Art SG's new draws

The 2026 edition now incorporates S.E.A. Focus and includes new offerings such as an art hotel and artist prize

- Clement Yong Correspondent

Art SG fair director Shuyin Yang's preparations for the annual mega fair begin almost immediately after each edition's conclusion.

Just two weeks after Art SG 2025, she was back on the road. Among her first excursions was to Shanghai to see the inaugural staging of the Wan Hai Hotel - an itinerant art experience by Rockbund Art Museum that she invited to Singapore as part of Art SG 2026.

Then, in Hampi, she huddled with Singapore artist Robert Zhao in the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary as bears licked ghee and honey around her. The India trip cemented partnerships with institutions there for a new platform highlighting South Asian art, sponsored by automotive manufacturer TVS Motor. Zhao is presenting some of his works at art nonprofit organisation The Institutum's booth at the fair.

Ms Yang tells The Straits Times: "Because we are a hub, we touch so many regions. We connect with South Asia, on to East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the broader Asia-Pacific. The art fair can't be an island, so we need to form these meaningful connections."

Over 100 galleries from more than 30 countries and territories have signed up for the fourth edition at Marina Bay Sands a comparable number with the past two editions. The anchor event of Singapore Art Week (SAW) runs from Jan 22 to 25, and is presented by multinational investment bank UBS.

The 2026 edition boasts a slew of new initiatives that hopes to differentiate Art SG in an increasingly crowded Asian art fair landscape.

Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait will draw visitors into a world of video programmes, installations and performances at The Warehouse Hotel, and the TVS initiative is a three-year project that includes a keynote lecture and a South Asian exhibition space in Art SG.