Kelly Janine Xiao Rong

What is your full name?

Kelly Janine Xiao Rong.

What is your first name?

Kelly.

Where were you born?

Singapore.

Where do you currently reside and work?

Singapore.

What is your educational background?

I obtained a BA in Art History and English Literature at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and an MA in Art History and Archaeology at The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

What are other details of experiences, work or otherwise, that have led you to your current work?

I worked as a freelance editorial writer and as an intern at Vogue Singapore. I was also a curatorial assistant for artists like Goh Beng Kwan and The Artists Village, and I was a project manager for the Art Galleries Association Singapore.

How would you describe your practice/business?

My practice mainly focuses on academic research and editorial writing on Singapore’s art, culture and fashion topics. My current job as a Built Heritage Manager at the National Heritage Board has shaped my curatorial experience working with local artists and using unconventional exhibition spaces.

I am also an occasional image-producer who aims to reinterpret Singapore’s past from a postcolonial and feminist lens.

What are the highlight projects in your career so far?

I curated an exhibition in collaboration with design studio Supper House called Let It Linger in July 2024 at 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace. I brought together six local womxn artists, who created works in response to the building’s history, as its lease was about to expire in 2025. The exhibition gained media coverage and the community support resulted in the tenants’ lease extension to 2028.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently developing a lens-based project that explores Christina Lee’s troubled marriage to Cathay Organisation cinema magnate and art patron Loke Wan Tho, a continuation of my series on her three marriages.

Now that I am working in the public sector, I hope to develop a career in the local heritage and museum industry as a curator. I see myself potentially pursuing a PhD when I am in my 30s or 40s.


Instagram: @kellyjanine.xr
Website: www.kellyjanine.com