Art is for all the senses.
Many art forms appeal visually, while some are auditory. Of course, they should not be limited as such.
Art Fair Philippines, the leading venue for exhibiting and selling Filipino modern and contemporary art, presents an expanded program this year that spotlights the Philippine arts. Considered as one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant creative landscapes, Art Fair Philippines will transform The Link into a multi-level exhibition hub from 16 to 18 February.
“It’s packed, meaty and deep. It’s really going to fill your senses. We plan each fair with a lot of passion, ideas, discussions and a lot of going back and forth,” Trickie Lopa, co-founder of Art Fair Philippines, told DAILY TRIBUNE.
Local artists will be joined by international artists, curators and educators. The country’s top galleries will also get to meet a wider roster of foreign galleries from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, and more exhibitors from the Metaverse.
“I think with the lineup that we have put together, the people involved in it have been preparing for a long time. Each of them will be bringing different things to the Art Fair. We bring in something worth to be part of global conversations. The galleries themselves have been preparing for long, there’s really going to be so much for this year,” Lopa said.
Pieces and exhibitions at the Art Fair promise to encompass different media and platforms, as well as one’s overall senses. She said, “Not just visually — we have the talks as well to stimulate the mind and to deepen your knowledge. Art is not just supposed to be visual. Visual is the first, I guess, the first way you imbibe it. You’re supposed to be transformed by it.”
Here’s what to expect at this year’s Art Fair:
ArtFairPH/Projects
ArtFairPH/Projects showcases a collection of thoughtful and innovative commissioned exhibitions.
Located in a contiguous space conceptualized by production designer and theater director Ed Lacson, ArtFairPH/Projects presents works by renowned Filipino artists including Jonathan Ching, Jigger Cruz, Gean Brix Garcia, Rod Paras-Perez, a selection of women modernists and a group of muralist painters mentored by Alfredo Esquillo Jr. and Renato Habulan.
The section also features Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary artist Mr. StarCity; Romanian conceptual artist Andreea Medar; and a special performance piece by Spanish artist Eugenio Ampudia, presented in partnership with the Embassy of Spain in Manila.
Special exhibitions
Another special exhibit at Art Fair Philippines 2024 is Pambabae. It aims to reappraise and highlight the contribution of Filipina women modernists who have largely been overshadowed by their male contemporaries. The exhibition will span the years 1969 to 1989, two decades that saw an explosion of creativity which was significant in the development of Philippine modern art. The women artists in this exhibition include Ivi Avellana Cosio, Ileana Lee, Nelfa Querubin, Evelyn Collantes, Phyllis Zaballero and Lilian Hwang.
Art Fair Philippines 2024 also celebrates the 10th anniversary and winding down of the Karen H. Montinola Selection, a grant given by the Montinola family in memory of a collector who championed the works of emerging Filipino artists. The 2024 KHM Selection grant has been awarded to visual artist Gean Brix Garcia.
A retrospective exhibit curated by art consultant Norman Crisologo will feature recipients of the grant beginning 2014. They are Pio Abad (2014), Mike Adrao (2015), Mac Valdezco (2016), Mark Valenzuela (2017), Alvin Zafra (2018), Liv Vinluan (2019), Carlo Villafuerte (2021), Melvin Guirhem (2022) and Faye Abantao (2023).
ArtFairPH/Residencies
Selected residency artists this year are Mark Salvatus for Manila Observatory in Quezon City, Manila; Anna Miguel Cervantes for Linangan Art Residency in Alfonso, Cavite; Jett Ilagan for Emerging Islands in San Juan, La Union; Julian Tapales for Butanding Barrio in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; and Renz Baluyot for Orange Projects in Bacolod, Negros Occidental. They are joined by two international artists who have joined the residency program in Orange Project this 2024 — Iseult Perrault and Petr Hajdyla.
Art Fair PH/Talks
Art Fair Philippines continues its partnership with the Ateneo Art Gallery to present a series of talks that aims to provide insight into an artist’s work and life, art forms, artistic processes, collectors and interests.
The 2024 talks program includes discussions on the intersections of art and science, photography as authorship, women in modern art and reading images from a historical perspective, among others.
With a special participation from the Lopez Museum, there will also be a demonstration on basic stretching, matting and framing of canvas and a discussion on the basics of artwork conservation.
ArtFairPH/Digital, Photo and Film
ArtFairPH/Digital will fly in David Gryn, founder of Daata, the foremost proponent of digital art globally. Gryn presents Best Dressed Chicken (Manila Version), a selection of great digital video artworks that engage with notions of vanity and choice. The title is after the brilliant classic 1970s reggae song by Jamaican singer and DJ Doctor Alimantado.
This playlist focuses on Milo Creese, with his AI work A Complicated Dance and George Roxby Smith series Just Breathe, and the video works of Jane Bustin. Another highlight of the Digital section is a special exhibit in collaboration with CryptoArt PH.
This year, ArtFairPH/Photo’s sole exhibitor is FotomotoPH, a Manila-based organization of visionary photographers curators and writers dedicated to promoting Philippine photography through an annual cycle of exhibitions, public programs and special projects with art spaces throughout the archipelago. The exhibition will be curated by Sandra Palomar, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
ArtFairPH/Film, meanwhile, will present NO SHOWING, a project curated by filmmaker Moira Lang. This is a hangout/speakeasy/watering hole/listening party/dance floor/breathing space for filmmakers and filmgoers to weigh, diagnose and compare notes and remedies on the state of movie making and moviegoing in the Philippines.
10 Days of Art, Public Art and Gallery Weekend
The much anticipated public art component of 10 Days of Art will feature in two locations.
Visible along Ayala Avenue, at the Tower One Fountain area, trans-disciplinary visual artist Derek Tumala presents A Warm Orange-Colored Liquid, his biggest and most ambitious work to date.
On the other side of the expanse, motion graphics artist and multimedia engineer Isaiah Cacnio presents Prismatic Embrace, a digital projection featuring a vibrant symphony of colors and dancing layers of hues. This will be seen on the Green Wall of Ayala Triangle Garden Tower 2. Gallery Weekend will run from 9 to 11 February.
Tickets to Art Fair can be purchased at www.artfairphilippines.com. Tickets will also be available at the reception area from 16 to 18 February.
