Crazy, rich, fun and Asian at Art SG
New kid on the art block Singapore pulled off a crazy, rich, fun and Asian art week this January capped by Art SG, touted to be the biggest art fair in the region. It also happened to be the 60th anniversary of the founding of Singapore, which makes it kid sister to Indonesia’s 12th-century Majapahit Empire—and Spanish Manila in 1571.
Nevertheless, 60 years was cause for celebration for this glittering city. UBS, a major sponsor of the fair, unfurled a 60-meter-long tapestry of “indigenous weaving”—really, several tons of recycled T-shirts cut into strips and woven together by the population. There was a live demo of the process at Art SG, which featured Singapore’s officaldom joining in the warp-and-weft action.

Singapore is uniquely poised for spectacles such as Art SG. It has the infrastructure, the money, and most important, the political will. This is all apparent from the seamless touchdown at Changi Airport to the precision drive down long, manicured avenues (designed by Filipinos working for international firms), to the colossal convention center that includes designer boutiques and restaurants from all over the world and most importantly, to a national agenda that prioritizes (and rightly so) culture and the arts as a true economic force.
The epicenter for Art SG was the luxurious Marina Bay Sands, an offshoot of the famous Las Vegas Sands casino, which dominates one end of Singapore. In truth, however, Art SG sprawled throughout the entire city.

It seemed like a river of art flowed through the center, past the harbor and its docks, through the homes of private collectors (who threw their doors open for fellow art-travelers), and to dozens of galleries and exhibition spaces that had all collaborated for this one single art event. In the nooks and crannies around Orchard Road could be found a Botero retrospective at Opera Gallery as well as a tantalizingly titled show, “Secret Singapore.”

Two floors of the Marina Bay Sands Convention Center were filled with the main attractions from both international and Singaporean galleries, including some of the planet’s most famous names (Gagosian, White Cube, Lehmann Maupin) as well as exhibitors from across the region (The Drawing Room of the Philippines, Gajah Gallery of Indonesia, to name just two.)

Art SG co-founder Magnus Renfrew could barely conceal his pride when he said: “Building on the momentum from past editions, this year’s fair opened to great excitement. We welcomed 105 galleries from around the world, each bringing a dynamic and engaging display of established and emerging artists, hailing from Singapore and beyond. We noted the presence of both prominent and young buyers coming from across Asia, attesting to Art SG’s role as an important and active platform for artistic exchange.”
“Each year,” fair director Shuyin Yang added, “Art SG aims to be the platform for the best the contemporary art scene has to offer, from engaging in cultural partnerships to boosting galleries and artists within the fair.”

Kim Camacho, a driving force for Asian art who also sits on the board of advisors for Art SG, remarked, “It is heartening that more and more Filipino artists are being represented by international galleries and exhibiting in galleries and museums abroad. The presence of Filipino art galleries and Filipino artists at the recently concluded third edition of Art SG in Singapore was noteworthy. This exposure of Filipino artists and galleries to an international audience bodes well for the art ecosystem in the Philippines. As more galleries and art collectors are exposed to Filipino artists, they become curious and more willing to visit the Philippines to take a closer look at the art that is being produced in the country. More of our artists will hopefully get discovered and break into the global art market and establish more international reputations.”

Representing these cross-cultural collaborations were Camacho’s own picks for favorite artists and artworks at the fair: she particularly liked “a fabric portrait by Julia Gutman, a young Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize in 2023, at the booth of Sullivan and Strumpf.” She also liked “the Antony Gormley sculpture at White Cube and the Michel Majerus painting at Neugerriemschneider.”
Camacho is keenly aware of how becoming part of the international community of artists is so vital. As of this writing, her daughter Bea Camacho is also participating in a group show of ROH Projects that opened in Jakarta last Jan. 25 and will do a live performance for them on Feb. 7 to 9 in Jakarta.

Her own son Enzo Camacho has likewise broken into the international circuit and is represented by 47 Canal in New York and is now showing in MOMA PS1 with his art partner Ami Lien. The show runs until Feb. 17. (Late-breaking news: MOMA has just acquired two works from this exhibition—an hour-long film and an animated video, both of which will be in the permanent collection of this cutting-edge institution.)
Art SG also spread its wings to the ArtScience Museum next-door where a sold-out, SRO exhibition of international cartoon sensation Studio Ghibli snaked through several floors with amazing tableaus that combined old-school dioramas as well as video and sound effects. Throughout the day (and night) avant-garde films and DJ-driven musical performances played.

A third cultural outpost was S.E.A. Focus, a leading platform and marketplace for contemporary Southeast Asian art, which concluded its seventh edition at Tanjong Pagar Distripark after nine successful days of vibrant energy. This year’s iteration once again demonstrated its role as a key player and catalyst in the Southeast Asian art ecosystem.

“Disconnected Contemporaries,” curated by John Tung, featured close to 40 artists from 21 galleries. In celebration of the diverse and thriving regional art scene, the carefully curated platform provided visitors—from art enthusiasts and the general public to established collectors—the opportunity to navigate the evolution of Southeast Asian art across modern and contemporary art history.

Fernando Zobel de Ayala, chair of the Ayala Foundation, and also on the board of advisors for Art SG, shared this: “I was very impressed with the effort that Singapore put together for the third edition of Art SG. It was a unique showcase of some of the best from the Southeast Asian arts communities along with some international work. The diverse programs, galleries, talks, visits to contemporary exhibits, and the art fair itself are a testament to Singapore›s vital role in promoting the dynamic Southeast Asian art scene. Being able to connect with so many individuals involved in contemporary art was truly encouraging and inspiring.”

Despite the enormous number of galleries at the fair, the tall halls were anything but cold and anonymous. Perhaps its was the authentic sense of camaraderie to be found only in Southeast Asia—from brother countries Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia—that transformed the fair into a happy gathering of not just culturati or collectors but well and truly friends.

Art SG did not forget to throw plenty of parties, one at the ArtScience (champagne, strawberries, mochi balls) and a “Black Tie Cheongsam and Sarong” bash (of course, sponsored by Shanghai Tang with both tequila and a Malaysian halo-halo bars.) Filipino jeunesse dorée joyfully turned out for that including Cristalle Belo, Quark Henares, Esperanza Garcia, Jet Acuzar and Ria Prieto.

Mariles Gustilo, former director of Ayala Museum and now adviser for Contempo, the Philippines’ all-contemporary museum, remarked, “It was first and foremost an experience about a sense of community.”