Cover A visitor at the 2025 edition of Art SG, Southeast Asia’s leading international art fair (Photo: Art SG)
A visitor at the 2025 edition of Art SG, Southeast Asia’s leading international art fair (Photo: Art SG)
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Returning in January 2026, Art SG enters a defining chapter. Co-founder Magnus Renfrew reflects on how the integration of Sea Focus and expanded curatorial initiatives are reinforcing Singapore’s role as a meeting point for contemporary art, ideas and regional narratives
The fourth edition of Art SG arrives this January with a sharpened sense of purpose. As Southeast Asia’s leading international art fair prepares to welcome top galleries, institutions and collectors to Singapore once again, its organisers see this moment as a defining threshold—one that will keep the fair’s momentum and reinforce the city’s position as a global convening point for contemporary art.
Art SG co-founder Magnus Renfrew observes a notable shift in how the world now conceives of Asia. “The terminology about how people talk about Asia has been shifting a little from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific,” he notes—an evolution that he believes “shows greater relevance for Singapore”, which stands naturally as “the de facto and acknowledged hub of the Indo-Pacific”. It is a view increasingly echoed by the art world. As attention expands beyond the historically dominant centres of East Asia, Southeast Asia—home to 600 million people and a rapidly evolving creative ecosystem—has emerged as a site of accelerating interest. Renfrew sees this as both cultural opportunity and market logic: a region of Europe-equivalent scale that has long merited its own internationally respected platform.
Art SG has stepped decisively into that role. Returning from January 23 to 25, 2026 (with VIP preview and vernissage on January 22) and presented by founding and lead partner UBS, the fair brings together leading international galleries with established Southeast Asian names at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. This year sees participation from White Cube, Thaddaeus Ropac and Neugerriemschneider, alongside newcomers such as Castelli Gallery from New York, Ashvita’s from Chennai, and a joint presentation by Antenna Space (Shanghai) and Commonwealth and Council (Los Angeles). Regional stalwarts, including Ames Yavuz, STPI, Sullivan+Strumpf, Richard Koh Fine Art and Gajah Gallery, return to showcase contemporary practices that continue to gain global visibility. For collectors, this convergence creates a landscape where the region’s strongest voices meet compelling propositions from around the world.
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Above Art SG co-founder Magnus Renfrew (Photo: Art SG)
Art SG co-founder Magnus Renfrew (Photo: Art SG)
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The most consequential development this year is the integration of Sea Focus, the leading platform for Southeast Asian contemporary art, into Art SG. Founded by STPI and commissioned by the National Arts Council, Sea Focus has spent seven editions building a platform defined by rigorous curation and a deep commitment to Southeast Asian artistic production. Its 2026 edition, curated by John Z W Tung with artistic consultation from STPI’s executive director Emi Eu, explores the theme of “The Humane Agency”, spotlighting artists as agents of compassion responding to questions of conflict, ecology and community.
Bringing Sea Focus into Art SG while retaining its independence was essential. “Sea Focus has always been defined by a strong curatorial lens,” Renfrew emphasises. “It’s very much our intention not to interfere with that curatorial vision.” For collectors, both regional and international, the benefits are immediate: single-ticket access to an integrated experience that merges Sea Focus’ curatorial depth with Art SG’s global expanse. The result is a richer, multi-perspective encounter that cuts across market segments, institutional conversations and emerging discoveries. Together, they form one of the anchor events of Singapore Art Week (SAW), signalling not only scale but a sharpened understanding of Singapore’s place in the Indo-Pacific cultural landscape.
Above Installation view of “Reading by an Artist” (2023–ongoing) by John Clang at Fost Gallery (Photo: John Clang)
Installation view of “Reading by an Artist” (2023–ongoing) by John Clang at Fost Gallery (Photo: John Clang)
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Art SG 2026 also introduces expanded programmes that deepen its regional dialogue. A major cultural partnership with Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) brings its executive director and chief curator X Zhu-Nowell into the role of Art SG’s film and performance art curator, inaugurating a dedicated Performance Art sector. Among its highlights is a presentation by Singaporean artist John Clang, exploring ritual, domesticity and communal reflection.
Alongside this is Wan Hai Hotel: Singapore Strait, a RAM–Art SG collaboration that transforms the lobby of The Warehouse Hotel into an immersive exhibition shaped by archipelagic thinking and maritime identity. Featuring works and performances by Stephanie Comilang, Ho Tzu Nyen, Martha Atienza, Robert Zhao, Dawn Ng and more, the project positions the hotel as a site of artistic encounter and a major highlight of SAW.
