Art Stage Singapore is strategically positioning Singapore as the driving force behind the Southeast Asian art industry and to be the centre of the Asia Pacific art world. By showcasing some of the best and most interesting Singaporean artists in curated sales exhibitions, the Singapore Platform has become a key show component for every exhibition of the fair. In 2013 it will again provide these home-grown artists and curators with a remarkable opportunity.
This year, 120 galleries (including 75% of Asian galleries) will come together at the Convention & Exhibition Centre on Marina Bay Sands. 78 galleries from South-east Asia, including 18 based in Singapore. Singapore is the main participating country, followed by China, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom; 12 Australian galleries with a dedicated platform (Platform Australia) to boost their participation in the Asian market; 27 European galleries, including the French Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin (Paris, Hong Kong), Galerie Paris-Beijing (Paris, Beijing, Brussels) and Galerie Gérard Lasés (Paris, Hong Kong, Bangkok); 3 American galleries.
Development of Singapore
With Art Stage projecting Singapore onto the global landscape of contemporary art fairs, local cultural projects abound and are opening up new perspectives. New venues dedicated to art include Gillman Barracks (UK), which aims to become a forum for creation, exhibition and exchange around contemporary art; the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), scheduled to open its doors in 2013, which sees itself simultaneously as a residency for international artists, a research centre and an exhibition venue; and also the Yellow River Arts Centre, whose opening is scheduled for 2014.
Singapore is sparing no effort in its drive to develop its cultural institutions, attract artworld actors and become a strong marketplace for contemporary art. It can draw on multiple assets in successfully achieving such an outcome, given its unique position at the strategic crossroads of China, India, South-east Asia and Australia, the vital support of its government for art-related projects and its free port – a not inconsiderable advantage in the development of an art market.
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