The Affordable Art Fair made its debut in Singapore in 2009. It has been nine years and this year, the Fair will showcase over 65 galleries with more than 500 artists. It is a great opportunity to support local artists as more than a quarter of the artists will be homegrown.
There is a huge array of art styles, from classical modern to cutting edge, abstract to figurative. The art pieces are priced between S$100 and S$15,000 with 75% of the art offered under S$7,500. The fair will also have talks and workshops.
In collaboration with ION Art, the Young Talent Programme 2017 Winners’ Solo Exhibition will showcase Leow Wei Li’s ‘entering out, exiting in’, Tay Ining’s ‘Free Ripe Food Rots Fast’ and Le Thuy’s ‘Uninhabited’ (from left to right).
Ms Le Thuy (seen above in blue), who is a silk painting artist from Hanoi, Vietnam, likes painting animals in odd situations. Silk painting is a rare craft, but you can witness her in action at her workshops.
She prefers silk painting even though she started with oil painting because she feels connected to her heritage through silk painting which is popular in Vietnam.
Ms Leow Wei Li (seen above) graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts with a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts. She gets inspired by sounds in mundane situations.
Her exhibition showcases abstract art with sound accompaniment to set the mood for the viewers.
Ms Tay Ining (seen above) graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Nanyang Technological University.
She works in a metalworking shop to create art inspired by functional daily objects. When asked about a piece which she was replicating a coffee stained napkin, she humorously replied: “You can make it yourself!”
The Winners’ Solo Exhibition will be held at ION Art Gallery from 1-24 September. There will be tours hosted by the artists every Saturday (2.30pm-3.00pm) and Wednesday (9.00pm-9.30pm), as well as artist-led workshops and talks. Admission is free. Visit ION Art’s website for more details.
The Affordable Art Fair will be held at the F1 Pit Building from 17 to 19 November. Standard tickets are priced at S$18, S$10 for seniors and students, and children under 16 are entitled to free entry. Visit Affordable Art Fair’s website for more information.
Photos by Carissa Wong. Header image by AFA.
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