About Me
My name is Tak Senryu Uchikawa, my school admission number is 1703978E and my class group is PB03. The person who encouraged me to go to the art fair was my class facilitator Ms Sheila Sim.
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The Event
Established in 1999 by Will Ramsey, the Affordable Arts Fair has grown to become one of the world’s leading platforms for people to gain access to and buy affordable artworks. Hosting 13 different art fairs in 10 different cities including Milan, London and, of course, Singapore.
Brought to Singapore in 2010, this year’s edition will be marked as the 10th year that the fair has been hosted in Singapore. Attracting 9,500 visitors and earning $1.75 million in sales in its infancy, it has grown from strength to strength ever since. Gathering 12,000 visitors and earning up to $3.7 million in sales in last year’s edition (2018).
Its Aspirations
According to the images above, Mr Alan Koh hopes that his event will be able to nurture a healthy and sustainable art ecosystem in Singapore by developing a new generation of art collectors and cultivating young and/or new artists.
And first-time buyers will not have a limit of options on art pieces as this year’s edition of the fair boasts over 80 galleries with more than 600 local and international artists exhibiting their artworks. Ensuring that the new generation of art collectors will have plenty to choose from to begin their art collection.
And in order to cultivate artistic talents in and around Singapore, Mr Koh has utilised the fair’s Young Talent Programme (YTP) showcase to unearth artistic talents early and provide them with opportunities and exposure to the arts world. This way, aspiring artists can use Affordable Art Fair as a platform and see it as tangible evidence that they do have a future as an artist.
By developing and nurturing a new generation of art collectors and artists, Mr Koh has ensured the renewal and survival of the art ecosystem in Singapore. Without new blood, the Singapore art ecosystem will slowly die out as buyers and sellers feed off one another for survival and are inherently linked.
Who is the Target Market?
Based on what I had said earlier on, it is clear to see that the fair is targeting aspiring art collectors and artists. However, what I have failed to do, is to mention the other markets that the fair is targeting, such as families with kids.
For example, the ‘If Lines Could Dance’ and ‘Mark Making Explorer’ installations are programmes aimed at the kids of families and are meant to help them develop an interest in art from a tender age. Thus, instilling a long-term interest in art which will be of benefit to Singapore’s art ecosystem in the future.
Another aspect of the fair which indicates their interest in attracting families with kids are their promotional efforts through social media. The image below shows one of their Instagram posts promoting some of their programmes (especially the children’s programmes) to families.
What else is there?
Other programmes apart from the ones I had already mentioned earlier include a portable studio by ALEXANDMUSHI and Dorsett Birds by Dorsett Hospitality International. Although, there are definitely more programmes than the ones I am about to mention
The portable studio encourages guest to participate in this interactive gallery in order to explore the concept of non-verbal communication and show how people are still able to connect even without verbal communication.
The Dorsett Birds were made in order to celebrate the fair’s 20th anniversary globally and 10th anniversary in Singapore. Inspired by their official hotel partner’s icon of a bird, it was brought to life using environmentally friendly paper.
When and Where?
The fair’s website indicates both the opening times and the location of the fair. And personally, I find no issue with the opening timings. As most working adults do no work over the weekends. And students and kids do not have to go to school during that period.
However, adults, students and kids alike may have trouble attending the fair due to prior schedule arrangements. For example, students having supplementary classes on the weekends.
As for the location of the fair, it is easily accessible by car, bus or train. If visitors are travelling by car, there is ample free parking spaces for them. Although, it is subjected to availability.
Although it was accessible, I found it hazardous to walk from the train station to the fair, as traffic lights were few and far between. And when it began to rain, it was difficult to find shelter along the way. And I find that people travelling by bus, may encounter the same issues.
The Stakeholders
Voluntary Welfare Organisation (VWO): The Singapore Cancer Society
By participating in the fair, the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) will be able to spread awareness about their cause and garner support for it. They are even involved in an Art Therapy Talk prepared by the fair, whereby a guest speaker spoke about how art therapy benefits people’s mental and physical well-being.
And by supporting the SCS, the Affordable Arts Fair will gain positive publicity and attention from the media and event participants as it shows that they care about the well-being of the society. They even set-up the Adopt Songsong workshop, whereby all proceeds will be donated to the SCS.
Artists: The Exhibitors
By participating in the event, art exhibitors will gain the opportunity to showcase their work and gain exposure and traction in the arts industry. As for the fair, they will be able to obtain a number of art pieces to display during the fair.
Art Associations: Visual Arts Development Association (VADA)
VADA provides opportunities and a platform for individuals who will represent Singapore on the visual art scene. And by being a part of the fair, they could gain better recognition from artists who may then seek help from them. And having VADA, who help artists in Singapore gain a foothold on the international art scene, as part of the fair will help Mr Alan Koh achieve the objectives his event.
