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Why import art fairs for Singapore? Look to local landscape instead

What lies ahead after the exit of Art Stage Singapore and the big international name associated with it? Another international fair is coming to these shores, but is that the way forward?

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Out goes one, and in comes another. A new annual international art fair, ART SG - helmed by the founders of well-established Hong Kong art fairs Art Central and Art HK (now Art Basel Hong Kong) and backed by government agencies - is set to open in Singapore in November.

This, even as Singapore's main art fair, founded by Swiss national Lorenzo Rudolf of prestigious Art Basel pedigree, made an ignominious exit this month. Art Stage Singapore was cancelled on Jan 16, only eight days before its preview evening at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 31, 2019, with the headline Why import art fairs for Singapore? Look to local landscape instead. Subscribe