SINGAPORE, Nov 12 — In the latest edition of Affordable Art Fair (AAF) Singapore, visitors won’t just be able to buy artworks at affordable prices, they can have a shot at learning to make their own, too — with coffee, wine or chocolate.

Among the workshops available at the fair, which is on from today until Sunday at the F1 Pit Building, are those that offer wine- and coffee-painting, courtesy of Canvass. There will also be a chocolate-painting workshop by lauded pastry chef Janice Wong, who has also turned one of the fair’s spaces into an installation space.

The fair will feature more than 600 artists. — TODAY pic

Now on its sixth year in Singapore, the fair’s Autumn edition — a Spring edition was held earlier this year — features 86 galleries (of which 39 are from Singapore) and works by 650 artists, including Thai photographer Visarute Angkatavanich, whose Siamese fighting fish portraits were recently in the news after the images were included as wallpapers in the new iPhone 6S.

As before, the works are priced between S$100 (RM308) to S$10,000, with 75 per cent of these priced below S$7,500. Aside from the fair’s now-regular features, such as the Under S$1,000 Wall; an art space dedicated to children; and the Young Talent Programme showcase of emerging artists; there will be new events. These include, for the first time, gallery-led talks. For instance, the United Kingdom’s TAG Fine Arts and Singapore’s Pop And Contemporary Fine Art are giving a talk about collecting prints, while Barnadas Huang Gallery will talk about Spanish Realism.

Artwork will be priced between S$100 and S$10,000. — TODAY pic

Installations and performances will also be found throughout the venue. Expect works using recycled bicycles (by Arup), strings (In Kyo Back) and leaves and twigs (Nandita Mukand), as well as a show by Chinese performance artist Han Bing, who is known for bringing a cabbage head wherever he performs.

Other works will encourage audience participation, such as those by Nicola Anthony and artist collective Band of Doodlers.

The fair will hold gallery-led talks for the first time. — TODAY pic

AAF Singapore has also chosen to support local charity The Woodbridge Hospital Charity Fund, and will be donating S$1 from every ticket sold. There will also be a special Art For Fund activity where visitors are encouraged to create artwork coasters that will be sent to the Institute of Mental Health. There, patients can complete the artworks before visitors collect them at an exhibition to be held at *SCAPE next month.

Camilla Hewitson, fair director for the Autumn edition, pointed out how the fair has grown since it began in Singapore in 2010, where it featured 50 galleries and sold S$1.75 million worth of art.

Expect to see installations that feature the use of recycled materials. — TODAY pic

Last year’s November fair featured 108 galleries and sold S$4.96 million worth of art. The slight downsizing was the result of what has been an overall slower year for the art market and feedback from participating galleries, which were fewer in number but have taken up larger stands.

“But if we can keep selling to new buyers, as well as to existing ones, we feel like we’re enhancing the scene. I’m always hopeful, and Singapore has always been supportive of the fair,” she said. — TODAY

* The Affordable Art Fair Singapore runs from today to Sunday, noon onwards, at the F1 Pit Building. Tickets at S$18 at the door. For more information, visit http://www.affordableartfair.com/singapore