Property Owner: Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
The F1 pit building is owned by the STB and was built to host the Singapore Singtel Grand Prix during the September period. Thus, the building is normally vacant for other parts of the year. By renting out the space to Affordable Arts Fair Singapore, the building can still remain relevant during its off-peak periods.
Arts Media: Honeycombers & The Wall Street Journal
Sometimes, the marketing effort of an event is not enough on its own for the event to gain traction. And sometimes, events would use web-based news sources to promote themselves in order to gain more publicity by disseminating information relating to their event to their followers and to the rest of the public. Which is what the fair is doing with Honeycombers and the Wall Street Journal.
Corporate Partners: Peroni, Ruinart & Sarnies
By being part of the fair, Peroni, Ruinart and Sarnies will be able to tap on the fair’s customer base and use it as a platform to promote their brand gain brand recognition. They could also conduct product testings at the fair and obtain feedback on how to improve them.
The Community
What the Event does for the Community
Thanks to the Affordable Art Fair, the local community of Singapore had been given a platform from which they could all come together to learn and appreciate the many different art forms that exist and how the cultural background of an artist can influence their art form and artwork.
Though, the appreciation of an art piece with the influence of the artist’s cultural background may lead to the dilution of another culture (artistically speaking). For example, a local artist gets inspired by the artwork of a foreign artist. And wishes to incorporate foreign influences into his community’s artistic techniques.
Of course, I understand that it is impossible to prevent such instances from occurring. As, the existence of the art fair also lead to innovation and creativity which is inevitable. So, what the community could do, as opposed to limiting creativity, is to educate local artists on their artistic traditions so as to not forget their artistic roots.
As I had mentioned earlier, the Affordable Art Fair is hosted in 10 different cities, with Singapore being the only Southeast asian city to host the event. Thus, the Affordable Art Fair has the capability to increase tourism number in Singapore by attracting visitors from neighbouring countries who wish to attend the fair.
However, with the increase in the number of tourists in Singapore comes the increase in congestion as well. The increase in tourist numbers can cause overcrowding in areas in and around the fair. Such as the shopping malls, pedestrian traffic and the roads (vehicular congestion).
In order to better control traffic in and around the fair. The community could inform and educate tourists on the different malls found in the area, the different routes that lead in and out of the fair area as well as the different modes of transport that is available for their use. So, no one place will be too crowded.
What the Community does for the Event
Looking at what I have written above, it is clear to see that the community has to go through great lengths in order to mediate the negative impacts of the event. Which shows how important the event is to the community as its benefits outweighs its drawbacks.
And the same could be said that the community is just as important to the event as the event is to the community. As the community provides the event the reason for its continued existence in the form of event attendees. Without these attendees, the event will not have a reason to continue their endeavour in Singapore for as long as they have.
The community also provides the event with the manpower needed for the before, during and after of the event. Without the help of the locals, the event would not be able to run as smoothly and provide the best experience for the attendees. Although, the fair will have to worry about training the locals and ensuring they provide service consistency.
To conclude, both parties will find out one way or another when collaborating with each other, that the other party will have their own set of benefits as well as a set of drawbacks to go along with it. Regardless, they will still come to the same conclusion that they are both equally important to one another. And that their survival and excellence are dependent on each other.
The Attendees
Motivation for going to the Event
As I had said, the attendees are integral to the continued existence of the Affordable Art Fair in Singapore. But, why do they bother going to the event in the first place? There are many reasons why an attendee would be motivated to participate in the fair, and one motivational factor could be their family ties.
Family ties is a motivational factor that believes that attending an event such as the fair would improve family bonds and establish lines of communication (conversation starter/topic). And the many children’s programme options is a sure-fire way for parents and their children to bond and talk about.
For example, the Mark Making Explorer is a non-parent accompanied tour. Which gives the kids a more personalised experience, as they get to explore the arts on their own. And since the parent(s) were not with them, they will have something to talk about on the way home.
Another motivational factor is entertainment value of the event, which basically just means how entertaining the event is to the individual. And the event aims to please with its many different art programmes for attendees. For example, the ALEXANDMUSHI portable studio. The artists invite guests to be a part of their gallery, making it one of the more interactive and personalised activities at the fair.
Social Media Promotions
One of the few social media strategies that the fair has utilised is the use of social networks. The fair uses social networks as a way to build their event profile by providing general information and providing a space for fan interaction. It is also a platform for data collecting and a way to deliver media-rich content. The social networks that the Affordable Art Fair uses are Instagram and Facebook.
