The third edition of ART SG, the leading contemporary art fair for Southeast Asia, came to a close with galleries reporting robust sales to established and emerging collectors, attending from across the globe. This year’s edition welcomed an exciting lineup of 105 galleries from 30 countries and territories, spotlighting artistic practices from Singapore, Southeast Asia and the Indo Pacific region while fostering cultural dialogue and exchange globally.

Returning to the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre and presented by Founding and Lead Partner UBS, ART SG welcomed over 41,000 visitors across its four-day run, cementing its position as a key stop on the international cultural calendar and proudly hosted leading galleries, collectors, artists, institutions, and organisations as well as a strong audience of art-lovers.  

Magnus Renfrew, Co-Founder, ART SG said: “The successful conclusion of the third edition of ART SG reflects the solid foundations that the Fair has laid to date, and the exciting prospects for Singapore’s emergence as a key cultural and art market destination. The strong attendance from across Southeast Asia and beyond demonstrates Singapore’s rapidly developing role as an important nexus for the art world in Asia. We are thrilled to play an active role in promoting Singapore and Southeast Asia and are grateful to the galleries, institutions and collectors for their incredible support.” 

Shuyin Yang, Fair Director, ART SG said: “As our third edition comes to a close, we are delighted with our gallery offering, cultural partnerships and dynamic wider program. We have witnessed outstanding contributions to ART SG’s various sectors, with visitors engaging with both the art on display, film screenings and talks, and connections forged and strengthened across the industry. We are looking forward to seeing these relationships grow in the months to come.” 

Young Jin Yee, Co-Head UBS Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific and Country Head UBS Singapore, said: “This year’s ART SG reaffirms its role as a vital platform for contemporary art in Singapore and Southeast Asia, bringing together a dynamic and diverse community from the region and beyond. A highlight was the strong public engagement towards the 60-meter-long woven tapestry commemorating Singapore’s 60th year of independence. Now recognised in the Singapore Book of Records, it celebrates SG60 and embodies the spirit of building our Singapore together. The tapestry also marks a strong start for our year-long ‘Art for All’ community program, aimed at making art accessible to all. The UBS Art Collection’s solo presentation of works by leading contemporary artist Mit Jai Inn captivated audiences, reflecting our commitment to using art as a powerful medium to foster dialogue, creativity, and connection.”

Leading private collectors from around the world attended the fair, including from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as Europe and the US. Also in attendance were directors, curators, and patrons from international museums and institutions, including Delfina Foundation, United Kingdom; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, United States; Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, Australia; Toledo Museum of Art, United States; ArtScience Museum, Singapore; Kim Lim Estate, United Kingdom; Sharjah Biennial 16 2025, Indonesia; Biennale Jogia Foundation, Indonesia; Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines; Tanoto Art Foundation, Singapore; Cloud Collection, China; Khao Yai Art, Thailand; 24th Biennale of Sydney (2024), Australia; Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Germany; Mori Art Museum, Japan; The Institutum, Singapore; The OHD Museum of Modern and Contemporary Indonesian Art, Indonesia; Sunpride Foundation, Hong Kong; Museum MACAN Foundation, Indonesia; Consortium Museum, France; Jim Thompson Art Centre, Thailand; Tate, United Kingdom; Bellas Artes Projects, Philippines; Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD), Philippines; MOCA Bangkok, Thailand; Cubitt Gallery, United Kingdom; Ayala Museum, Philippines; M Art Foundation, China; DIB Bangkok, Thailand; The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global, Hong Kong; Lorinet Foundation, Mongolia, Singapore, Switzerland; Bangkok Art Biennale, Thailand; Pure ArtLab, Singapore; Nguyen Art Foundation, Vietnam; M+, Hong Kong; Bangkok Kunsthalle, Thailand; Art Fair Philippines, Philippines; in-tangible institute, Thailand; Chisenhale Gallery, United Kingdom.  

Beyond the fair, Singapore Art Week 2025 offered a dynamic roster of cultural programming. Leading visual art institutions, galleries, private foundations and collections held exhibitions, events and activations across the city, showcasing its vibrant and engaging cultural scene and fostering further dialogue within the region and beyond. Highlights include The Singapore Art Week Forum 2025, organised by the National Arts Council, National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum, which featured a keynote and panel discussions examining the relationship between art and the public and the inaugural symposium hosted by the newly launched Tanoto Foundation, a Singapore-based not-for-profit foundation dedicated to nurturing dialogues around the experience of contemporary art in Southeast Asia, among others.

