ART Fair Philippines returns for the eighth year with its most expansive edition to date.
Running from February 21 to 23 at its home of The Link Carpark in Makati City, Art Fair is rolling out programs related to film and immersive learning opportunities for the first time in line with its mission to expand the audience of Philippine
visual art.
“We are introducing a lot of things this year, and in terms of how they’re going to be presented, they’re all big at a certain level,” said Dindin Araneta, one of the three cofounders of the annual art showcase alongside Lisa Periquet and Trickie Lopa.
Araneta said that Art Fair’s focus on photography, for one, has expanded to include moving images with the introduction of a film program. She added the talks have evolved and become more immersive.
New to this year’s run is ArtFairPH/Film. The section celebrates “the last 100 years of Philippine cinema and the possibilities for the next hundred” by screening a selection of feature-length and short films, narrative and experimental, documentary and animation.
Curated by Erwin Romulo, Philbert Dy, and Teddy Co, ArtFairPH/Film coincides with the celebration of 100 years of Philippine cinema launched by the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
“Movies aren’t just shown in theaters anymore, but also streamed on our devices and projection-mapped on buildings,” the curators said. “Our program will challenge the typical notion of cinema. We intend to curate new experiences of cinema.”
Another new section is ArtFairPH/Open Studios. Developed to augment the learning opportunities at the fair and to complement ArtFairPH/Talks, the section will present a series of workshops and demos with respected practitioners in the fields of arts and culture. “From just listening to artists talk about their art, they audience will now see how the art is being created,” Araneta said.
Lined up are a two-day photography workshop with Paco Guerrero, lighting techniques for photographers with Neal Oshima and Mark Nicdao, wooden furniture with Benji Reyes, and a demo on watercolor painting techniques with Claude Tayag. There will also be a workshop on cyanotype with Alexis Oshima and Angela Silva, another about rubber cutting with the Association of Pinoyprintmakers and, lastly, one centered on sculptural planter-making with Rita Gudiño of Tahanan Pottery.
Art Fair Philippines 2020 also welcomes a series of performances and projects that go beyond the mainstream gallery format with the participation of incubator spaces under ArtFairPH/Incubators. In this section, art/n23 from Dumaguete will present a virtual reality piece by Issay Rodriguez. Curated by Sandra Palomar, Rodriguez’s work will immerse the audience in a simulated and interactive beehive-like environment.
With all the new servings for this year’s Art Fair, Araneta said that it’s fair to tag the 2020 edition as the most diversified, yet. However, she maintained that all the expansions were still taken within the confines of visual art, stating that the inclusion of a film program, for example, was a natural step to take as part of their mission to continuously engage and educate the audience of Philippine art.
“We want to make sure that we show them something new every year,” she said. “It’s part of our mission to make people from various backgrounds to be more interested in art.”
Novelties aside, Art Fair Philippines 2020 will continue to showcase its other programs. One is ArtFairPH/Projects, which will feature new commissions in the form of interactive and/or thought-provoking installations by internationally established Filipino visual artists.
For this year, Art Fair is working with art consultant Norman Crisologo, who takes on conceptualized exhibition projects for art galleries, and with Ed Lacson for the exhibition design.
It’s the first time that Art Fair has tapped an art consultant for the ArtFairPH/Projects. According to Crisologo, he chose the featured artists from all over the country based on whose works need to be recognized.
An adjustment Crisologo has made for this year is putting the featured artists in one space.
“They are all together, but it’s not like a group show,” he said. “They will just be tied together by the architecture of what we’re doing, but they will have different spaces. It’s more like a journey.”
The featured artists are Salvador Joel Alonday, Perry Argel, Jaime de Guzman, Roedil Joe Geraldo, Jellyfish Kisses, Gene Paul Martin and Neil Pasilan. Also in this section is Carlo Villafuerte, the 2020 recipient of the Karen H. Montinola Selection, a private grant created in homage to art patron Karen Montinola.
There will also be a special exhibition in cooperation with the estate of the late Onib Olmedo, an award-winning artist best known for his expressionistic figurative paintings and for his contribution in founding the Filipino Expressionist movement.
Olmedo will also be the subject of a panel under ArtFairPH/Talks, featuring speakers Elmer Borlongan and Allan Cosio.
Elsewhere, the fair continues to develop ArtFairPH/Photo, which aims to boost support for photography as contemporary art and expand its collectability among Filipinos. On spotlight are the works of Filipino contemporary artist Poklong Anading.
This year, Art Fair welcomes 61 exhibitors from the Philippines and abroad. Absent from the list of exhibitors, of course, are the 10 galleries that broke away from Art Fair to establish their own event, ALT Philippines.
Araneta said they view ALT Philippines as one of three art fairs in the country, together with Art Fair Philippines and ManilArt. To have a third entry of such event, she added, is a testament to how dynamic the local art market has become.
“I’ve been in industry for 27 years. I came in when there was no audience for it. Now the growth has been amazing,” she said. “Finally, art is going public.”
• Art Fair Philippines tickets can be purchased in advance at www.artfairphilippines.com. Tickets will also be available at the reception area from February 21 to 23.
Image credits: Jojo Gloria