SINGAPORE - The first edition of international art fair Art SG has been postponed yet again, this time to January next year.

The Singapore-based fair will now run from Jan 20 to 23, 2022 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Originally scheduled for November 2019, it was pushed back to Oct 30 last year as galleries and key participants had asked for more time to prepare for the fair.

Then, amid the pandemic last May, it was deferred till November this year.

The fair's co-founder Magnus Renfrew said the move to January is a "permanent" one and was done to coincide with the annual Singapore Art Week (SAW), the 10th edition of which will run next year from Jan 14 to 23.

Subsequent editions of Art SG will be held in January too.

He told The Straits Times that due to the global pandemic, the art world calendar has "changed dramatically" and is constantly evolving.

"These various changes gave us the opportunity to realign the fairs in our portfolio to optimise best timings for them all," said Mr Renfrew, who is also the co-director of the Taipei Dangdai art fair, which runs in July this year.

"Covid-19 has had a big impact on the international art world calendar, but the decision to align Art SG with Singapore Art Week was our primary motivation and a natural choice."

He added that the move "creates an even more exciting moment for the fair while contributing to Singapore's robust and growing art community".

Art SG's lead partner is global wealth manager UBS. The fair is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, NAC and Singapore Economic Development Board.

Its first edition will feature regional and international galleries, alongside commissioned and site-specific installations, experimental film, talks and performances.

Mr Renfrew joined Art SG's other co-founders, Tim Etchells and Angus Montgomery Arts, after original partner MCH Group, parent company of the Art Basel brand of art fairs, pulled out in November 2018.

Art SG's fair director Shuyin Yangsaid: "South-east Asia is one of the most vibrant art scenes in the world and deserves global attention. Over the coming months, we will continue to build momentum and shine a spotlight on this incredibly diverse region."

The fair has already organised several public programmes in the lead-up to the its launch.

Among them are the Art SG X UBS Discussion Series, held during the SAW Art Symposium last month; and a discussion and virtual tour of Kim Lim: Carving And Printing at the Tate Britain, in partnership with the estate of the late Singapore-born artist.