SINGAPORE - A new pop-up showcase called The ARTery has been set up to display works from exhibitors left stranded by the sudden cancellation of Art Stage Singapore - the country's main contemporary art fair.

Organised by non-profit group Art Outreach with help from the National Arts Council (NAC), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Economic Development Board (EDB), the event will run at a hall in the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from Jan 24 to 27.

Art Stage Singapore was supposed to have run during the same period in what would have been its ninth edition. However, organisers cancelled it on Wednesday (Jan 16), just nine days before its public opening, citing poor local sales and "unequal competition".

According to the Art Stage website, more than half of the fair's 45 exhibitors were from overseas.

Since then, exhibitors have been left in a state of limbo, with some seeking alternative exhibition spaces as galleries, artists, commercial entities and even homeowners stepped forward in a groundswell of support - some even offering their spaces for free.

Over at The ARTery, each exhibitor will have to pay a nominal fee of $2,000 for a 30 sq m booth which will come with standard entitlements.

The pop-up showcase is supported by Marina Bay Sands, with help from NAC, STB and EDB - the three agencies have backed Art Stage Singapore since its first edition in 2011.

A Singapore Art Week shuttle bus moving between Marina Bay Sands, National Gallery Singapore and Gillman Barracks will be available at selected times between Jan 25 and 27.

BOOK IT/ THE ARTERY

WHERE: Hall A, Marina Sands Expo & Convention Centre, 10 Bayfront Avenue

WHEN: Jan 24 to 27, 11am to 7pm daily

ADMISSION: Free

INFO: http://facebook.com/theARTerySG or e-mail theartery@artoutreachsingapore.org