Launched at this year’s ART SG fair, the SAM ART SG Fund allocated SGD $150,000 to the acquisition of key artworks for the permanent collection of Singapore Art Museum. The Fund, an annual initiative, is made possible through the generous contributions of arts patrons Carmen Yixuan Li, Pure Yichen Chen, and other anonymous donors. It reflects a strong commitment to nurturing the local arts landscape and the museum’s collection, as well as fostering meaningful and lasting connections between its founding patrons, the Singapore Art Museum, and ART SG.

This year’s acquisitions included: Kim Yun Shin’s Add Two Add One Divide Two Divide One 2023-6 (2023) from Lehmann Maupin; Kapwani Kiwanga’s Magma (2024) from Goodman Gallery; and Lêna Bùi’s Breathing no.2 (2024) from Galerie Urs Meile. 

In 2025, ART SG presented a dynamic FILM program, curated by Stefano Rabolli Pansera, Founding Director of Bangkok Kunsthalle and Khao Yai Art Forest, and Artistic Director of St Moritz Film Festival. The program, titled ‘By Artists, On Artists’, highlighted pioneering film, video and moving image artists, including Theaster Gates, Tanatchai Bandasak, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Dongdong Cai, Nam June Paik, Cy Twombly, Chi Yin Sim, Wolfgang Laib, Monica de Miranda, Matteo Zamagni, Andreas Gursky, and Robert Rauschenberg. Taking place across three days, the screenings developed in three chapters, ‘Constructing Landscapes’, exploring the profound connections between art, nature, and the environments—both physical and conceptual—that artists create or inhabit; ‘Voices and Whispers’, focusing on the intimate, transformative, and deeply personal journeys of artists as they navigate the intersections of life, society and history; and ‘Ruins and Prophecies’, delving into the interplay between historical legacy and visionary imagination, exploring how artists face and cope with the radical transformation of society and draw from the past to reshape the future.

This year’s TALKS program, ART SG PERSPECTIVES, similarly offered a diverse series of thought-provoking panels, discussions and lectures exploring stimulating and contemporary themes, and spotlight art from Singapore and Southeast Asia. Speakers included: Aaron Cezar, Founding Director, Delfina Foundation; collectors Daisuke Miyatsu, Quynh Nguyen and Tony Lyu; Renan Laru-an, Artistic Director, SAVVY Contemporary; Miwako Tezuka, Art Director, Dib Bangkok; Xiaoyu Weng, Artistic Director, Tanoto Art Foundation; Wong Binghao (Bing), Curator, Editor, and Writer; Amal Khalaf, Co-Curator Sharjah Biennale 16, Director of Programmes Cubitt Gallery; Zoe Butt, Curator, Writer and Founder of in-tangible institute, Chiang Mai; Dr Hsu Fang-Tze, Curator, Singapore Art Museum; Dr Imran bin Tajudeen, Senior Lecturer, Department of Malay Studies and Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore; Natalie Khoo, Programmes & Outreach Executive, Asian Film Archive and Teow Yue Han, Co-founder, Hothouse; Mok Cui Yin, Head, Biennale, Singapore Art Museum; Stefano Rabolli Pansera, Founding Director, Bangkok Kunsthalle and Khao Yai Art Forest, and Artistic Director of St Moritz Film Festival; independent curator Sam I-shan; curator and art historian Lydia Yee; curators Isaiah Cheng, Programmes Manager, DECK; Clara Che Wei Peh, Curator and Arts Writer; Tan Siuli, Contributing Editor, ART SG and Independent Curator; and artists Korakrit Arunanondchai; Mandy El-Sayegh; Shavonne Wong; 00 Zhang; Mella Jaarsma; and Suzann Victor.

During the fair’s four-day run, galleries reported significant sales, with works placed in important private and institutional collections. A snapshot of reported sales includes:

Cardi Gallery (Milan, London) led with the sale of Pablo Picasso’s Buste d’Homme à la pipe (1969) for USD 1,200,000. White Cube (London, Hong Kong, Paris, Seoul, New York) achieved strong results, including Georg Baselitz’s Mettere mano a – anfangen (2019) sold for EUR 650,000, Antony Gormley’s VIEW (2024) sold for GBP 500,000 and Tunji Adeniyi-Jones’s Celestial Gathering (2024) for USD 350,000. Additional highlights included Minoru Nomata’s Continuum-12 (2024) for USD 95,000 and Far Sights-1 (2009) for USD 35,000, alongside Tiona Nekkia McClodden’s NEVER LET ME GO | XXII. drop (2024) for USD 75,000 and Tracey Emin’s Away From The Cross (2023) for GBP 28,000.