Another strategy that the fair uses is professional networks. And it helps to create a buzz among industry professionals by establishing an event profile/page. It can also help to recruit potential fair volunteers and/or employees as well as keep industry professionals up to date about the event. One professional network that the fair uses is the Wall Street Journal.
Was using the 2 strategies I had just mentioned worth it? In my opinion, yes it was. At the start I had already stated that the fair has grown exponentially since is first edition in Singapore. However, if you were looking at a more recent example. Look no further than their Instagram page.
The image above shows the fair welcoming people to join the 2018 edition of the fair, and it only has 742 views to date. However, if we see the image below, we can see the fair doing the same thing except it is for the 2019 edition of the fair, which got over 10,000 views.
We can accredit the recent success of its social media marketing efforts to the fair. However, if they could achieve that kind of growth seen above solely on their own merits. Then, they would not need to help of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in the first place. The fair needs the help to promote themselves in order to gain traction, and the National Arts Council of Singapore is more than happy to oblige.
The National Arts Council (NAC)
The mission of the NAC is to champion the creation and appreciation of arts in Singapore and to make it an integral part of our everyday lives. And in order to do so, the NAC has placed all of its efforts into engaging the Singapore community and supporting its arts industry.
The vision of the NAC is to make Singapore home to distinct yet diverse arts that inspires Singapore, build connections in the community and position Singapore globally (artistically speaking). They hope to achieve this vision by cultivating Singapore’s accomplished artists and companies while preserving Singapore’s cultural traditions.
To Achieve the Mission
In order to achieve their mission, the NAC has decided to engage with the Singapore community by bringing arts-based activities made in collaboration with artists, community partners and corporate partners to the community’s shared space. Using this, the NAC aims to reach different segments of society in different areas. An example of such activities is the Arts in your Neighbourhood activity.
Another way the NAC has set about achieving their mission through community engagement is supporting youths through an initiative called Noise Singapore. Noise Singapore offers the youth a platform from which they can connect with each other through the arts by learning, co-creating and showcasing their artistic talents.
The NAC also provides funding to artist and art organisations who are actively engaged in activities that will benefit the art landscape of Singapore. For example, the NAC has a list of grants (see image below), such as the Seed grant, which is meant to help starting artists and art organisations kick-start their projects and formalise their operations.
To Achieve the Vision
As part of their vision, the NAC would like Singapore to be positioned globally in an artistic sense. And continuing the topic on NAC grants, Singapore artists can apply for the Market and Audience Development grant or the Capability Development grant in order to support their overseas endeavours.
Furthermore, the NAC made strides internationally in order to strengthen Singapore’s position as a hub for the arts. For example, the NAC works closely with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign affairs and the Australia Council for the Arts in order to design and develop cultural exchange initiatives.
And in order to cultivate and celebrate Singapore based artists, the Cultural Medallion was introduced to acknowledge the individuals whose artistic brilliance has helped to enrich and distinguish Singapore’s art and cultural landscape. And the medallion has been bestowed on 125 artists since its inception (below are some recent winners).
Looking to the Future
The NAC knows better than to stop their momentum from continuing, and based Our SG Arts Plan (2018-2022) on their vision. In order to bring the community together and think about how Singapore represents artistically to a global community. The NAC has identified 3 strategic thrusts (see image below).
And guided by these 3 strategic thrusts, the NAC has identified 8 components (see image below) that will help guide the NAC and future art and culture initiatives.
My Impression of the NAC
I am unable to lie to myself; I am very impressed with what the NAC has got going on right now. My expectations were not too low in my opinion. However, the NAC’s plans were much more elaborate and expansive than what I had first thought. At first, I assumed that the NAC was only looking to develop the arts within Singapore. But, after further research, that clearly is not the case.
Even when talking about the development of the arts within Singapore, I had only expected the NAC to be focusing more on the youths (as defined by the NAC). But I never expected them to have a programme that focuses solely on the elderly in the form of the Silver Arts. Which is a festival dedicated to celebrating seniors and creative ageing.
And if I am being honest, the idea that the NAC would even consider looking outwards (globally) never crossed my mind for whatever reason. And when I first found out that they did look beyond Singapore, I was surprised, but I was not amazed. However, they continued to surpass my expectations and went beyond funding Singapore artists abroad. But even collaborating with other countries’ arts council and what not.
And what I have mentioned above is only scratching the surface of what the NAC has in store for the development of art and culture for the Singapore community and beyond. I am just really and genuinely impressed with the NAC and what they have done and are about to do.
Helping the Affordable Art Fair Singapore
Based on my research above, it is my belief that the NAC will be more than willing to help the Affordable Art Fair Singapore with their promotional efforts and in any other way they can. As, the fair looks to benefit the Singapore arts landscape (said so by Mr Alan Koh) and has an international platform/audience that the NAC can exploit.
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TSU Blog 14 