A secondary art market startup by a lawyer and gallery manager aims to fill more lives with art and for less art pieces to languish in obscurity.
A twist of fate tracing back to classmate days at the School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) led an ex-lawyer and gallery manager to launch their brainchild, Art Again, earlier in April 2023 as a startup that aims to change the secondary art market to bring art to the forefront of everyday life.
Milon Goh, co-founder and strategist of Art Again, took a leap of faith and left his lucrative career as a commercial lawyer. His mission is to become an entrepreneur who can help creatives and artists build their lives more sustainably. “It was the best way to assist the artistic community,” says Goh, whose initial foray into art law, while well-intentioned in wanting to help artists from a legal perspective, came with its drawbacks, “I realised there were some limitations with helping others in that aspect.”
(Pictured above) Unnamed Artist, Still Life with Ham
Gouache with Gold Leaf on paper
55 x 64 cm (visible), 78.5 x 69.5 cm (matboard)
Condition: Very Good (foxing along edges)
The inception of Art Again did not originate from an elaborate brainstorming session in hopes of revolutionising the art market in a heartbeat. Instead, it sprang from a casual conversation between Goh and his friend after learning her mother wanted to sell some of her artworks. “I started thinking if she had any place to sell, and then I asked Chingyi if she knew of any platforms. Very organically, we thought, why don’t we create a platform where our friend’s mom can sell her work?” Goh recalls.
This incidental dialogue birthed the concept of Art Again — an online art marketplace designed for the everyday collector — anyone interested in art, enjoys or would enjoy collecting it, but may lack the resources or expertise to do so. When individuals are given the autonomy to explain and experience art on their terms, it breaks the intimidating stereotypes of needing an expert to understand or feel an affinity towards art.
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Though Art Again is only a small bridge in trying to close this big gap, it is an effort that will be well-spent. “Buyers will be able to chat with sellers, and sellers can narrate the backstory and describe how they acquired the artwork, which breaks down many of the barriers of what we associate with art,” explains Goh.
Art Again draws inspiration from secondary fashion marketplaces like Vestiaire Collective, Grailed, and GOAT, where people buy and sell second-hand luxury goods. The C2C (consumer-to-consumer) business model, which Art Again adopts, differs from existing primary art markets, which cater to an affluent audience and has a direct transaction model between artists and collectors or galleries, reinforcing the perception that buying art has a higher barrier to entry.
As Goh’s partner, Chua Chingyi brings five years of experience in the arts industry. “In terms of the technical, non-on-the-ground work, it requires a junior registrar’s skillset, from measuring artwork dimensions accurately, identifying the correct mediums and assessing conditions of the artwork,” Chua outlines on how her abilities are used with the startup as a full-time Gallery Manager.
Despite not having an extensive art dealer background, Chua is eager about their potential to enter a sizeable market. “This slight naivety or having a bit less experience somehow helps, as it keeps our idealistic goals intact,” Chua says. Throughout her time in the industry, she has received requests to buy and sell art but lacked the avenue or resources to connect the two. “If we had this platform where people could come to, knowing that I can make that connection through marketing or Art Again, that would make someone’s day. I enjoy matchmaking deals where they can purchase something they like.”
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Goh and Chua aspire for Art Again to become the go-to platform for those who want to sell art pieces from their collections on their terms at a reasonable value. Goh shares an example, “One of our sellers explained that the colours in her artworks jumped at her. She wondered if it made sense to others, but for us, we don’t want people to apologise for their choices.” He continues, “If you choose something because the colours resonate with you, it holds value and meaning. The perception of art is highly subjective, and we believe a marketplace should allow people to be bold, expressive, and true to themselves.”
At the end of the day, Goh and Chua want art to be eased into the lives of Singaporeans, starting first from the wall of their homes before expanding globally. Their transparency and accessibility aim to make art feel less closed off to us and, more importantly, give a new lease of life to art again.
Learn more about Art Again here. Once you’re done with this story, click here to catch up with our August 2023 issue!
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