Major Singapore art fair cancels a week before opening, leaving galleries and artists stranded
- Art Stage Singapore, the city’s main annual contemporary art fair, suddenly called off ahead of its planned January 24 opening
- Reasons as yet unknown, but number of exhibitors has fallen sharply in recent years
Art Stage Singapore, the Lion City’s main contemporary art fair, has suddenly been called off just one week ahead of its opening, causing havoc among the 45 participating galleries and their artists.
In a letter to exhibitors, fair founder and president Lorenzo Rudolf wrote: “I’m sorry to have to inform you that as president of Art Stage Singapore, I am forced to immediately stop the preparations for Art Stage Singapore 2019 (Jan 24 to 27) and to cancel the fair.
“The given circumstances, about which we shortly will inform you, unfortunately leave no other choice. We ask you to cease all preparations for Art Stage Singapore 2019 from your side as well, or to reverse them.”
Marcus Teo, fair director, said today that he was also waiting to hear from head office the reasons for the cancellation. He added that they had just begun working with different stakeholders regarding the cancellation and he could not comment on whether the galleries would be compensated.
Rudolf, a Swiss national who used to be a director of Art Basel, launched the high-end international contemporary fair in 2011. Backed by the Singapore government, it became the anchor event of Singapore Art Week.