Meet the creative team behind Affordable Art Fair Singapore, taking place 10 - 12 November at F1 Pit Building. Discover quirky tidbits about each team member, their favourite moments at the fair, and their most anticipated artworks to see in person this edition.
Alan is definitely a familiar face if you have ever been to our fair. Alan has been with the Singapore team since the inauguration (13 years, going on 14!) and started his art world journey with Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
Alan first got in touch with then Fair Director, Camilla Hewitson, back in 2010. While the team was first anxious on whether the fair would gather enough interest as the first Affordable Art Fair in Asia, their worries were soon swooped away with the overwhelming amount of support, excitement and visitor interest in buying art.
“We never looked back, and that was the start of many years to come. I’ve witnessed the growth of the Fair since the beginning, from a handful of galleries and limited space, to 14 fairs across the world, engaging thousands of artists globally. It is inspiring to see how far we’ve come, and I can’t wait to lead the team to the next stage.”
Alan has an eclectic taste in art, whether that be paintings by British, Vietnamese or Singapore artists, prints, photography, Western and Eastern fusion art, Alan has it all! In fact, Alan’s most notable purchases are of Lim Jia Qi and Hilmi Johandi, who was part of Affordable Art Fair Young Talent Programme in 2019. Both were winners of the Young Talent Programme, in which Hilmi Johandi currently also showcases his work at Art Basel.
“I am born and bred in Singapore, so I love subjects based on the context of where I grew up, with some sense of nostalgia.”
Outside of work, Alan is also an animal lover, and have adopted a chihuahua and a black cat. They occasionally visit the Singapore office, which then royally distracts all of us from work.
Drummmmrolll pleaseee! Bernice has officially been with the company for 10 years. That’s right. A decade of arts, culture, and of course, lots of numbers! As our Financial Controller, Bernice looks after the finance across all of our Asia Pacific Fairs. Invoices, payments, financial health, you name it!
Her favourite moments at the fair include Friday mornings before the fair opens (our own VIP preview before all visitors come in…), and Halloween parties with our Fair Director, Alan.
Bernice has also recently purchased Story of the Sea from Stiliana Alexieva – it fits perfectly in her new home (which the Singapore team had the pleasure of visiting!).
Would Bernice be landing her eyes on another piece of work at Affordable Art Fair Singapore in November? We can’t wait to find out.
Fun Fact: Did you know Anson is a professional drummer? Our own Affordable Art Fair celebrity! While he is not running up numbers, you can see him playing drums, teaching drums, and performing with his band ColdCut Quartet (inspired by Subway Sandwich’s Cold Cut Trio) all around Singapore.
Anson enjoys having multiple hats to wear, both in and out of the fair.
“We have a very fun and professional team and as much as we work hard to bring the fair to life, we also have lots of fun and laughter along the way. Apart from that, it is always nice seeing people who have never been to an art fair, come to one of our fairs and realise visiting an art fair is not as daunting as they thought it would be.”
An artwork he is looking forward to seeing at our upcoming edition is ‘Elysium 23’ presented by Kris Ancog Gallery. We are still trying to convince Anson to jam a tune at this year’s Arty-Licious Evening. Live music with contemporary art you say? It doesn’t get more exhilarating than that!
Joining the Affordable Art Fair family since 2022, Coco oversees the Marketing Team for both Hong Kong and Singapore. Her job mainly surrounds social media planning, PR pitching and press release, VIP data management and more (including the write-up of this article you are reading now)!
Falling in love with the Singapore culture, Coco loves sharing Nasi Lemak (Coconut rice) with the team whenever she lands in Singapore. Her favorite moment at the fair is usually a few minutes ahead of the opening, where everyone gets the strong adrenaline rush of welcoming our first visitors to the fair! It can get crazy, but nonetheless fun and rewarding.
She is excited to see Emma’s Haworth’s Eve of St Agnes from Rebecca Hossack Gallery this year.
“Growing up as a city girl in Hong Kong, we don’t have much winter or snow around this side of the world! It is always lovely to see modern metropolitan life through another pair of lens.“
Kelly is a bit of an art history nerd (she said it, not us) whose favourite art genre is socio-realist art. Did you know, Kelly used to be an intern with Affordable Art Fair back in 2017?
“The fair is THE place to be for any art lover because you get a smorgasbord of visual art that’s a feast for the eyes. With such an international database of galleries, you have the opportunity to view different art styles from various cultures, interpreted by hundreds of talented artists.”
The first artwork Kelly ever purchased was a Make Art Not War screenprint by Shepard Fairey. She was instantly drawn to the simple yet beautiful messaging to embrace peace over destruction. One series of work she is excited to see at Affordable Art Fair is by Syaiful Rachman from REDSEA Gallery. Why, you might ask? Kelly’s ultimate dream is to get one of Syaiful’s paintings of her celebrity crush, Alex Turner! Could Syaiful hear Kelly’s calling for another piece? We shall see!
When she is not stringing together galleries and programmes, Kelly can be found documenting on her film camera and chasing the latest food trends with her partner whom she met last year at the fair. Finding love isn’t that hard now, is it? If you didn’t manage to catch love at the fair like Kelly did, simply buy a piece of artwork home, and that may be your “one true piece”, which is just as exciting in our opinion!
Ping is our latest recruit for Affordable Art Fair Singapore! Another boomerang team member, Ping joined the Affordable Art Fair Singapore team first as an intern in 2015, and have also extended her internship to support the Hong Kong Fair.
“A key reason for my return in 2023 is the inclusive and supportive atmosphere that permeates the organization. We spend the majority of our time at work so being able to bring our authentic self to work is crucial.”
She has a Master’s in Art History and Art-world practice from Christie’s Education and University of Glasgow, and have worked in a film archive previously. Her weekends are often filled with visits to the museum, playing board games and making zines to fuel her creative spirit. Ping is still looking to buy her first piece of work, but one of her closest friend, who was still a student at the time, attended our fair and bought her first artwork!
“This testament shows that there is indeed art for every taste and budget, and I can’t wait to be a part of the joint effort in making art accessible for all.”
Ping already has her eyes set on UTTERLY ART’s Sallett by Gabby Malpas. What type of artworks are you looking forward to see at this year’s fair?
Tickets are still available for Affordable Art Fair Singapore (10 – 12 November 2023). Come meet our lovely team, and pick an artwork or two to bring back home!
Main image: Team pictures from Singapore.