As Singapore Art Week continues to gain momentum in the context of this young, vibrant art scene that already feels somewhat saturated, art lovers should brace themselves for some tough decisions when it comes to navigating the more than 80 events across various genres of visual arts.

In addition to Art Stage Singapore at Marina Bay Sands and the debut of the new art fair Singapore Contemporary at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Center, both converging on the January 21-24 period, which exhibitions are particularly outstanding for visitors who want to get a handle on the local art scene? BLOUIN ARTINFO offers a short list of top 5 shows that you shouldn’t miss.

“Steve Mccurry: The Iconic Photographs” at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, January 16—February 21, 2016

This expansive mini-retrospective of the world-renowned American photographer, best known for his epoch-making “Afghan Girl” image that appeared on the cover of National Geographic in June 1985, covers the past three decades of his illustrious career. McCurry himself has selected the 53 images on display, which capture revealing vignettes and masterfully timed moments shot on location in countries mostly throughout Asia, including Afghanistan, Burma, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, with a particular focus on India, a country that he first visited in 1978. Taken collectively, these photographs make up McCurry’s painstaking tribute to the far-flung vernacular cultures and disappearing ways of life that are rarely encountered by modern-day travelers, projecting them with a universal appeal that crosses borders with consummate ease.

SCOUT at Gillman Barracks, January 18—24, 2016

An ambitious new pop-up showcase of the practices of 25 emerging Singaporean artists, SCOUT will occupy a sprawling 16 shipping containers over 20,000 square feet of car park space at Gillman Barracks. Conceived not just as an exhibition, curators Joanna Lee and Patricia Chen hope that the event will serve as a networking initiative for participating artists to establish contacts with industry players. Approaches and art practices covered in SCOUT run the gamut from interactive and community art, social and urban interventions, and unconventional treatments of the traditional media of painting and sculpture. The 16 containers that will host the event, moreover, have been conceived by artist Jennis Li as a spiral-shaped “social sculpture” that encourages audiences to ponder how contemporary art can provoke new forms of thinking and social engagement in Singapore.

Prudential Eye Awards Exhibition at ArtScience Museum, January 16—March 27, 2016

Now into its third year, the Prudential Eye Awards Exhibition will showcase 39 works from the 15 shortlisted artists across five categories of the Prudential Eye Awards, with the body of work speaking “eloquently of the diversity, sophistication, and vibrancy of the contemporary art scene in Asia,” according to Honor Harger, executive director of the museum. In these artworks, audiences can expect to witness critical reflections on many pertinent socio-political issues that influence everyday life in the region.

Among the highlights is a collection of black-and-white photography by Singaporean artist Robert Zhao (represented in the “Best Emerging Artist Using Photography” category) that recreates a part of Singapore’s history that blurs the line between fact and fiction, Bangladeshi artist Promotesh Das (represented in the “Best Emerging Artist Using Sculpture” category), whose works combine shola flowers with war artifacts that allude to the disintegration of a nation, and Cambodian artist Sareth Svay, known for a poignant practice that memorializes the collective memory associated with the war tragedies that have befallen his home country.

Donna Ong’s “My Forest Has No Name” at FOST Gallery, January 16—February 28, 2016

Known for her meticulously constructed installations that conjure up miniature worlds of whimsical fantasy, Donna Ong has been consolidating her achievements of late — 2015 saw her win the Prudential Eye Awards for Contemporary Asian Art in the installation category and participate in the group show “After Utopia” at the Singapore Art Museum before completing a residency in Germany. For this solo outing at FOST Gallery, Ong will explore the human fascination with the tropical forest, showcasing a series of pieces that combine antique prints, readymades, and text with her own original artwork.

Jane Lee’s “Freely, Freely” at Singapore Tyler Print Institute, January 17—March 5, 2016

After a productive 2015 that included appearances at several international art fairs including Art Paris and Art Basel Hong Kong, as well as a collateral exhibition during the Venice Biennale at the Palazzo Grimani, Singaporean painter Jane Lee presents a new series of works resulting from her recent residency at STPI, working with prints and paper in a marked departure from the thick, drippy impasto style for which she is best known. “I wanted to work around a good narrative. I thought about paper: paper — tree, tree — birds. I’m exploring ideas of freedom and imprisonment using images of birds,” Lee told Blouin Artinfo earlier this year.

Lee’s first foray into film and video animation can be seen in “The Birds,” which consists of a film projection on a film object. “The object itself is made up of film material — something that really excites me, as this is the first time I am exploring this form of art,” says Lee.