The Rise Of Southeast Asian Art

S.E.A. Focus, the world’s only boutique art fair dedicated exclusively to Southeast Asian art, debuts this January during Singapore Art Week. Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle sits down with the organisers

- Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle

Before Art Basel Hong Kong in March and the first edition of Art SG – to be launched by the cofounders of Art HK, Tim Etchells and Angus Montgomery Arts – in November, art lovers in Singapore and the region will get their first taste of the brand new S.E.A. Focus when the city-state plays host to the only boutique art fair focused entirely on Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, taking place from 23 to 27 January.

Initiated by Singapore’s STPI –Creative Workshop & Gallery and organised by Emi Eu, executive director of STPI, and Audrey Yeo, founder of Yeo Workshop, this regional art fair at the Gillman Barracks visual arts enclave will act as a guide to deciphering the Southeast Asian art world, understanding its diversity, transformation and potential for development, and discovering its established and rising stars. It feeds into Singapore’s arts hub ambitions and the belief that there is untapped demand for Southeast Asian art in Asia. Singapore’s unique geographical location allows ease of access for Southeast Asian collectors, and artwork prices will be situated between those of Affordable Art Fair and Art Stage Singapore: from US$2,000 to US$200,000.