Art Stage Singapore: 4th round!

[14 Jan 2014]

 

The fourth edition of Art Stage Singapore at the San Marina Bay Convention Center on 16 – 19 January 2014 is expecting more than 40,000 visitors. Since 2010, Lorenzo Rudolf – Director of Art Basel, co-creator of ShContemporary in Shanghai, and creator of Art Basel Miami Beach – has managed to give Art Stage the aura of a major Contemporary art fair, and one that contributes to the cultural and economic development of the region.

Indeed, since Art Stage set up in Singapore, the local art market has thrived with the development of cultural institutions such as the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), the Yellow River Arts Center and the growth of a new area for Contemporary art galleries in the Gillman Barracks (GB) district. During Art Stage this neighbourhood is particularly active, and this year it will include a new venue with Pearl Lam opening its third gallery after Shanghai and Hong Kong (Pearl Lam’s Singapore Gallery opens on 17 January with an exhibition entitled How does it all begin? Contemporary abstract art in Asia and the West). Pearl Lam will also have a stand at the fair, as they do every year. Likewise, the Arndt Gallery (Singapore and Berlin), which will be using its GB gallery for a first exhibition dedicated to the German artist Stephan Balkenhol in Asia, also has a stand within Art Stage, alongside more than 100 other galleries including De Sarthe (Hong Kong), Kaikai Kiki (Tokyo, Taipei, Berlin), Perrotin (Hong Kong, Paris, New York) and White Cube (Hong Kong, London, Sao Paulo).

The Western exhibitors have therefore been carefully selected from among the major galleries. However most of these already possess outlets in Asia and are already familiar with local markets. Local collectors are gradually taking an interest in certain Western signatures, but the bulk of their buying is still focused on Asian art. Thus the declared aim of Art Stage since its beginnings has been to be as representative of Asia as possible and to bring together, once a year, the best elements in the highly diversified field of Asian Contemporary art. Art Stage therefore does not limit itself to a selection of Chinese and Indonesian artists, but rather broadens its field to the whole of South East Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar), China, India, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. It is in fact the only major Contemporary Art fair to adopt this policy and 80% of the exhibitors are Asia-based. The fair is organised around eight geographical platforms, each curated by country or region (SE Asia, India, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia and Central Asia).

Alongside this policy, the fair’s pedagogical and cultural exchange aspects are key factors of its success. Art Stage has conferences and debates, and it provides lots of information concerning the art market. It also publishes for collectors and amateur art buyers a guide entitled Collecting 101, created by artprice.com, that covers key questions relating to collecting art on the world’s different markets: where to buy art on the primary (galleries) and secondary (auctions) markets; how to find out about specific artists, specific works, prices and galleries; how to purchase; and how to decide, negotiate, invest, etc. It also contains vital info about looking after artworks.

The Collecting 101 Guide can be downloaded free in English here:

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