How a Cancer Diagnosis Led To Helping Artists With Mr. Lim’s Shop of Visual Treasures

By Kekeletso Nkele, small.news Assistant

(small.news) — For 20 years, Mr. Lim worked in advertising, promoting products and services to influence customers to buy them. But, unexpectedly, he was diagnosed with cancer in 2021.

This led to him asking about the next steps he should take and what would happen to his art collection. Mr. Lim’s incredibly supportive wife also wondered what she would do if she lost her husband. The main focus became adapting to this life-changing diagnosis.

Eventually, Mr. Lim had an idea that he couldn’t shake. He wanted to trade his art collection, even though the timing wasn’t ideal. With a determined spirit (and in between rounds of chemotherapy), he basically crawled out of the hospital to do just that.

With nothing but a rented, small space in a dodgy mall, Mr. Lim put on a show.

The Beginning of Mr. Lim’s Little Shop of Visual Treasures

His collection had pieces from Banksy, Haring, and Fairey. It even had pieces from Ai Weiwei, a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Mr. Lim had a personal relationship with Mr. Weiwei, with their first encounter being in 2010.

Mr. Weiwei even helped Mr. Lim with his first show when he was collecting, and submitted three of his local works to the show. The exhibition was called FOOLS and it was a huge success. It was initially meant to showcase the art collection of someone undergoing treatment, and it opened Mr. Lim’s eyes to something he had never been exposed to.

“What that show did was introduce me to a whole new and sad side of the art scene,” Mr. Lim explained. He observed the problems that artists were facing in the Singaporean art scene. Some of those issues included lack of funding and lack of societal and family support, especially for artists who made “interesting” art.

Realizing The Opportunity

Being aware of the struggles that these artists face, Mr. Lim felt like he had to do something. It was no longer about offloading his art collection. It was about helping those who were struggling in their dedicated art spaces.

His dodgy mall space was such a success that he had to upgrade. His next space was much bigger and could handle all the foot traffic, but it was also more expensive. But Mr. Lim still kept his commissions low to ensure that artists and collectors could benefit more directly.

To keep the business alive, he still sells works from his own collection.

Mr. Lim’s Shop Sees Steady Growth

Even though his business started without a clear plan in place, it was steadily increasing. After three years, things are starting to look even better. Sales are improving, artists are getting noticed, and the community of collectors, in a city that’s renowned for being materialistic, is growing.

This is not only amazing for Mr. Lim but for his artists as well. The life of struggle may not be completely over, but it is definitely getting better. These artists are being recognized for their “interesting” art pieces, and Mr. Lim provides a space for them to get noticed and showcase their amazing work.

The Impact of Mr. Lim’s Shop of Visual Treasures

The story of Mr. Lim’s Shop of Visual Treasures started with a man who wanted to unload his art collection after his cancer diagnosis. In the process, he found himself enjoying putting an exhibition together. Pieces were eventually donated by his close friends and placed in the exhibit.

What started as something with a very clear end goal became a phenomenon of helping artists showcase their “interesting” works. With very low commission and promotion, Mr. Lim has still been able to help many artists.

He was only able to do so through three years of effort and hard work. Now, he is seeing an increase in sales and recognition for the artists, especially in their dedicated art spaces.

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