This series shares raw views from workers in different fields. They talk about their daily tasks and what drives them at work. In this piece, Xu Weilun opens up about his job. He oversees UOB’s large art collection. It holds more than 2,800 pieces. Most of these, about 70%, stay in Singapore.

Xu’s work covers a wide range. He handles display of the art at bank branches. Pieces also appear at UOB Plaza. Others rest in storage spots. The bank builds its collection each year. It does this through the Painting of the Year contest. Winners add fresh works. The bank does not buy art outright. And once in the collection, no piece goes up for sale. These artworks form a key part of UOB’s identity. They show the bank’s support for local talent.

On a typical day, Xu gives advice to offices in Singapore. He also helps teams in places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. When a new branch opens, he checks the floor plans. This lets him pick the best spots for art. He wants displays to fit the space and draw eyes.

He keeps close tabs on the art’s moves. Branches sometimes merge. Others close down. Some get a full remodel. In these cases, Xu tracks where each piece goes. He makes sure nothing gets lost or damaged in the shift. Safety comes first.

Xu inspects the artworks often. He looks for signs of wear. Stains might appear from dust or spills. Scratches can come from handling. Loose canvases need quick fixes to stop tears. He spots these issues early. That prevents bigger problems down the line.

Storage plays a big role too. Xu keeps rooms at steady temperatures. Humidity stays controlled. No direct sun hits the pieces. These steps protect colors and materials. Art like paintings or sculptures lasts longer this way. Think of it as a safe home for treasures that can’t leave the family.

Xu’s path to this role took an odd turn. He began in aviation and tourism jobs. Then he spent ten years at an art logistics firm. UOB hired that company for transport needs. There, Xu learned the ropes of moving and caring for art. He joined UOB from that experience. It gave him hands-on skills.

Now, he spots conservation needs fast. A loose canvas might lead to cracks if ignored. He works with experts who repair and frame. They use top methods. For installs, he sets museum-level standards. Lights shine just right, without glare. Space around each piece lets viewers take it in. No crowding.

One part of his job brings real joy. Xu helps artists grow. He sets up shows at events like Art Jakarta. He also arranges spots at Art Central in Hong Kong. These chances reach wide crowds. For winners of the yearly contest, this opens doors. Some shift to full art careers. Take Maurice Chan. He won as a scientist. Or Esmond Low, just a teen at the time. Their stories show how contests spark change.

Xu has one big gripe. He hates art hung too high. You end up craning your neck. It ruins the view. Proper height lets everyone enjoy the work with ease. His care keeps UOB’s collection alive and seen. It ties the bank to the art world in a strong way.

The Quiet Curator: Xu Weilun’s Strategic Vision for Corporate Art in Southeast Asia

Introduction: Beyond the Storeroom

In the gleaming corridors of UOB Plaza 1, where finance and commerce converge, an unlikely cultural steward operates largely unseen. Xu Weilun, 41, manages one of Singapore’s most substantial corporate art collections—over 2,800 works spanning decades of Southeast Asian artistic achievement. Yet to call him merely a custodian would be to fundamentally misunderstand both the man and his mission.

Xu represents a new archetype in the corporate art world: the operational visionary who understands that art’s value extends far beyond aesthetic decoration. His work sits at the intersection of cultural preservation, institutional branding, and artist development—a nexus that has profound implications for how corporations engage with the creative economy in Southeast Asia.

The Unconventional Path: From Aviation to Art

Xu Weilun’s journey to his current role reveals much about the changing nature of cultural work in Singapore. Starting with a diploma in tourism management, he spent his early career in aviation at Singapore’s airport, handling operations and events. This foundation in logistics and spatial planning would prove unexpectedly valuable.

His decade-long tenure at an art logistics company provided the crucible for his expertise. Here, he learned the intricate choreography of exhibition management and art conservation—skills that cannot be taught in classrooms alone. Significantly, UOB was his client during this period, allowing him to observe the bank’s operations from the outside before joining internally.

