SINGAPORE, Nov 7 — A new Southeast Asia Forum, a tent installation celebrating 100 years of Dadaism, and talks by the likes of acclaimed architect Rem Koolhaas and celebrity auctioneer Simon de Pury — these are some of the things visitors can expect at next year’s Art Stage Singapore.
The six edition of the annual art fair will be back at Marina Bay Sands’ Expo and Convention Centre from January 21 to 24, as part of the annual Singapore Art Week that begins January 16. Around 143 galleries from 33 countries have already signed up, including 32 galleries from Singapore. The list also includes five from Indonesia, which Art Stage founder and president Lorenzo Rudolf welcomed after citing the fair’s problems with bringing in Indonesian galleries in the past.
One of the main developments is the introduction of a new Southeast Asian Forum. An extension of the fair’s previous Southeast Asia Platform, the two-in-one event will include talks and an exhibition, and will centre on the theme of art and urbanisation.
The exhibition will comprise 10 projects, including those from Singapore’s Sherman Ong, the Philippines’ Norberto Roldan and Indonesia’s Aliansyah Caniago.
Meanwhile, the series of talks will extend beyond the field of arts and into sociology and architecture. Among those coming is Pritzker Prize-winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who has done iconic buildings such as the CCTV Headquarters building in Beijing and has also written about Singapore in the past.
The introduction of the forum is a way for the fair to take it “a level higher” to sustain the region’s art market, said Rudolf. “Not only to speak about art but to speak about Southeast Asia... We need more content in the discussions, we have to discuss culture and not just prices. We can’t convince people by just prices, by number.”
The inclusion of non-art personalities in the forum is to help “show that art is part of everyday life”.
Among the public artworks at the fair is a multimedia installation travelling tent, done in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the art movement Dadaism, which takes place next year. The movement had spawned seminal names in various creative fields, such as Andre Breton, Tristan Tzara, Marcel Duchamp and Jean Arp. There will also be public artworks from Thai artist Ploenchan Vinyaratn and Spain’s Manolo Valdes.
Meanwhile, another speaker at Art Stage will be auctioneer Simon de Pury, the co-founder of art auction house Phillips de Pury & Company and perhaps best known to the public as a mentor in the reality television show Work of Art.
At Thursday’s press conference, Lorenzo also cited the “impressive” state of the Singapore arts ecosystem in the five years of the fair, mentioning the emergence of institutions such as Gillman Barracks and the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, as well as the Singapore Pinacotheque de Paris.
He also cited the importance of the National Gallery Singapore’s opening as an academic counterpart to the art market. “It’s absolutely wonderful to have a top museum (such as the National Gallery Singapore and we are in) a unique situation to position Singapore worldwide,” he said.
Nevertheless, he also acknowledged how 2015 has not been completely good for Singapore’s art scene. Responding to observations about the closure of a handful of galleries, including those at Gillman Barracks, Rudolf admitted that the art market is, at the moment, “suffering a bit”. But he also pointed out that it is not only a Singapore phenomenon.
“It’s logical that we have certain waves,” he said, adding that the question of Gillman Barracks is one of time.
He also added that it is precisely because of tough times that the success of the fair is important. “Commercial, non-commercial, we’re all in one boat. We have to row in the same direction.” — TODAY
