SINGAPORE - The Affordable Art Fair will return for its 10th edition at the F1 Pit Building from November 22 to 24.

A quarter of the more than 80 galleries exhibiting at this year's fair will be new names such as Chryse Gallery of Fine Art (Singapore), Giant Year Gallery (Hong Kong) and Jinsan Gallery (Korea).

More than 600 local and international artists will be showing works, 35 per cent of which will be by new artists. The prices are capped at $15,000, with 75 per cent of the works priced at below $7,500.

Fair director Alan Koh said at the press launch at the Ion Art Gallery on Thursday (Aug 29) the focus on new artists is a way to cultivate the arts ecosystem: "We want to tell young artists you can have a career. An eco-system comes from nurturing the artists, the galleries and the buyers, We are like the matchmaker."

Visitors can also look forward to highlights such as locally-inspired installation by Hong Kong-based artist collective Stickyline, a feature wall which will spotlight works by new artists and the return of the Children's Creative Space where young fair-goers can attend free workshops.

With the 10th edition, Mr Koh added: "We're doing a bit of self-reflection, to look back at what we have done."

He said that the fair, since it was founded in London in 1999 and came to Singapore in 2010, has "brought a lot of people to art, and we have sold a lot of art". In Singapore, the fair grew from 9,500 visitors and $1.75 million in sales in its first year to 12,000 visitors and $3.7 million in sales last year (2018).

Mr Koh said: "Our formula is to help people buy their first piece of art. Our data analytics show 51 per cent of people come with the intention to buy, and 48 per cent come to learn about art."

And the fair is happy to accommodate the latter demographic as they may turn out to be new buyers three or four years down the line.

The fair is also looking at paying it forward, and the Singapore Cancer Society, which conducts art therapy classes for cancer patients, is its charity of choice. For every ticket sold, $1 will go to the Society.