This trajectory challenges Singapore’s “conventional route” of certificates and steady employment that Xu himself references. His career embodies the interdisciplinary flexibility increasingly required in cultural industries: part logistics expert, part conservation specialist, part relationship manager, part strategic thinker.

The Scale and Scope: Understanding UOB’s Collection

To appreciate Xu’s impact, we must first grasp the magnitude of what he manages. At 2,800+ works, UOB’s collection rivals many mid-sized museums. With 70% housed in Singapore and the remainder distributed across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, this is effectively a decentralized regional art institution operating within a corporate structure.

The collection’s growth model is distinctive. Rather than acquiring works through purchase, UOB adds to its holdings exclusively through its annual Painting of the Year competition. This creates a living archive of contemporary Southeast Asian art, with each year’s winners becoming permanent institutional memories. The works are not for sale—a deliberate choice that positions UOB as a cultural custodian rather than an art market participant.

This approach has several strategic advantages:

1. Authenticity: By not participating in the commercial art market, UOB avoids conflicts of interest and maintains credibility as a supporter rather than profiteer of art.
2. Contemporary Focus: The competition ensures the collection continuously reflects current artistic trends and emerging voices.
3. Regional Representation: The collection naturally documents the evolution of art across Southeast Asia’s diverse creative landscapes.
4. Democratic Access: Competition entries can come from anyone—teachers, scientists, retirees—democratizing who gets institutional recognition.

Beyond Decoration: Xu’s Philosophy of Institutional Art

Perhaps Xu’s most significant contribution is philosophical: his insistence that corporate art collections should not be treated as “basically a storeroom for decorative pieces.” This seemingly simple statement represents a fundamental reframing of corporate art’s purpose.

Where others see wall coverings, Xu sees stories deserving respect. Where others see assets to be stored, he sees cultural artifacts requiring museum-standard care. This philosophy manifests in concrete practices:

Conservation Standards

Xu implements preventive conservation measures typically associated with museums: climate-controlled storage, protection from UV exposure, monitoring for deterioration, and professional restoration when needed. His background in art logistics allows him to identify issues—loose canvases, potential cracking—before they become serious problems.

His refusal to “tamper with the collection” despite his extensive knowledge demonstrates professional humility. He knows when to defer to trained conservators, but his experience managing a conservation business means he can set clear expectations and quality standards.

Display Philosophy

Xu’s attention to exhibition standards reveals his curatorial sensibility. He insists on:

• Museum-quality lighting: Narrow-angle LED spotlights that focus on artworks without spilling onto surrounding walls
• Strategic placement: Hallways and transition spaces where viewers can pause and engage without distraction
• Optimal viewing heights: His pet peeve about neck-straining installations reflects ergonomic consideration for viewer experience
• Contextual framing: Some works displayed frameless to avoid distraction; others framed for protection and presentation

These details matter because they signal respect—for the artwork, the artist, and the viewer. They transform corporate spaces from mere offices into sites of cultural encounter.

Storytelling and Documentation

By ensuring each displayed work has a label “that tells the story,” Xu creates moments of education and reflection. The artwork becomes more than visual stimulus; it becomes narrative, context, history.

The Ripple Effect: Artist Development and Career Pathways

Xu’s most profound impact may be in his role as an enabler of artistic careers. The Painting of the Year competition could be just another corporate contest, but under Xu’s stewardship, it has become a genuine pathway for emerging artists.

Case Studies in Career Development

The examples Xu cites are instructive:

Esmond Low won at age 17 in 2012 and now maintains a full-time career while being represented by a gallery. This 13-year trajectory from teenage winner to established artist illustrates the long-term impact of institutional recognition.

Maurice Chan, a scientist, won in 2024—demonstrating that artistic achievement need not be confined to “career artists.” This validates dual identities and multiple intelligences.

Nurul Afiqah, the 2023 gold winner whose mountainous pen drawings left such an impression on Xu, now works as an art teacher and specialist. Her career shows how competition success can open educational and institutional doors.

