itself despite TRF's merchandise design ideas and introductions.
In its response, ARR said that the company takes this incident very seriously and it “will take all possible steps to ensure that this exhibition can progress in accordance with the laws of Singapore”.
After the injunction was lifted on 15 November, ARR made a statement saying: “The Court discharged the injunction and ordered the Ryan Foundation to pay AllRightsReserved the legal costs. The Court further ordered that there will also be an inquiry into the damages sustained by AllRightsReserved by reason of the injunction. This means that the ‘KAWS:HOLIDAY’ exhibition can now be reopened tomorrow.”
Adrian then told the South China Morning Post that “the injunction could have been averted if questions were raised and stakeholders consulted. This is truly a case of David & Goliath”.
“The interim injunction is a temporary one, and we are happy that the public gets to enjoy the artwork. The circumstances are now that the public is aware that the exhibition had been built on confidential information as we proceed to full trial,” Chan said in a statement.
The Singapore showcase is the seventh stop of the KAWS:HOLIDAY world tour which features the 42m-long inflatable work created by popular American artist Brian Donnelly (KAWS). The tour started in Seoul back in 2018 and it has visited Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and even outer space.