Nothing to do this February? Art Fair Philippines 2024 has got you covered.
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Did someone say art?
Despite the world’s increasing turn to a digital future, traditional media such as art will always have a space in today’s society. It’s in art that we find some of today’s most innovative ideas as more conventional materials meet new avenues of expression. All that and more is set to take center stage at this year’s Art Fair Philippines, which is now in its 11th year.
The 2024 edition will see Filipino and international galleries, artists, curators, and educators come together for a whole weekend that celebrates art and everything it can be. Art Fair Philippines, the leading venue for exhibiting and selling Filipino modern and contemporary art, is set to present an expanded program that spotlights the Philippine visual arts – considered one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant creative landscapes. With over 55 exhibitors present including the country’s top galleries and foreign galleries from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, this year’s festivities will have something for everyone. Need more reasons to get excited? Check them out below.
A WORLDWIDE COLLECTION OF PROJECTS AND SPECIAL EXHIBITS
Art Fair PH’s Projects section is set to showcase a variety of local artists. Organized by production designer and theater director Ed Lacson, ArtFairPH/Projects will house 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.
One special exhibit to keep an eye out for is Pambabae, a collection aimed to give women artists their due. While the years 1969 to 1989 are remembered by local art aficionados as two decades of explosive creativity which was significant in the development of Philippine modern art, women artists in this period rarely got their time in the spotlight. This is why Pambabae aims to reappraise and highlight the contribution of Filipina women modernists who have largely been overshadowed by their male contemporaries. The women artists in this exhibition include Ivi Avellana Cosio, Ileana Lee, Nelfa Querubin, Evelyn Collantes, Phyllis Zaballero, and Lilian Hwang.
With an eye towards international as well, the Projects section also features Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary artist Mr. StarCity; Romanian conceptual artist Andreea Medar; and a special interactive performance piece by Spanish artist Eugenio Ampudia titled Be A Tree Now, which will see participants be transformed into trees through digital means as a commentary on the climate crisis.
UP-AND-COMING ARTISTS TAKE CENTER STAGE
Art Fair Philippines isn’t just a place for established artists. It also is a hub for new creatives to have their works seen on a bigger stage. Art Fair PH’s residency program does just that with how artists are given opportunities to deepen their practice and develop networks beyond their usual context.
This year’s artists 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 as well as two international artists who have joined the residency program in Orange Project this 2024 – Iseult Perrault and Petr Hajdyla. Their experiences will be translated into visual reports consisting of illustrations, photographs, videos, performances, and objects.
RESOURCES TO BRUSH UP ON YOUR ART KNOWLEDGE
In Art Fair Philippines, you don’t just get to see art, you also get to learn about it through informative and engaging talks. For the 2024 edition, the organization once again partners 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.
Among the topics to be discussed this year include 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.
YOU GET TO TALK ABOUT MOVIES WHILE ENJOYING A BEER (OR TWO)
Have you ever imagined what it is like to go to a bar where all you talk about is movies? If you go to Art Fair PH 2024, you won’t have to with their Film presentation, NO SHOWING. Curated by filmmaker Moira Lang, Art Fair PH’s section on the art of film isn’t movie screenings or a film festival, but an actual 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.
Think of it as those movie discussions you have with your friends, but this time with experts from the industry as music selected by filmmakers is played just loud enough to talk and to listen to one another.
Also, don’t miss out on the Photography section as this year’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.
GOING DIGITAL
Since its introduction last year, Art Fair PH’s Digital section has highlighted the new ways art can be manifested. Digital media is the new frontier for artists as this year will see David Gryn, founder of Daata, present Best Dressed Chicken (Manila Version), a selection of digital video artworks that engage with notions of vanity and choice. For the Crypto fans out there, you may also want to check out the special exhibit in collaboration with CryptoArt PH, which focuses on showcasing the incredible talent and innovation of Filipino artists in the realm of NFTs and blockchain technology.
NOT JUST LIMITED TO ONE SPACE
If you thought Art Fair PH was just limited to a single building over one weekend, think again. The festivities take over the Metro way longer than that. Complementing the fair is the 10 Days of Art initiative highlighting a series of events around the Makati Central Business District with participation by galleries, museums, and other establishments.
The public art component will feature in two locations. The first is the Tower One Fountaine area along Ayala Avenue. Trans-disciplinary visual artist Derek Tumala presents A Warm Orange-Colored Liquid, his biggest and most ambitious work to date. For the second, motion graphics artist and multimedia engineer Isaiah Cacnio will take over the Green Wall of Ayala Triangle Garden Tower for Prismatic Embrace, a digital projection featuring a vibrant symphony of colors and dancing layers of hues.
And, to kick off 10 Days of Art, Art Fair Philippines will be having the Gallery Weekend from February 9 to 11, where visitors are encouraged to see the gallery exhibitions at their respective locations throughout the weekend. Pub crawl? No, we’re going on an exhibit crawl. You can check out the full list of details here.
FROM PARKING LOT TO ART GALLERY
So, where will Art Fair Philippines 2024 take place? Not a convention hall or showroom, but a parking lot, of course. True to art’s transformational powers,The Link, a car park in Makati City, is set to be transformed by Art Fair Philippines into a multi-level exhibition hub for Filipino modern and contemporary art that will host the fair from February 16-18.
Art Fair Philippines 2024 will be held at The Link, Makati City, on February 16 to 18 from 10 AM to 9 PM. You can get your tickets now here or at the 4th Floor Reception of Art Fair Philippines on the days of the actual event. Regular tickets will cost you 750 pesos with concession and discounted tickets for students, PWD, and senior citizens also available on-site.
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