Beyond the Competition: Exhibition Opportunities

Xu’s work extends the competition’s impact through strategic exhibition placements. By selecting previous winners for Art Jakarta and Art Central Hong Kong, he provides:

1. International Exposure: Southeast Asian artists gain visibility in regional art markets
2. Sales Opportunities: Artists can sell works at these exhibitions, with UOB taking no profit—a purely supportive role
3. Professional Validation: Inclusion in curated exhibitions adds credibility to artists’ CVs
4. Network Access: Artists connect with collectors, galleries, and other industry professionals

His studio visits to artists reveal the personal dimension of this work. Seeing artists’ excitement at being included in exhibitions, observing their creative processes, and helping them select works for display—these interactions create relationships of trust and mutual investment.

The Creative Evolution: From Governance to Curation

Xu’s role has evolved from operational management toward creative direction. His involvement in Art Central Hong Kong 2025, where he had complete autonomy over booth design and work selection, marks a significant transition. This evolution reflects both institutional trust in his judgment and his own growing confidence in curatorial decision-making.

The David Chan installation at UOB Plaza 1 exemplifies Xu’s developing curatorial eye. “The Grand History,” featuring historical figures, politicians, and wildlife, created immediate public engagement. Xu notes: “Almost immediately after we installed it, people began stopping to look at the piece.” His satisfaction comes not from whether reactions are “good or bad” but from the fact that the work “sparked conversations.”

This comfort with provocation, with art that generates discussion rather than passive appreciation, suggests a maturing curatorial philosophy. Xu understands that meaningful art doesn’t always comfort—sometimes it challenges, questions, unsettles.

Operational Excellence: The Invisible Infrastructure

While Xu’s cultural impact is most visible, his operational excellence provides the foundation. Managing 2,800 artworks across five countries requires sophisticated systems:

Tracking and Documentation

Xu must know where every piece is located at any given time. When branches merge, close, or renovate, artworks must be accounted for and safely returned to storage. When new branches open, appropriate works must be selected, released from storage, and installed.

The anecdote about finding a specific artwork for a colleague who had seen it 15 years earlier demonstrates the depth of Xu’s institutional knowledge. In an age of digital asset management, this human memory and relationship building remains invaluable.

Regional Coordination

Daily, Xu advises colleagues across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam on art collection matters. This requires:

• Understanding local contexts and preferences
• Managing logistics across borders
• Maintaining consistent standards while respecting regional differences
• Balancing central control with local autonomy

Vendor Management

Xu’s relationships with framers, conservators, and installation specialists require technical knowledge and clear communication. His background in art logistics gives him credibility with these professionals—they recognize he understands their work and has realistic expectations.

The Strategic Value: Why Corporate Art Collections Matter

Xu’s work raises broader questions about corporate art collections’ role in contemporary society. Why should a bank invest resources in managing thousands of artworks?

Brand Differentiation

In competitive financial services, cultural patronage creates distinctive brand identity. UOB positions itself not merely as profit-seeking but as culturally engaged and socially responsible.

Employee Experience

Quality art in workspaces contributes to employee wellbeing and organizational culture. Walking past a significant artwork daily creates moments of reflection and aesthetic pleasure that counterbalance the pressures of corporate life.

Regional Identity

By focusing on Southeast Asian artists and distributing works across regional offices, UOB strengthens its identity as a regional bank rooted in local communities rather than a generic global corporation.

Cultural Infrastructure

In regions where public funding for arts may be limited, corporate collections like UOB’s provide crucial support infrastructure—archiving, conservation, exhibition opportunities, and financial prizes that enable artistic practice.

Social Mobility

The Painting of the Year competition creates pathways for artists from non-traditional backgrounds—teachers, scientists, retirees—to gain recognition. This democratization of opportunity aligns with broader social equity goals.

Challenges and Constraints

Xu’s work is not without challenges:

The Curse of Success

As the collection grows annually through the competition, storage and management become increasingly complex. How does one maintain personal connection to 2,800+ works? How to ensure lesser-known pieces receive attention alongside star works?

