Constance Sheares was born on 4 October 1941 and is a Singaporean arts administrator, curator, and writer.
16 Facts About Constance Sheares
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Constance Sheares was a curator at the National Museum of Singapore between 1971 and 1976, and 1982 to 1988, and later an independent curator and consultant for various organisations.
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In 2025, Constance Sheares was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.
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Constance Sheares attended the Raffles Girls' School from 1947 to 1958.
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Between 1962 and 1966, Constance Sheares attended the Courtauld Institute of Art, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in European art history, later obtaining a master's degree in Asian art history from the University of Singapore, studying there from 1967 to 1970.
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Constance 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.
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In 1976, Constance Sheares curated the inaugural exhibition at the National Museum Art Gallery, titled ART 76.
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Shortly after from 1976 to 1982, Constance Sheares would move to the Netherlands, and the designer and artist Choy Weng Yang would take over her role as the Curator of Art.
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When Constance 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.
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Constance 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 to the museum.
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Constance 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.
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In 1988, Constance Sheares would leave the National Museum Art Gallery, continuing to promote art and acting as a consultant to art buyers, lecturing on art history.
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Constance Sheares acted as consultant to Deutsche Bank in their acquisition of Singapore artworks for their local offices, and curated exhibitions of the artists they supported, such as Henri Chen KeZhan, Eng Tow, Goh Beng Kwan, S Chandrasekaran and Jimmy Ong.
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Constance Sheares was art consultant for the Land Transport Authority'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 project in Singapore.
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Constance Sheares was on the acquisition committees of the Singapore Art Museum and the National Museum of Singapore, 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 and Parliament House.
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Constance 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, Contemporary Art in Singapore: Where East Meets West, Bodies Transformed: Ng Eng Teng in the Nineties and Paintings by Chua Ek Kay: Collection of Merrill Lynch International Private Client Group Asia Pacific.