SINGAPORE – For the galleries that return to Affordable Art Fair (AAF) every year, the three-day event is about a community they look forward to seeing again.
Celebrating its 15th anniversary in Singapore, as the first Asia-Pacific branch of the fair that began in London in 1999, AAF has grown in size, popularity and community since 2010.
Helmed by fair director Alan Koh, the 2024 edition will run at the F1 Pit Building from Nov 8 to 10.
Singapore gallery Gnani Arts and London gallery Linda Blackstone Gallery have been part of the fair since 2010 and 2011 respectively, witnessing the growth from its beginning and developing friendships with their regular patrons over the past 15 years.
Currently in Bangalore, India, for an art project, Gnani Arts co-founder P. Gnana, 54, tells The Straits Times via a Zoom call: “I was approached by Camilla Hewitson, who launched the fair in Singapore and was fair director before Alan, about taking part.
“I was a bit hesitant because I didn’t know the Affordable Art Fair name, but Camilla asked me to support them as a local gallery.
“I brought together some emerging artists for that first year and saw how successful it was with the marketing and how everything was run. After that, I don’t think they had any issues getting galleries to take part.”
London gallerist Linda Blackstone’s story dates back to the beginning of the fair.
Ms Blackstone says via a Zoom call from her home in North London: “(AAF founder) Will Ramsay approached me about starting the fair back in 1998 and we launched in 1999.
“I jumped at it because it was exactly the ethos I had been working with and he wanted to bring different galleries together to make art approachable.”
Billing itself as an entry point to collecting art, AAF caps the price of works at $15,000. The majority of pieces on sale are priced at $7,500 and below to attract new buyers.
A total of 83 galleries will take part in AAF this year, 20 of which have been participating since 2010 and 19 of which are first-timers.
There are 29 Singaporean galleries and 97 Singapore-based artists among the 773 artists at the fair.
Since 1999, Ms Blackstone has travelled to various international branches of the fair, including Singapore and Hong Kong. Over the years, she has witnessed changes in attendee and buyer demographics in both markets.