SINGAPORE , Sept 2 — Since its arrival on our shores in 2010, Affordable Art Fair has grown in terms of visitors interested in art, and programming.

At the preview of the Young Talent Programme 2015/16 Winners’ Solo Exhibitions at ION Art on Wednesday, held in collaboration with the annual November edition of the Affordable Art Fair, organisers behind the Singapore edition of the global art fair reflected on how far they have come.

Recounting how the first fair had coincided with a rainy season and how she had hoped they would receive 8,000 people despite the less-than-ideal weather, Camilla Hewitson, the fair’s regional managing director for Asia, said the turnout was better than expected in the end. They ended up receiving 9,500 people for that first fair.

"Since then, we have increased to the 15,000 mark,” she said. "Approximately 412,000 artworks have also been sold since the first fair so that’s very exciting,” she added. There are now two editions of Affordable Art Fair held annually. The new Spring edition was launched in 2014.

The fair has also seen an increase in the number of visitors coming to buy art — it rose 14 per cent for the fair held in April this year, compared with the one in November.

The seventh Autumn edition, to be held from Nov 18 to 20 at the F1 Pit Building, will also return with a new price ceiling of S$15,000 compared with S$10,000 (RM30,120) for previous editions. This is in response to the growth of its participating galleries and artists in the Singapore art market as well as being in line with artists’ and galleries’ progression in values, said the organisers.

"Over the last six years, our participating galleries have seen a gradual increase of patrons purchasing artwork priced in the higher end of the spectrum, at over S$7,000,” shared Alan Koh, fair director for the Singapore edition.

"This is a good sign of a healthy appreciation for local art and art-buying in Singapore. The new price point will ensure fresh works while maintaining affordability,” he pointed out.

This November, the fair expects more than 80 galleries and over 600 artists with 26 per cent of the galleries participating for the first time. Well-known artists from Singapore such as Goh Beng Kwan and Tay Bak Chiang will present works alongside regional and international artists such as Dedy Sufriadi from Indonesia and Stiliana Alexieva from Bulgaria.

Back by popular demand are the ‘Under S$1,000 Wall’, a bigger children’s art studio featuring 3D works and the Young Talent Programme held in collaboration with ION Art.

The two-part award programme, organised since 2012, showcases works by artists between 18 and 35 years old who are residing or born in South-east Asia, and have no gallery representation during their point of application. The aim is to provide a platform for talented young artists to be introduced to galleries, art institutions and the public.

Six to eight artists are selected to exhibit at the November edition, and from there, two to four artists are shortlisted to work with the programme curator to present the Winners’ Solo Exhibitions in the ION Art gallery the following September.

Based on last November’s selection of artists, the showcase opening this week at ION Art will present the works of young Singaporeans Chong Yanghong, Holeng, Justin Lim and Yeo Jian Long.

Hewitson, who brought the fair to Singapore and was fair director during its first few editions, believes the success of the fair lies in its programming.

"The thing that is very important is putting on events that are relevant to what is going on in the scene. In the early years, I sort of knew we needed a children’s area, we need to have a bit of programming, but now we are developing what the market really wants.”

She shared that The Young Talent Programme shows why people enjoy the Affordable Art Fair. "We do programmes like this outside the fair itself. For example, earlier this year, we worked with Sentosa HabourFront Business Association and organised The Great Egg-Venture, so we got a lot of artists to come in and create these Easter eggs that became part of a visual journey through Sentosa,” she said.

"That was another great initiative in creating outreach outside the fair, so people see us as part of the community, not just this twice-a-year art fair.” — TODAY