Top image: Landscape by Giacomo Costa

A unique kind of art fair is set to open its doors to the public at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre on 24 October, marking its international debut in Singapore. Entitled Milan Image Art & Design Fair (MIA&D) , Milan Image Art Fair’s international edition will showcase various forms of contemporary art, including photography, video and design and, for the first time in its history, will also include a section exploring connections between design and photography. With hopes to repeat its success in Milan, where it attracted 20,000 visitors, MIA&D Fair’s Singapore edition will showcase 120 artists and 50 international art galleries from 30 countries.

Mekong Platform – Lim Sokchanlina, Rising Tonle Sap (2012)

Ideated in 2011 by Fabio Castelli, an entrepreneur and founder of DO.MO.ART Srl, and Lorenza Castelli, exhibition director of MIA Fair and organisation director of the Fair in Singapore, MIA&D Fair seeks to capitalise on Singapore’s location as a meeting point between East and West to bring together artists, designers, photographers and collectors from all over the world. Set to exhibit an equal mix of Eastern and Western galleries and exhibitors, MIA&D Fair will also feature the “Mekong Platform”, titled WATER/Life Line, exhibiting works from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Mekong Platform – My Grandpa’s Route Has Been Forever Blocked

MIA&D Fair will also invite visitors to explore subjects relating to architecture and design through the lens of photography. Some of the featured artists include Marcel Heijnen, visual artist, designer and musician who finds inspiration in the architecture of Asian urban centres, architect and photographer Kacper Kowalski who photographs difficult-to-access cityscapes, and Giacomo Costa, whose fantastical landscapes highlight the destruction of cities by metaphysical elements.

Due Gocce (black Swedish granite) by Silvio Santini

Other events that will aim to encourage thought-provoking conversations about photography and design include a talk by Gwen Lee, director and curator of Singapore International Photography Festival, a discussion with esteemed speakers that include art director Claudia Pignatale and designer Hunn Wai, and a workshop concerning legal issues on images and rights.

Figment by Marcel Heijnen

Lorenza Castelli, organisation director of the MIA&D Fair, expands further on why this edition of Milan Image Art & Design Fair promises a one-of-a-kind experience and is worth visiting:

What goals do you hope to achieve with the first ever international edition of the MIA&D Fair?

For our first international edition in Singapore, we would like to position MIA&D Fair as an art fair that provides high quality art works from both emerging and established artists. Through the MIA&D Fair, we would also like to create awareness and increase interest in Singapore for contemporary art in the form of photography, video and design.

Sinchronizacija, digital animation by Rimas Sakalauskas

For the first time, you have added a Design section to the selection of the exhibitors. How are you hoping to convey to the fair visitors a connection between design and photography? What is the importance of that connection, as you see it?

We decided to integrate a section featuring “Design” in the Singapore edition, as we believe that photography and design art are both expressions of deep contemporary artistic research. Furthermore, in the last twenty years, photography and design have been speaking a similar language. Thus, we would like to highlight both forms of art in the MIA&D Fair.

Pantheon, Roma by Pino Musi

What was the selection process of the design collectibles and furniture pieces for the design section?

Claudia Pignatale is the art director and curator of the MIA&D Fair “Design” section. She is a gallery owner and has always worked together with designers. My family and I also come from a design background – the founder of Kartell is also part of my extended family, so in some kind of way, it has been a natural choice.

Viktoria under Lampshade by Rodney Smith

To further explore the Design field, during the MIA&D Fair cultural programme, there will also be a Round Table discussion with Claudia Pignatale, along with other art enthusiasts and designers.

Le Bureau de Paolo by Sam Baron

What other distinguishing features differentiate the MIA&D Art Fair from other art fairs?

Aside from the fact that MIA&D Fair Singapore will present a Design section, which will showcase a curated selection of collectibles and furniture with the aim of proposing a new dialogue between design and photography, the fair will also feature “MIA&D Proposal”, which provides the opportunity for emerging artists who are not being represented by a gallery, to have their works exhibited in an international fair, thus providing them the chance to create new contacts with galleries, curators and collectors.

Beach #9 by Kacper Kowalski

Milan Image Art & Design Fair will be held from 24 – 26 October 2014 at Marina Bay Sands. For more information, visit miafair.it/singapore/