Why Singapore Art Week 2024 is a watershed

FINALLY in Singapore, art collectors are emerging as a force to be reckoned with. At the 12th Singapore Art Week which opens on Friday (Jan 19), wealthy art collectors are everywhere, showcasing their blue-chip possessions in exhibitions big and small, in homes, galleries, museums, malls, industrial parks and pop-up spaces. 

For a long time, many Singapore-based art collectors hid in the shadows, too shy to reveal what they own, nervous of possibly being labelled “show-offs” and attracting gossip. They stood in sharp contrast to the collectors of other Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila and Jakarta, where some throw extravagant soirees and invite crowds into their homes to see million-dollar art hanging on the walls. 

But in what could be described as a “coming-out party”, Singapore collectors are finally unmasking themselves in droves, nervous no more. In the colonial-era Emily Hill mansion housing the Private Museum, a loose band of collectors long known as Art Addicts Anonymous (AAA) just opened an exhibition of their favourite artworks. As they posed for group photos on the opening night, one wondered if the “Anonymous” in their name needs a rethink, considering how public some of its members – such as Linda Neo, John Chia and Lou Samson – have become.