Art Stage Singapore to wind up, creditors’ meeting slated for Feb 28
The 2016 edition of Art Stage Singapore. Art Stage Singapore’s namesake art fair was to take place at the Marina Bay Sands convention centre from Jan 25 to 27.
SINGAPORE — The firm behind the Republic’s major art fair which was abruptly cancelled last month — after an eight-year run — was placed under provisional liquidation on Jan 31.
The winding up of Art Stage Singapore was announced on Tuesday (Feb 12) by the appointed provisional liquidator, Mr Tee Wey Lih from Acres Advisory. Mr Tee is now arranging to recover the company’s assets and records.
A creditors’ meeting has been scheduled for Feb 28, and creditors will receive a notice of meeting shortly, Mr Tee said in a press release.
When a company undergoes liquidation, its business ceases to operate and its assets are seized and converted into cash. The proceeds will then be used to pay off the company’s debts and liabilities.
Acres Advisory told TODAY that the liquidation process was initiated by the directors of Art Stage Singapore, and that it is estimated to take between 12 and 18 months, assuming there are no complexities in the case.
In response to a question about when vendors and exhibitors of Art Stage Singapore would be paid back, Acres Advisory said: “We are still evaluating the situation and in the midst of recovering the company’s assets. We would be in a better position to advise the creditors on the recovery prospect in due course.”
Art Stage Singapore’s namesake art fair was to take place at the Marina Bay Sands convention centre from Jan 25 to 27, but the fair’s president Lorenzo Rudolf, who is also the company president, announced the cancellation in an email to galleries one week before.
A total of 45 international and local galleries were affected.
Following the shock cancellation, Mr Rudolf cited “exorbitant prices”, “unequal competition” and “cannibalism” in the art scene here as reasons for canning the fair.
But gallery owners and art collectors here told TODAY that Singapore remains an attractive destination for art buyers, despite Mr Rudolf’s claims. Nevertheless, they also said that there has to be some innovation in order to attract new and younger collectors.
Interest in Art Stage Singapore had dipped in recent years. From 143 booths rented in 2016, the number dropped to 131 in 2017 and 97 last year. This year, only 45 exhibitors signed up for it.
The National Arts Council (NAC), Singapore Tourism Board and Economic Development Board had backed the fair since it debuted in 2011.
The three government agencies had said in a joint statement after the cancellation that the impact on those who planned to take part in the fair was “unfortunate”.
Gallerists and other members of the arts community then rallied to offer exhibition spaces and other support to affected participants.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 13), Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Ms Grace Fu said that while the cancellation of Art Stage Singapore was a disappointment for Singapore’s art scene, the sector is resilient enough to overcome this.
She noted that visitor numbers to Singapore Art Week – the most recent one took place between Jan 19 and 27 – have been growing, and added she is optimistic that Singapore remains a viable location for arts fairs.
Workers’ Party Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera asked whether the Government would require future organisers to declare their financial health well before the start date of such events.
Ms Fu said that the Government is not in a position to make such a requirement.
“It’s not something that we ask for in participants,” she said.
“Especially for NAC, we have not had a direct financial interest in the show so it would not be appropriate for us to be demanding the commercial organisations to show us their financial situation.”
