An art book is not just some coffee table tome, Renee Ting will have you know. Instead, think of it as a work of art that comes in the form of a book. As founder and director of the Singapore Art Book Fair, or SGABF for short, the 30‐year‐old has been an indispensable figure in building awareness and support for this experimental medium here and in the region. This month – from the 14th to the 16th – she will host the biggest edition of the independent festival yet to mark 10 years since its debut in 2013. Ahead, Ting tells us more.
LET’S GO BACK TO THE START, RENEE. WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA TO START SGABF?
“The organisers of the Tokyo Art Book Fair had approached me and my friend Stephanie Peh (a freelance arts and culture writer and producer), and said: ‘You know, there isn’t an art book fair in Singapore, so you guys should start one.’ This was back in 2013, when the art book scene here was pretty much non-existent or extremely niche, and the people involved in it were doing things in silo. Nothing really happened until a month before the first SGABF was scheduled to take place. Steph and I started scrambling and calling people whom we knew were doing things related to magazines – even remotely – because it was the printed medium that most were into at the time. It was also something we were familiar with … In hindsight, that debut edition featured things that were on the periphery of what would be defined as an art book and wasn’t tightly curated. We both had full-time jobs and I saw it more as something on my calendar that I had to do and get over with. After leaving my job (in the world of publishing) in 2017, I took over SGABF and decided to run it independently. That was when I realised that I had a much bigger vision and dreams for this event and its community.”
Renee Ting (above) staged the inaugural edition of Singapore Art Book Fair in Nanyang Technological University’s NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore in 2013. The event drew about 1,000 visitors with its colourful array of zines, periodicals, exhibition catalogues and artist publications from 20‐odd exhibitors.
THE CONCEPT OF AN ART BOOK AND WHAT CONSTITUTES ONE IS FOREIGN TO MANY. SEEMS LIKE IT WAS A QUESTION YOU HAD TO GRAPPLE WITH TOO WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED SGABF.
“For sure – I’ve always been figuring things out along the way. At the same time, the beauty of an art book lies in how it’s not so easily defined. Till today, every time I think I have a grasp on what an art book – or artist’s book – is, another work comes along to challenge that idea. It’s a medium that’s constantly evolving and makes one question whether definitions should be applied to it at all … For me, an art book is an experience more than anything else … Take a poem or short novel, for example. If you translate it into an e-book, you don’t lose much except the act of holding the printed book. The book’s main purpose – to be read – and all the content needed to allow that to be fulfilled remain. With an art book though, there are layers of concept, intention and even the literal handiwork of an artist involved. One of my latest favourites is Exercise Book by Cat Hu, a young Singapore artist. With it, she has recreated by hand the traditional and humble exercise book, with every line literally drawn by her. When you use it, you’re doing so on top of her work. That’s an interaction you can’t get online or from other mediums.”
WHAT ARE SOME MISCONCEPTIONS PEOPLE USUALLY HAVE ABOUT ART BOOKS?
“The most common misconception is that they’re coffee table books or artist monographs by big publishing houses such as Phaidon or Taschen. The medium can be so much more than that. There are books that have no words – or no legible ones. There are those that are not bound or come as a stack of cards … There are even books made of chiffon. The possibilities are endless. An art book can also be an artwork made in the form of a book, with the artist or designer challenging the conventions of what a book should be by playing with various elements – the typography, the binding, even the topics addressed.”
The Singapore Art Book Fair has become a major event on the local arts and culture calendar, with attendance hitting 6,500 last year. Its latest edition – on at the Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark from April 14 to 16 – boasts its largest line-up yet.
THERE HAS BEEN A NOTICEABLE INCREASE IN ART BOOK FAIRS IN THE REGION. WHAT DO YOU THINK ACCOUNTS FOR THAT?
“Picking up an art book in a bookshop is very different from doing so at a fair because at the latter, people get to talk to the artists or the makers behind the books. Over the years, people have shared with me that this interaction is what they enjoy most – that they got to find out more about the process of how the work came to be … During the (Covid-19) pandemic, I had to question whether or not to go digital; I realised we couldn’t because that personal energy is what people value most. (SGABF ended up going on hiatus in 2020, returning in 2021 on a smaller scale in part due to safety management measures, and then going big again last year with a 93-vendor edition held at the Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.) There’s also a more accessible aspect to picking up a book at an art book fair as compared to buying art at a conventional art fair or white cube space, which can feel intimidating for the layman. It helps that art books are relatively affordable (prices generally start around $10 at SGABF).”
WITH MORE ART BOOK FAIRS POPPING UP, DO YOU CONSCIOUSLY TRY TO DIFFERENTIATE SGABF FROM THEM?
