Art market research project 2009:
Korea and the Philippines – the Singapore Challenge

Students of the Singapore Institute investigated the art markets of Korea and the Philippines in February 2009 conducting their own research as part of the 'Singapore Challenge' project. Inteviewing a range of collectors, artists and gallerists, the students formed two project groups and left the classroom to assess the art market of each country, learning how artists' careers are currently being developed.

Students from the MA Art Business and MA Contemporary Art worked together in project groups, each focused on the two countries’ art markets. Read more in students' own words:


Research Group 1: The Korean Art Market

The Singapore Challenge provided an invaluable opportunity to engage in fieldwork research which increased our understanding of the Korean art market. Together with our other study trips, a key advantage of leaving the classroom to travel to other art centres was the opportunity to build on industry networks within the Asia region. The opportunity was fully funded by the Institute. This included airfares, transport costs, and spending allowances. Our group had complete responsibility and control over the project, from the interview planning process to the data analysis. The learning process is further extended back home when we shared our findings in a presentation to the local art community.

As a group, we were particularly interested in assessing the future development of emerging Korean contemporary artists within the Korean auction market. In order to do so, we needed to observe the role of Korean galleries in fostering the artists’ development. This would then enable us to correlate auction data with first-hand opinions, gathered from interviews with various players of the Korean art market.

In our own time, we researched and coordinated interviews with Korean galleries. After a few weeks of preparatory work, the time came for us to face the challenges of the Korean winter frost and the potentially unwelcoming market atmosphere amidst the current economic downturn. We were greeted by a number of enthusiastic gallery owners, collectors, and auction house staff whom we interviewed in the five days. The inclusion of two Korean-speaking students meant that we could conduct interviews in either English or Korean.

One other highlight was the chance to interview one of Korea’s most fascinating collectors. A fashion designer whose boutique was conveniently located next to other galleries in the arts district. There we discovered an eclectic collection, which ranged from Nam Jun Paik’s works to a personalised painting by Keith Haring. Each interview offered precious insight into a different segment of Seoul’s art market.

We are grateful to the Institute for allowing us to take part in this project, as it will potentially guide and help with our dissertation research methodologies. As a valuable extension of the MA degree programmes, we would urge future students to take part in the Singapore Challenge.




Research Group 2: The Filipino Art Market

After initial exposure to Filipino contemporary art through classroom lectures and at exhibitions in Singapore, we chose to travel to Manila to investigate its contemporary art scene. With the help and advice of a former part-time student of Sotheby’s Institute of Art and a Manila gallery owner, Candy Manzano, we developed a schedule that would maximize our time during our brief visit. In order to fully comprehend this art scene in only four days, our schedule primarily comprised of visiting museums, galleries and artists’ studios. Our intent was to meet with various individuals that work within this art scene and market to obtain information that would provide a glimpse of the entire scope.

The Philippines, and especially its arts scene, is an interesting mélange of Filipino Indigenous Culture, permeated by an overpowering Spanish Colonialism and an influential American Imperialism. The creative scene of the Philippines has responded through art that reveals the strong values of a Catholic faith, American pragmatism, and a Filipino cosmogony that roots its individuals to the essence of the land. The complexity of its history and its past is reflected in the Philippine’s intriguing art scene.

Thanks to the kind, open and hospitable nature of its people, everyone we interviewed provided us a wealth of information, proving the Philippines to be an amazing place to network. While attending an opening at Finale Art Gallery, we met Bea Camacho and Felix Bacolor, two Filipino artists who are rapidly consolidating their status in the art scene. They were nothing less than thrilled to provide us information pertaining to their backgrounds and careers for our research. We also met David Griggs, an Australian artist who has been temporarily based in Manila since 2005. Griggs selflessly offered to lead us on a tour of galleries and artists’ studios such as upcoming artist Louie Cordero, that were not a part of our itinerary, enabling us to gather more information than we had initially intended.

As we started to explore the Filipino art scene, the multilayered intricacy of the works sublimated the intensity of an impending social struggle, as well as the clamor of political uncertainties. On the other hand, we were able to observe how some artists dealt with a new aesthetic permeated by pop culture and a quotidian problematic. Gallery owners and curators shared insight into what galleries were looking for in the artists that they choose to show and represent. Additionally, we explored some of the notions that the curators had for exhibitions, like the need to historicize and construct a conceptual narrative around the art works. We also had to opportunity to see several gallery spaces, which ranged from commercial to academic, through scheduled visits and attendance at gallery openings.

Our understanding of contemporary Filipino art was broadened through a tour of an exhibition, Suddenly Turning Visible, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The curator of the exhibition, Dr. Patrick Flores, led us on a chronological tour of crucial modern to contemporary pieces and explained how these works had been and are still influential in history and future of art in the Philippines.

Manila was a captivating city, with a throbbing art scene. It was a great opportunity to investigate the development of this market in comparison to other countries in South East Asia. The experience also enabled us to gain a closer insight into the potential of the Filipino art market and the creativity of its artists.

- Kena Black, Stephanie Dockery, Meghan Cox, Whitney Cox and
Viviana Mejía