Balancing Access and Protection

Public display increases engagement but also risks damage, theft, or vandalism. Xu’s protocol of placing works only in secure areas with surveillance and security personnel limits where art can be shown.

The Curator Question

Xu explicitly states: “I do not call myself an art curator.” Yet his work increasingly involves curatorial decision-making—selecting works for exhibitions, designing booth concepts, choosing display contexts. This semantic hesitation may reflect humility, but it also raises questions about professional identity and recognition.

Institutional Constraints

Operating within a corporate structure means Xu’s vision must align with business priorities. Unlike museum curators with mission-driven mandates, he must navigate corporate hierarchies, budget cycles, and competing priorities for space and resources.

The Broader Context: Corporate Patronage in Southeast Asia

Xu’s work should be understood within Southeast Asia’s evolving cultural landscape. As governments prioritize economic development, corporate patronage has become increasingly important for arts infrastructure.

Singapore’s arts ecosystem includes significant corporate involvement—from Singapore Airlines’ support of cultural programming to DBS Bank’s art initiatives. UOB’s collection, under Xu’s stewardship, represents a particularly sustained and systematic form of this engagement.

Regionally, corporate art collections in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are growing, but few match UOB’s scale or systematic approach. Xu’s model—combining conservation standards, artist development, and regional coordination—could influence how other corporations approach cultural patronage.

Legacy and Future Directions

What will be Xu Weilun’s lasting impact? Several possibilities emerge:

Professionalizing Corporate Art Management

By applying museum standards to corporate collections, Xu elevates the field. Future corporate art managers may look to his practices as models for how to professionalize this work.

Creating Institutional Memory

The collection Xu maintains will eventually constitute a significant archive of early 21st-century Southeast Asian art. Future scholars and curators will rely on this institutional memory to understand this period’s artistic production.

Enabling Artistic Careers

The artists Xu has supported through exhibitions and competitions will themselves influence future generations. The ripple effects of his work will compound over time.

Demonstrating Corporate Cultural Leadership

By showing what thoughtful corporate art patronage looks like, Xu and UOB provide a model that other institutions might emulate, potentially expanding cultural support infrastructure across the region.

Conclusion: The Power of Thoughtful Stewardship

Xu Weilun’s story matters because it illustrates how individual vision within institutional structures can create meaningful cultural impact. He hasn’t revolutionized art—he’s managed it with exceptional care, strategic insight, and genuine respect for artists and artworks.

In an era of spectacular art market prices and celebrity curators, Xu’s quieter work of daily maintenance, thoughtful display, and artist support may seem modest. Yet it is precisely this sustained, systematic attention that creates lasting cultural infrastructure.

His insistence that artworks “are not just decorative objects” but “works we value, each with a story to tell” reflects a democratic philosophy of art’s purpose. Art isn’t reserved for galleries and collectors—it belongs in offices, hallways, and everyday spaces where people work and live.

Xu’s impact extends beyond the 2,800 works he manages. He’s modeling a form of cultural stewardship that bridges corporate and creative worlds, that values preservation and innovation equally, that recognizes talent wherever it emerges. In doing so, he’s quietly reshaping how we think about art’s place in contemporary institutional life.

The most telling detail may be his habitual carrying of a measuring tape and his phone’s measuring function to check if artworks are properly aligned. This obsessive attention to getting things right—literally and figuratively—characterizes his entire approach. In the accumulation of small, careful decisions, significant cultural work gets done.

As Singapore and Southeast Asia continue developing their cultural ecosystems, practitioners like Xu Weilun—with feet in multiple worlds, committed to excellence without pretension, and focused on enabling others’ success—will prove increasingly valuable. He represents not just good art management but a philosophy of how institutions can engage meaningfully with culture.

The question is not whether Xu Weilun has had impact—clearly he has. The question is whether other institutions will recognize the value of this model and invest in similar systematic, thoughtful cultural stewardship. If they do, Xu’s legacy may extend far beyond UOB’s walls, influencing how corporate Asia engages with its creative communities for decades to come.

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