Another significant debut is the TVS Initiative for Indian and South Asian Contemporary Art, which places a dedicated spotlight on practices from India and the region. Curated by Studio Public Memory and led by Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi, the initiative includes “South Asian Insights”, a pavilion featuring Vadehra Art Gallery, Sakshi Gallery and Latitude 28. “We feel that India is a fundamental part of the story for Singapore and for Southeast Asia,” Renfrew explains, “and we want to make a push for that.”
Read more: Rockbund’s youngest director X Zhu-Nowell on meeting Ai Weiwei, Hong Kong’s art ecosystem and a new generation of museum experience
Above A presentation of “Wan Hai Hotel: Breaking the Waves” (2024) at Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (Photo: Leo/Rockbund Art Museum)
A presentation of “Wan Hai Hotel: Breaking the Waves” (2024) at Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai (Photo: Leo/Rockbund Art Museum)
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UBS reinforces its commitment to contemporary art with the launch of the Art SG Futures Prize—a US$10,000 award recognising an outstanding emerging artist in the Futures sector—alongside a UBS Art Collection presentation of Melati Suryodarmo’s I Love You (2007) at the UBS Art Studio. The five-hour performance captured on video in which repetition and physical strain turn a simple declaration into a meditation on vulnerability and endurance, underscores UBS’s belief in art’s power to spark dialogue and support the next generation of creative voices.
Meanwhile, the SAM Art SG Fund launched last year continues to support the Singapore Art Museum’s (SAM) acquisition of international contemporary art from a Southeast Asian perspective, with SG$150,000 earmarked for works presented at Art SG 2026. Backed by patrons Carmen Yixuan Li, Pure Yichun Chen and anonymous donors, and guided by Art SG fair director Shuyin Yang, the Fund strengthens the fair’s role as a collecting platform while ensuring acquisitions enter SAM’s public exhibitions and programmes. Its inaugural edition saw key works by Kim Yun Shin, Kapwani Kiwanga and Lêna Bùi added to the museum’s collection, expanding public access and visual arts education.
Together, these programmes signal an expanded ambition. Art SG is positioning itself not just as a marketplace but as a cultural engine—catalysing exhibitions, collaborations and cross-regional networks. Renfrew notes that some of the fair’s most meaningful outcomes are the “serendipitous, unexpected meetings” that allow ideas to take shape beyond the booth.
Furthermore, the fair’s impact is strengthened by the energy of its collectors. Renfrew highlights a growing sense of ownership among Southeast Asian collectors: “There’s been a real galvanising of support and there’s a sense of ownership of it.” They come not only to view art, but—with characteristic focus—to buy. As more global collectors base themselves in Singapore and regional networks deepen, Art SG increasingly functions as a nexus linking Southeast Asia with China, Australia, India and beyond. VIP ambassadors, advisory groups and year-round engagement ensure that the fair remains attuned to the shifting sensibilities of an international collector base.
Above From left: Jin Yee Young, co-head of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and country head of UBS Singapore; John Z W Tung, curator of Sea Focus; and Shuyin Yang, fair director of Art SG (Photo: Art SG)
From left: Jin Yee Young, co-head of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and country head of UBS Singapore; John Z W Tung, curator of Sea Focus; and Shuyin Yang, fair director of Art SG (Photo: Art SG)
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In this landscape, the integration of Sea Focus is more than operational efficiency; it is a symbolic consolidation of Singapore’s role as the region’s cultural convening point. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of the region’s artistic ecosystems—commercial, curatorial and institutional—and the city’s unique ability to anchor those threads.
As Art SG looks ahead, its ambition is clear. Renfrew hopes to “cement the fair’s position as one of the leading international art fairs in Asia”, while deepening its role in shaping Southeast Asia’s collector culture and cultural conversation. The work, he says, is “still just at the beginning”, but the path is rich with possibility.
As Senior Editor of Tatler Singapore, Hashirin champions and refines the storytelling across platforms—curating and crafting compelling profiles, cover stories and features that spotlight visionaries shaping culture, business and impact. Driven by curiosity, she draws inspiration from the artists, changemakers and trailblazers she encounters through her work. Beyond the pages of Tatler, she is an avid supporter of local theatre and delights in seeking out art in every city she visits.
