Curator Carla Bianpoen on Women’s Creative Power in Art and Technology
As the co-curator behind ILLUMINATIONS of Women’s Prowess in Art, Science, Technology and Cultural Infusions (ILLUMINATIONS), Indonesian curator Carla Bianpoen brings together a group of artists who navigate the evolving intersections of art, gender, and technology. Presented at Cuturi Gallery, the exhibition sparks new dialogues for the gallery, ones that place women’s innovation and cultural intelligence at the centre of contemporary dialogue.
“Since this is the first at Cuturi, I see this as an introduction,” Bianpoen shares. For her, ILLUMINATIONS serves as a starting point — not just for the gallery, but for fostering conversations within the Singaporean audience surrounding women artists’ empowerment and considering how women artists are expanding the language of technology and imagination.
Carla Bianpoen, Image in courtesy of Kompas.id
The exhibition features Indah Arsyad, Irene Agrivina, Hiromi Tango, and Shen Jiaqi, whose practices span Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific. For Bianpoen, this regional scope is crucial. “Singapore is a meeting point of art activities in Southeast Asia,” she notes, emphasising Singapore’s role in cultural convergence, highlighting women artists in science and technology across Southeast Asia as they enter broader global conversations on women’s roles in technology and creativity.
Across the exhibition, Bianpoen explains how technology appears not only as a tool of the future but also as a bridge between histories and traditions. “It is not a matter of preserving,” Bianpoen states, “but rather a bridging of past, present, and future.” The works on view demonstrate how digital and material practices connect the past, present, and future to create an accessible pathway to reflect on how far art and technology have not only evolved but also come to coexist.
Looking ahead, Bianpoen resists prescribing a singular direction for art and technology. “I am interested in new findings – no priority,” she says with a quiet openness to discovery. As long as there are new topics, changes, and materials, she expresses her flexibility towards curating new research findings. Still, she believes that balance lies at the heart of progress: “Women and men play an equal role in advancing humankind, with the female spirit being an extra strength.” While technology might be a male-dominated field, women need not be intimidated but should use science and technology to elevate their practice.
Through ILLUMINATIONS, Bianpoen continues her long-standing commitment to expanding visibility for women’s creative practices. Yet she also sees a need for structural change. “Galleries should increase their attention to exhibiting such artworks,” she asserts, issuing a call for institutions and networks to cultivate a more supportive ecosystem for women artists working with technology.
Ultimately, ILLUMINATIONS shines not only as an exhibition but as a statement of possibility, one that bridges innovation with empathy, and technology with the enduring strength of the female spirit.
ILLUMINATIONS of Women’s Prowess in Art, Science, Technology and Cultural Infusions is on view at Cuturi Gallery from 27 September to 1 November, 2025. For more information, please click here.
Interview conducted by Cuturi Gallery on 25 September 2025.
