When I first created this post back in 2016 I covered 4 major art fairs in Singapore, with organizers such as Affordable Art Fair running twice per calendar year. Now, as I review 2018, the list is down to only 2 major fairs, with AAF cutting back to just 1 major fair per year. How times have changed!
It should be said though, the art fair market has not dropped off. Demand for art fairs remains good, and market consolidation is a necessary step to remove the saturation that had occurred in such a small market as Singapore.
So, where can you consider as a good quality art fair in 2018? Here’s the only 2 choices left:
Affordable Art Fair
The Affordable Art Fair runs in 11 unique locations across the year, but every November it touches down in Singapore. The event is consistently held at the spacious and easily accessible F1 pit building within walking distance of the Singapore flyer and Promenade MRT station.
The Affordable Art Fair is arguably the most successful art fair in Singapore over the last couple of years. Attracting around 60 galleries from across the world, visitors get to see thousands of works, priced between S$100 – S$15,000.
In our experience, you are unlikely to find good quality, unique works (that aren’t just limited edition prints) for less than S$3 – S$4k, but that’s still relatively affordable to the majority of attendees that are looking to buy.
As regular exhibitors we really like the affordable art fair – the organizers and staff do a great job, and the event has always ran smoothly with good results.
The 2018 November fair will be taking place per the details below:
Private view
Thurs 15 Nov 2018, 6pm – 10pm
Public opening dates
Fri 16 Nov 2018, 12pm – 9pm
Sat 17 Nov 2018, 11am – 8pm
Sun 18 Nov 2018, 11am – 6pm
Entry is free for children under 16, but adults need to pay $15 for advanced purchase tickets, or $18 for tickets purchased at the door. We recommend checking the website for the most up to date information on this aspect. You may also wish to contact exhibiting galleries ahead of the fair, as they may have free tickets available.
Art Stage
Well established in Singapore, Art Stage has been held at Marina Bay Sands since 2011 and runs in January each year. It is arguably the most prestigious art fair in Singapore at the current time.
Whilst it is undoubtedly a ‘selling fair’ from an exhibitors perspective, you will find a lot more highly priced artworks on display at Art Stage (primarily because the fees to exhibit are astronomically high, so exhibitors need to cover their base costs) so it’s generally a good event to visit if you wish to see or buy works by some of the leading artists across the region.
You may find that your opportunity to negotiate the best prices for works is on the last day, as international galleries in particular would naturally prefer not to transport works back at additional cost.
It is not yet known whether Art Stage will happen in 2019, check their website towards the end of 2018 for more information.
Thanks for taking the time to read through our list of art fairs in Singapore. Let me get the discussion started with a couple of extra questions I am interested to get opinion on.
(1) Interested to get feedback on any of the art fairs listed above from other peoples perspective – have you visited 1 or more? if so, which ones and what were your personal thoughts on their quality?
(2) Have you purchased art from any of these art fairs?
(3) If you’re working in the art trade, what do you think of art fairs in general? Are they a positive or a negative to your business? and why?