The second edition of art fair S.E.A. Focus, part of Singapore Art Week (SAW), attracted more than 5,000 visitors over five days from Jan 15 to 19.
This was down from last year, when the fair attracted more than 10,500 visitors over the same number of days.
However, Ms Emi Eu, 50, executive director of STPI - Creative Workshop & Gallery, which organised the fair, said: "The visitorship numbers were positive and surprisingly healthy, considering there is a parallel art fair taking place in Taipei."
The Taipei Dangdai contemporary art fair was held concurrently from Jan 17 to 19.
S.E.A. Focus was thrust into the limelight last year when the pillar of SAW, Art Stage Singapore, was abruptly cancelled. There were more than 100 events in this year's SAW, which ran from Jan 11 to 19.
Gallerists at S.E.A. Focus reported good sales and visitors gave it a thumbs up.
Mr Guillaume Levy-Lambert, 57, co-founder of Art Porters Gallery, which showed Singaporean artist Chen Yanyun's work, said her original drawings were snapped up within one hour of S.E.A. Focus opening.
Ms Pham Phuong Cuc, 31, founder of Cuc Gallery, said sales were much better compared with last year's edition.
She was pleasantly surprised as she had brought Tulip Duong's sculpture series as an experiment: "This is a very difficult work. I didn't expect to sell anything. My priority was to show something Vietnamese and this is the first time we've shown this series"
She declined to reveal how many pieces had been sold.
The small fair at Gillman Barracks featured only 20 galleries, most of which showcased only a single artist's works.
Malaysia's Wei-Ling Gallery, for example, showed a new series of embroidered and stitched works by Cheng Yen Pheng, who won the UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) last year.
Gallery associate Amanda Ariawa, 26, said: "We thought of presenting a story that's personal to the artist."
Ms Pham and Ms Ariawa both noted that visitors have been engaged by the works.
Ms Ariawa added: "The public is ready and curious. We had interesting conversations with the public."
Ms Lim Sock Wee, 60, an insurance broker who visited the fair on Jan 19, wanted to buy two works, but they were already sold.
She said of the fair: "It's a very good experience. I see a lot of outspoken artists. It's very good to see how artists are expressive rather than just creating art they can sell."
This engagement was cited as one of the fair's attractions.
Ms Ariawa said: "We think of S.E.A. Focus as a fair that's in-depth, unlike many other fairs."
Ms Pham said she had attended Art Stage Singapore before, but prefers the intimacy of this one: "It's much better because Emi did a good job in programming the show. It's a very well curated selection. We talked to each other a lot about what to bring, what's good for Singaporeans."
Ms Eu said S.E.A. Focus is not just about the art fair, but also SEAspotlight, a curated series of panel discussions, and SEAcommunity, which offers educational programmes to a range of visitors.
She added: "S.E.A. Focus is a meeting place for art in South-east Asia. It's holistic, looking at art from the perspectives of marketplace, scholarship and exchange. I want to build on these three pillars and build connections for South-east Asia in Singapore."
Ms Angela Tan, assistant director, sector development (visual arts), National Arts Council, said: "This edition attracted more independent and ground-up art initiatives from home-grown and international arts organisations, patrons and community partners, complementing the offerings of our cultural institutions."