“I’m more concerned about being mistaken for other book-related events in Singapore, such as Comic Con, illustration fairs and literary events like the Singapore Writers Festival, so it all comes down to curation. We’ve had a lot of literary publishers apply for SGABF and unfortunately, I’ve had to reject them because we’re not a literary festival. Illustration is also a grey area – if we accept too many illustrators, SGABF risks becoming too focused on that. Illustration can be a component of art books, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. I thus have to be extremely strict. For example, we tell all participants that they can sell other things such as prints and merchandise, but 50 per cent of what’s laid out must be books. Otherwise, how can we call ourselves an art book fair?”
Some of the folks who have helped Ting keep the Singapore Art Book Fair going through the years: clockwise from left) business analyst Pamela Seong, a volunteer since 2014; visual artist and regular exhibitor Robert Zhao; photographer Clarence Aw, who has documented previous editions; and SGABF volunteer, exhibitor and unofficial music curator; admin assistant Jack Teo, a volunteer since 2014
HOW HAS THE ART BOOK FAIR AUDIENCE HERE EVOLVED THROUGH THE YEARS?
“We have a very strong graphic design crowd following and that has always been the case since the start. Last year, though, I noticed a bit of a change in the attendees when we staged the fair at the Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark – probably because the museum itself attracts a larger general audience. SGABF is one of the few events in Singapore that attracts such a diverse and creative crowd – one at which you might get a theatre practitioner, a veteran museum curator, someone who plays in an indie band, a performance artist and a graphic design student all in the same space. It’s basically a space for anybody remotely interested in art, design, books and culture. At the same time, I feel that we’re slowly branching out to reach those who are a little bit outside of the creative industry: They don’t work in it, but are interested in it. My dream is to eventually have random aunties and uncles enquiring about books by, say, Temporary Press (a small-scale local publisher focused on content surrounding art and design practices).”
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE SGABF MEMORIES?
“It’s mostly the behind-the-scenes moments for me. In 2014, for example, the fair was staged in the Nanyang Technological University’s NTU Centre for Contemporary Art (NTU CCA) Singapore, which also houses artworks, so I had to get extra-premium insurance for the time we were occupying the space. The NTU CCA team was also super strict on emphasising that no eating and drinking was allowed on the premises. Yet, on opening night, some guy walks in with his dog. The NTU CCA rep came running out frantically asking about it and we couldn’t help but laugh because the dog was neither food nor beverage … I’ve always had a very special bond with the SGABF team and our wonderful volunteers because putting the fair together is such an experience. Some of it boils down to the adrenaline on the actual event days, but there’s also so much planning and work that goes on the six months before that … A lot of what I share and go through with the team can’t be replicated elsewhere.”
Other folks instrumental in keeping the Singapore Art Book Fair going strong through the years include (clockwise from bottom left) artist and independent curator Berny Tan, who has volunteered at as well as handled marketing for the fair; creative director Melvin Tan, whose firm Currency Design helps handle SGABF’s design collaterals; Holycrap, the art collective made up of local creative guru Pann Lim, his wife Claire, and their children Renn and Aira, which has regularly exhibited at SGABF; artist Lai Yu Tong, regular volunteer, occasional exhibitor and the event’s unofficial music IC; and NPE Print Communications account manager Victor Lee whose company works with SGABF on collaterals
WHAT SORT OF PLACE DO YOU SEE ART BOOKS OCCUPYING IN SINGAPORE’S LARGER ARTS AND CULTURE LANDSCAPE?
“I hope for schools – especially design schools and art schools – to have a more robust curriculum around the medium of books. I think right now, it’s up to the individual lecturers to introduce art books to their students. Art books are not part of the pedagogy at all, but the education process can start with places such as schools as well as museum stores.”
WHAT ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE UPCOMING SGABF, TO BE HELD AT THE SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM AT TANJONG PAGAR DISTRIPARK (APRIL 14 TO 16)?
“This is the first time we’re ticketing the event, so I’m quite scared of the reaction. The fee is a relatively nominal $8 though. A lot of things are still in the works as we speak, but we do have 105 exhibitors from Singapore and around the world this year, which is massive for art book fairs and our biggest line-up to date. Besides a book exhibition and the usual artist talks, there’s a drawing workshop by a visually impaired artist from Johor Bahru that I’m very excited about. Another thing new this year is how we’ve selected the participating exhibitors. The curation had previously always been done by me and my team, but I realised that may be a bit skewed and not the fairest because it’s just three people making the decisions. This year, I approached 12 industry folks to help curate the list of exhibitors; they’re kept anonymous because I’ve personally faced heat from people I’ve had to reject in the past and I want to spare the panellists that experience. The intention is to decentralise the decision-making process, and I hope people will come to enjoy and see the fair for themselves.”
All quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity
Still Life Photography Phyllicia Wang Art Direction Danessa Tong
This article is adapted from a story that first appeared in the April 2023 Community Edition of FEMALE
