Malaysian art in 2021: art fair mania, new players and the rise of NFTs

New independent event ARTisFAIR in KL, which bypassed art galleries, boasted more than 2,000 artworks by over 500 artists from Malaysia and Indonesia. Photo: The Star/Muhammad Shahril Rosli

It was all systems go for local art, once the pandemic restrictions were eased in Malaysian in September. How many exhibitions and art fairs could you squeeze into the last quarter of the year? A lot, apparently.

From the 2,000 artworks at ARTisFAIR spanning four floors of a mall in Kuala Lumpur, to the 1,000 artworks squeezed into the small space that is The Back Room KL at Red Hong Yi’s Artists Of SEA 1000 Tiny Artworks showcase, the local art scene has been busier than it has ever been since the pandemic struck.