What The ILLUSTRATION ARTS FESTIVAL 2024 Meant To You & Me
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TOYSREVIL dwells in "collectible toys", and I am not plugged in to the local or international illustration scene, but for an immense interest with rudimentary understanding and knowledge of.
I realized for this year's ILLUSTRATION ARTS FESTIVAL (July 5-7, 2024), I chose "discovery" (of illustrators and art I do not recognise), over folks' art I had seen and promoted in previous blog+social coverage, which meant I'd passed by tons of practitioners and folks, alas.
Sorry to disappoint, and apologies all around, cheers.
Featured here today are videos found on the WWW of folks' experience with this year's IAF, and as well you can scroll thru to the bottom of the post to read my person impressions, cheers.
ILLUSTRATION ARTS FEST 2016
ILLUSTRATION ARTS FEST 2017
ILLUSTRATION ARTS FEST 2018
My person experiences with the "Illustration Arts Festival" are essentially split between "held in LaSalle" (2016-2018 / coverage linked above) and the recent "Artspace@Helutrans", having missed last year's IAF held at Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, (as I was on production), with a healthy dose of 2 editions of FOMO primed before this year's IAF.
FOMO v2 Art Weekend @ Teletech Park (Jan 2024)
The notion of "pop-up village of illustrative arts" was the allure of the earlier events held in LaSalle, while the self-funded event that was both FOMO events artspace evolved into a convention hall-esque space of themed partitioned booths and tables, much like public flea markets and comic-con, but specifically non-media dosed "indie-scene" ... Like a mirrored parallel to hype-beast "underground" (sub)culture, but not exactly fitting the mold.
Or perhaps I am holding unto a intangible notion: "Indie scene", as opposed to pop-ups in air-conditioned malls, jostling attention and dollars from commercial brands surrounding them.
For 2024, the "village" has "urbanised", and developed into a gallery-styled space (by virtue of current "location", I suspect), which was compounded by the accessibility of said-location, which left a lingering shrug (much like accessing FOMO at Teletech Park was to a clueless bloke like myself), IMHO.
But to be utterly fair, being "used" to locations like MBS and Suntec City convention halls might only serve to diminish the "indie vibe" of IAF, for which I too recognise I might as well be grasping at the notion of "convenience", which "buying online" makes much more sense, doesn't it?
One of the main values of IAF is not to just see-n-shop for art and merch in person, but to meet and perhaps even to chat with the illustrators+creators, and perhaps even be inspired by what they choose to do, as it certainly has me, every time I visit.
I remembered a period of my life, where I helmed a table at Sunday flea markets at The Substation, and of bands and performances at the venue, which folks deemed "underground" and worthy of supporting, but once bands signed to a label, certain faction of folks throw about terms like "sell out" and cease their support, which always boggled me: "Must they remain as struggling indie worthy of support"? But once they grow, they are "abandoned"?
Does it have to remain a "village" to be supported?
Truthfully, I had felt I'd stumbled into a space meant for "young mobile adults", and that is welcomed scene, don't get me wrong, as opposed to a second hand nostalgia market (which I adore too, R.I.P. CSC), which provides a splendid spectrum of options for folks looking for something beyond their working lives, I reckon ... so sayeth the "non-too young mobile kidult" LOL
That an event such as IAF is dedicated solely to the illustrative arts, much like Pop Toy Show SG is dedicated to collectible toys, is very welcomed, at least in my lil'corner of geeklife.
At the end of the event-day, the space itself should not cloud the scene, and it's intentions. What people could do in that space, is as important, methinks.
One thing I appreciated about previous space, was being able to find spots to literally sit down and rest. Let's not talk about the environment, as neither space would welcome me in my wife-beater and shorts lah :p
Don't judge me, thanks :p
What does the future hold? I imagined the recent Peace Center space, or even *ESCAPE's space for Culture Cartel 2022 (FOMO was at complex too tho), creating multiple islands and enclaves of creators and artists, which I'd felt maximised the allure of underground artists, and not necessarily mainstream in gleaming shopping malls.
Ultimately I also accept that I am wilfully being clueless about the sheer logistic and affordability of this self-funded initiative (Much love for you, Michael & OIC), I ramble on like an uncle about the joys of neighbourhood HBD malls lor LOL
Cheers,
Andy TOYSREVIL
