New Wave

Before Art SG makes its long-awaited debut in Singapore next January, co-founder Magnus Renfrew and fair director Shuyin Yang share why it makes sense for Southeast Asia to have an international art fair to call its own

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi

The global art market made a strong recovery in 2021, with sales of art and antiques reaching an estimated US$65.1 billion-an increase of 29 per cent from 2020-according to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2022. High-net-worth collectors also bought more art and antiques in 2021 than they did in the previous year, as indicated in a UBS Investor Watch and Arts Economics survey.

This is good news for the organisers of Art SG, a new contemporary art fair set to take place in Singapore from January 12 to 15, 2023 (with the VIP preview on January 11) at Sands Expo & Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands. Since it was first announced in 2018, the fair has encountered stumbling blocks, including several postponements, but is now back on track with its vision intact.

"We saw a huge opportunity for an international-level art fair with strong participation from galleries in Southeast Asia and Asia as well as some of the best galleries in Europe and America," says Art SG co-founder Magnus Renfrew. "It's interesting when you look at how Southeast Asia has developed as a whole. You don't quite realise that the region is at the same scale as Europe, and home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world."

As a gateway to the region, "Singapore lends itself as a good location for an international art fair, which requires international attendance," explains Renfrew. Art SG brings together more than 150 leading galleries from around the world, including mega galleries such as Gagosian, Pace and White Cube-with some showing in the city state for the first time alongside significant local, regional and international galleries.