SINGAPORE — Were there way too many art fairs during the recently concluded Singapore Art Week? Judging from the crowds at Art Stage Singapore, Singapore Contemporary Art Show and Art Apart Fair, which all wrapped up on Sunday, it was a case of the more, the merrier.

Around 40,500 visitors dropped by the sixth edition of Art Stage during its five-day run at Marina Bay Sands’ Sands Expo & Convention Centre, while some 16,000 visited the inaugural Singapore Contemporary over four days at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. Meanwhile, hotel boutique fair Art Apart drew an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 during its own four-day run at PARKROYAL on Pickering.

Visitor numbers for Art Stage had dipped from last year’s 51,000, which organisers attributed to the uncertain economic climate. But that didn’t stop collectors from shelling out sizeable amounts for art, including a piece that reportedly fetched US$1m (S$1.4m). Japanese gallery Sakurado Fine Arts also reported selling US$1.2m worth of works by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. A work by Singaporean Jane Lee also sold for US$33,000 at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, while Singapore Tyler Print Institute said it had sold all its works by the late artist Chua Ek Kay.

Beyond selling, the fair also had other well-attended events such as talks by celebrity auctioneer Simon de Pury and architect Rem Koolhaas, as part of the South-east Asia Forum, which had also included an exhibition section.

Despite this year’s less-than-promising economic forecast, fair founder and president Lorenzo Rudolf deemed this edition a success. “The content that we present has shown us to be not only an innovative fair but also a resilient one. It is an important aspect that will distinguish us from others and which strengthens our position in these uncertain times,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Singapore Contemporary show director Douwe Cramer expressed his delight at how its debut edition turned out. Compared it Art Stage, which featured 173 galleries, Singapore Contemporary had 65 exhibitors.

“The feedback has been very encouraging… We look forward to working with galleries, artists, public art institutions and the government to become a deeply integrated and valuable long-term player in Singapore’s art ecosystem,” he said, adding that for its second edition next year, there will be more than 90 galleries present.

Singapore Contemporary featured unique elements to differentiate itself from Art Week’s main fair, such as a children’s programme.

The successful outcome has prompted Singaporean gallery Utterly Art to take part next year as well. “We have achieved very healthy sales and are very encouraged,” said gallery director Kenneth Tan. “The show is a good size with a really workable layout and nicely spaced booths so everyone can get around easily.”

Finally, while visitor numbers at the lower-key Art Apart fair hovered around the same as in previous editions, director Rosalind Lim told TODAY that they had gotten a lot more walk-in visitors than usual. “In the past editions, 80 per cent or more of the visitors were all invited guests. But this time around, we sold a lot of (admission) tickets. We would normally sell 200 to 250 and the rest would be invited, but this time, we sold close to S$6,000 worth of tickets.”

While she was unable to give total sales figures, Lim reckoned it was “better than the last edition” and cited how one buyer had bought a total of S$80,000 worth of artworks.