Prominent results from Lehmann Maupin (New York, London, Seoul) included Teresita Fernández’s Stella Maris (Net) 4 (2024), which sold for USD 120,000–125,000 to a Singapore-based collector, and Mandy El-Sayegh’s Net-Grid Study (Euro-Joy) (2024), which achieved USD 72,000 from a Jakarta buyer. In Asia, Johyun Gallery (Busan, Seoul) performed exceptionally well, with sales of Lee Bae’s Issu de feu K-20 (2003) for USD 180,000 and works from his Brushstroke series (2024) achieving USD 60,000 each. Galerie Gmurzynska (Zurich, New York)  saw success with Roberto Matta’s Is thou so desired? (1957) which sold for USD 150,000, and Wifredo Lam’s Personnage 21/24 (1971) for USD 120,000. Sundaram Tagore (New York, Singapore, London) achieved notable sales including Zheng Lu’s Water in Dipping – Yangtze (2023) for USD 175,000, Miya Ando’s Moon Ensō (Engessō 円月相) (2024) for USD 85,000, and Jane Lee’s Unearthed I (2024) for USD 70,000 among others. SPURS Gallery (Beijing) placed Ulay/Marina Abramović’s Point of Contact (1980/2024) for EUR 50,000, and Nir Hod’s 100 Years Is Not Enough (2024) achieved USD 75,000 at Makasiini Contemporary (Turku). 

Singapore-based galleries continued to assert their influence. Artcommune (Singapore) saw outstanding results, including Cheong Soo Pieng’s By the Lake (1979) for SGD 116,000 and Chua Mia Tee’s Smith Street (1981) for SGD 110,000. Ames Yavuz (Singapore, Sydney) placed six major works by leading Thai-artist Pinaree Sanpitak in the range of USD 60,000 to 85,000 each to private collectors in the region; Highlight Art (Singapore) placed Meng Zhigang’s Subcelestial Touch – Awaiting South Wind No.3 (2019) for SGD 50,000; Haridas Contemporary (Singapore) reported Melissa Tan’s The Fates: Klotho, Lachesis & Atropos (2024) fetched SGD 50,000–60,000 in a sale to a private museum in Southeast Asia.

Gallery participation in ART SG unfolded across three main sectors featuring ambitious booths and displaying established and emerging artists from Singapore, Southeast Asia and beyond. The first sector, GALLERIES, offered diverse, multi-artist exhibitions, while FOCUS featured solo or duo artist programs, or curated thematic presentations; lastly FUTURES, the sector dedicated to supporting younger galleries under the age of 10 years, spotlighted work specially created for ART SG.

“The third edition of ART SG buzzed with new faces and fresh energy, and continued to be a regional platform for collectors and institution leaders from Southeast Asia and beyond. As a nod to SG60, Singapore’s 60th year of independence, we highlighted six young Singaporean artists as part of our presentation, and it was great to see multiple pieces snapped up by 5 out of the 6 artists, signalling excitement in our younger local talents,” says Richard Koh, Founder, Richard Koh Fine Art (Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur).

“The third edition of ART SG has truly set a new benchmark. The fair’s vibrant energy was palpable, driven by a notable increase in collector attendance from the region. It was particularly encouraging to engage with such informed collectors, reflecting the growing interest in our Southeast Asian artists. This was further affirmed by successful sales of works by Yunizar, Murniasih, Mark Justiniani, and BenCab,” says Jasdeep Sandhu, Founder, Gajah Gallery (Singapore, Jakarta, Yogyakarta).

“We managed to clock in some healthy sales figures during the fair and are expecting streaming enquiries. The local buyers that we have met display an eagerness to learn but are prudent at taking the plunge. We’re also pleased to meet overseas buyers who are familiar with Singapore’s representative artists but have little opportunity to view quality works in person. Overall, the fair is a step forward for collectorship to reach a certain maturity steadily. Getting there requires a lot more legwork on our part, but we are prepared and ready for the long haul.,” says Ho Sou Ping, Founder, artcommune gallery (Singapore)

The next iteration of ART SG will take place from 23rd to 25th January 2026 (VIP Preview and Vernissage on 22nd January). Details on the fourth edition will be announced in due course. More information available here.