The organisers of ART SG, a new international art fair scheduled to launch in November 2019, have postponed the inaugural edition to the autumn of 2020.
In July last year, the Swiss art fair conglomerate MCH Group together with Sandy Angus of Angus Montgomery Arts and the events organiser Tim Etchells announced the launch of ART SG as a joint venture. But in November, the MCH Group, which owns the Art Basel fairs, retracted their participation, citing the need to downscale its ambitions ‘for the necessary stabilisation of the company’ (the group also announce its intentions to divest its shares in both the India Art Fair and Art Düsseldorf). Since then, Magnus Renfrew co-owner and director of the Taipei Dangdai, and his consultancy ARTHQ Group, have agreed to back the fair. In a statement, Renfrew said the decision to delay this edition was backed by the potential participating galleries, adding they would ‘benefit from more time to prepare’. The fair is still taking in applications and is now slated to take place from 30 October to 1 November 2020 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands.
This delay comes after the cancellation of Art Stage Singapore earlier this year, less than a month before its opening. The organisers then cited a ‘weak market’ and the competition of another locally run art fair, SEA Focus, which launched its inaugural edition.
21 June 2019
