Your ultimate guide to the Affordable Art Fair 2024

For those who haven’t been before, the Affordable Art Fair aims to bring art out of galleries and into homes. Emphasising accessibility, education, and innovation, they believe that art lovers should be given the chance to purchase art in a space that is not intimidating like some museum-like galleries can be.

With the tagline ‘I am an art collector’ as this year’s theme, the Affordable Art Fair 2024 will showcase works from 97 exhibiting galleries coming from Hong Kong as well as internationally such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, the US, Peru, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and more.

The fair also makes an effort to remove the fear factor surrounding art purchases, marking all artworks clearly with price tags so visitors don’t have to strike up potentially disappointing conversations with gallerists if they don’t wish to. This approachable art fair also features a sector for the young talents of Hong Kong, providing early career artists a great opportunity to be seen and supported.

The 11th edition of the Affordable Art Fair will return to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from May 16 to 19. The fair will run for full days on Friday May 17 to Sunday May 19, while Thursday May 16 will be the opening night, from 4pm to 9pm.

Advance tickets to the Affordable Art Fair cost $195 for single days, while passes for opening night and the full fair will sell for $340. You can also get your tickets at the door, but these will be more expensive – it’s best to book ahead so you can skip the ticket queues on the day and simply breeze in.

There are concessions available for senior citizens and students, and a special rate for those who are only attending the Family Morning sessions on Saturday and Sunday.

The Affordable Art Fair has a sector named Special Projects, which features large-scale installations, art performances, and more. This year sees six creative units and galleries experimenting with artistic forms such as lenticular artwork, 3-D renditions, graffiti street art, art in cocktails, and more interesting concepts.

Among the 97 exhibitors, we’re particularly excited to see works by British-born, Hong Kong-based Sacha Yasumoto, who has documented over 500 abandoned buildings in Hong Kong and founded a pop-up gallery in one such building named Grey Walls Gallery. There are also 11 Korean artists who will be represented by Regina Gallery. Five of these artists will be making their debut at the fair, and it’s definitely worth checking out their nature-inspired art.

Of the emerging artists who will be present at this year’s fair, we’re keeping an eye on Joe Wong, who has reinterpreted the traditional Chinese art of paper cutting to create two- and three-dimensional paper artworks with rich colours and distinct layers. There’s also Kisook Lee, who works with a mix of soil and Korean paper that is then applied on canvas, before paint made from stone powder and soil powder is melted into the work. Lastly, check out local artist C Chung who uses his years of working experience in a mental rehabilitation institution to inspire his painting and music creations – for this year’s fair, Chung’s artworks are themed ‘Courage’ to express his thoughts on life and all its burdens.

A particularly exciting part of this year’s Affordable Art Fair is their speakeasy-style bar Neon. Inspired by secret bars found in Hong Kong’s side alleys, Taiwanese-American artist Johnathan Jay Lee brings the night view of local neighbourhoods to the fair, where visitors can view illustrations of Hong Kong scenes while sipping on Hong Kong-inspired cocktails, designed by the former head sommelier and beverage director of Yardbird and Ronin, Kiyoshi Hoshimi-Caines.

There will also be art consulting services available, a new part of the Affordable Art Fair that smoothens the art acquisition process for first-time buyers even more, by providing prospective collectors with friendly, personalised help when trying to decide on which art piece to buy. They’ve also created a cute little interactive quiz that recommends artworks based on your personality, aesthetic, and display space – take the quiz here, and see you at the Affordable Art Fair with your brand new artwork.