Art Stage Singapore, Southeast Asia’s flagship art fair, returns in 2016 from 21 to 24 January (Vernissage on 20 January) with a bold new vision for contemporary art from the region.

The Fair’s sixth edition will further highlight the developmental role that Art Stage Singapore plays in Southeast Asia. Through its latest programme, Art Stage Singapore references the Roman forum or the agora of ancient Greece as an intersection that facilitates not merely the exchange of art, but also of ideas.

Art Stage Singapore 2016 will present a diverse range of carefully selected galleries from across Asia and the world, featuring 143 galleries from 32 countries and 30 global cities. Staying true to our concept as an Asian fair, expect a strong showing of Asia-based galleries – about 75 percent of our total exhibitors come from the region, with 30 galleries based in Singapore: 2902 Gallery, ARNDT Singapore, Art Porters, ArtBlue Studio, Artcommune Gallery, Artesan Gallery, Artists Alliance, Bruno Art Group, Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery, Element Art Space, FOST Gallery, Galeries Bartoux, Gallery HUUE, Gnani Arts, Hai Hui Art Gallery, Ikkan Art Gallery, Linda Gallery, Mizuma Gallery, Ode to Art, Opera Gallery, Ota Fine Arts, Pearl Lam Galleries, Red Square Gallery, ShanghART Gallery, STPI, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, TAKSU, The Art Fellas, Yang Gallery, Yavuz Gallery.

The Fair will also be made more exciting with the debut of 65 new galleries at the Fair.

Ren Ri (b.1984), Yuansu Series II＃6-7，2013-14，presented by Pearl Lam Galleries

In addition, as the leading contemporary art event in Singapore and the region, Art Stage Singapore is the meeting point for international art collectors and art professionals. High profile visitors to the Fair in 2016 will include Simon de Pury, world-renowned art auctioneer and TV personality; Jean de Loisy, President, Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Lu Xun, Art Collector and Co-Founder Sifang Art Museum, China, and more.

In its 2016 edition, Art Stage Singapore will introduce the Southeast Asia Forum, which aims to emphasise the balance between art, commerce and content and it comprises of an exhibition and a talk series centred on the theme of urbanisation. Cities not only shape our environments, spaces and interactions; they also shape us on different levels and in different spheres – as individuals, communities and ‘cityzens’. The Forum will explore the role of artists as seismographs of society’s pulses and will cast light on Southeast Asia’s rapidly urbanising landscape.

Sherman Ong, NUSANTARA – the seas will sing and the wind will carry us, 2011, Image courtesy of artist and IKKAN Gallery

For the Forum’s exhibition component, 10 projects will be presented; among the featured artists will be Aliansyah Caniago from Indonesia, Norberto Roldan from the Philippines and Sherman Ong from Singapore.

Meanwhile, the Forum’s talk series aims at inter-disciplinary understanding and collaboration in shaping the underpinnings of cities as they continue to evolve parallel to shared global conditions.

Dada on Tour

Several artworks will be exhibited in the public areas of the fairground. Dada on Tour is a multimedia installation celebrating the 100th anniversary of Dadaism in 2016. By entering a “nomadic” tent, visitors get the chance to discover the visions and actions of 165 Dadaists such as Jean Arp, Hugo Ball, Marcel Janco, André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, Francis Picabia, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Tristan Tzara, among others. Welcoming visitors to Art Stage Singapore 2016 will be the entrance artwork by Thai artist Ploenchan Vinyaratn (Mook) titled Netscape executed in her signature style of using handwoven textiles. Spanish artist Manolo Valdés’s large-scale sculpture will also be presented as a public artwork.

ART STAGE SINGAPORE 2016
Date: 21 – 24 January 2016
Venue: Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre
Address: 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956