Affordable Art Fair opens its doors

The Affordable Art Fair Singapore is opening its doors to the public today, Thursday 15. Now in its third year, the fair is bigger and is running longer than before.



ARTINFO SEA  discusses with fair director Camilla Hewitson what visitors and galleries can expect.

Last year you had 13,500 visitors and sold about S$3 million worth of art works. What are you hoping for this year?

Over the last couple of years, we’re tried to make the affordable art fair an annual event in the calendar. We had 50 galleries in our first year and we made a leap to 78 in the second year, and I remember feeling a little bit nervous inside wondering whether enough people would come. We were thrilled by the results last year, especially when the requirement is for the artwork to have a price tag below S$10,000.

What was the average price last year?
Last year it was S$2,300, a bit up on the year before.

What’s new this year?
This year, we’ve extended the fair by one day, so we’re hoping for about 15,000 visitors. We have more galleries, 86, but more importantly we have a much larger exhibition space. Last year we had 3,000 square meters spread over three rooms. This year we have 4,000 square meters spread over four rooms and over two floors. So it’s a cube layout rather than a long gallery.

Why?
A lot of the feedback last year was that it was too crowded at some points and the flow wasn’t as fluid as it could be, especially during the busiest times. Galleries are also showing some confidence in the fair and asking for slightly bigger exhibition space. We’ve also given more space to F&B for visitors to grab a drink. We have a coffee place and a Mumm’s sponsored bar.

So affordable, but still champagne?
I think it’s quite nice, but also reflects the fact that affordable has different meanings as well.

 Why?
A lot of the feedback last year was that it was too crowded at some points and the flow wasn’t as fluid as it could be, especially during the busiest times. Galleries are also showing some confidence in the fair and asking for slightly bigger exhibition space. We’ve also given more space to F&B for visitors to grab a drink. We have a coffee place and a Mumm’s sponsored bar.

So affordable, but still champagne?
I think it’s quite nice, but also reflects the fact that affordable has different meanings as well.

How many new galleries do you have attending this year?
Thirty-two new galleries this year, coming from all over the world, like Canada and Israel, and the rest is returning galleries. We also have 37 from Singapore. In total we had 145 galleries applying for this fair.

Read the whole interview on ARTINFO