Singapore Art Book Fair returns next month

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Art Book Fair will be back next month.

Organised by independent bookstore and publisher BooksActually and Singapore-based creative consultancy Hjgher, the annual book fair specialising in contemporary art and design books and zines will run from Nov 14 to 16 at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Gillman Barracks.

Last year’s inaugural edition drew 5,000 people over four days. “We’re looking to scale up the fair, hopefully double of last year in terms of crowd and vendors,” said BooksActually manager Renee Ting. “We’ve invited a lot more local zine-makers, magazine publishers and even artists to showcase their works. This year, we’re focusing on those out there who are really just doing their own thing.”

Set to take part are at least 35 participating publishers, artists and groups, both local and international. Among these are Singapore-based studio Squelch Zines, which will be setting up a mama shop-style booth, and Underscore and Galavant Magazine, which will be launching their respective latest issues.

Other participants include: Singapore-based travel magazine Afterglobe, arts space Grey Projects, artists Nguan and Sokkuan Tye, graphic design team Sarah & Schooling, independent local magazine retailer Magpie, ShangART gallery, the Singapore Memory Project, gallery shop Supermama, record label Kitchen Label, international publishers Phaidon and Thames & Hudson, and indie publisher Pipoca Press from Brazil.

There will also be fringe events. Among these are a performance by The Observatory and an exhibition by family art collective Holycrap.sg to launch the latest issue of its zine. Visual artist Speak Cryptic will hold a public interactive colouring mural, while lifestyle store The Redundant Shop will be holding craft workshops. Films will also be screened throughout the day.

“We’ve always wanted this to be an ongoing event, as Singapore has never really had an art book fair, not like Tokyo, New York, Frankfurt, etc. We’ve got a growing art scene and we think that should be celebrated and showcased,” said Ting.

The Singapore Art Book Fair runs from Nov 14 to 16, 10am to 8pm, at Centre For Contemporary Art Singapore, Gillman Barracks, Block 43 Malan Road. For more details, visit http://singaporeartbookfair.com/