TAGGED as the country’s premier art fair, Art Fair Philippines is returning tomorrow, March 23, for its first physical exhibition since 2020. The fair will run until April 1.
After making a home at The Link Carpark since its maiden run in 2013, and going fully virtual last year, Art Fair Philippines 2022 will feature in-person presentations al fresco at Ayala Triangle Gardens, alongside exhibitions in gallery venues. There will be online shows and other activities as well at www.artfairphilippines.com.
“It’s about time that we move forward by encouraging people to attend activities in person,” said Dindin B. Araneta, co-founder of Art Fair Philippines along with Trickie Lopa and Lisa Ongpin-Periquet. This year’s fair will present art installations at the Ayala Tower One Fountain Area for the ArtFairPH/Projects section, presented by the Bank of the Philippine Islands, and in collaboration with art consultant Norman Crisologo and exhibition designer Ed Lacson. The featured artists include the late Arô Soriano and noted social realist Nune Alvarado.
This section will likewise feature new commissions from both internationally established and rising Filipino visual artists such as Bjorn Calleja, Johanna Helmuth, Ryan Jara, Doktor Karayom, Tyang Karyel, Aze Ong and Wyndelle Remonde. Also given the spotlight in this section are Melvin Guirhem, the 2022 recipient of the Karen H. Montinola Selection, a private grant created in homage to art patron Karen Montinola, and Russian artist Sasha Frolova’s inflatable sculpture.
Meanwhile, ArtFairPH/Photo highlights an exhibit, titled Tattoos, Ternos and Couture: A Celebration of Philippine Fashion Photography. The show is curated by noted photographers Neal Oshima, Michael Salientes, Mark Nicdao and Gio Panlilio.
The film section of Art Fair Philippines will also be set up at the Ayala Triangle Gardens, featuring works by New York-based new media artist Jeremy Couillard, including his new film There is No Up or Down, Only Attraction. ArtFairPH/Film is co-presented by Globe Platinum, while the OLED screens are sponsored by LG Electronics.
The fair will also exhibit works by the chosen artists for #ArtFairPH/Residencies. These are Derek Tumala for Manila Observatory, Hannah Nantes for Linangan Art Residency, Jao San Pedro for Emerging Islands, Alwin Reamillo for Orange Project, and Faye Abantao for Butanding Barrio.
Launched last year in partnership with Bleeding Heart Rum Co., makers of Don Papa Rum, ArtFairPH/Residencies is open to all Filipino artists across all disciplines. The application period for this year will run from tomorrow until April 23. The chosen artists will be announced by May 20, 2022.
Art Fair Philippines 2022 is inviting its guests as well to experience an interactive augmented reality (AR) art trail at the Ayala Triangle Gardens using the Daata AR app. Named after artist-designer Leeroy New’s artwork Aparisyon (Apparition), this AR Art Trail examines the timeless nature of storytelling through words and imagery, inspired by the Philippines’s thriving speculative fiction.
This digital-meets-physical show is curated by Daata, and offers an opportunity to discover groundbreaking artists and freshly commissioned artworks by New and author Eliza Victoria. Daata is a digital platform that commissions original digital artworks by established and emerging artists, allowing viewers to stream or download high-quality digital artworks on any device.
In keeping with the fair’s thrust to widen the audience for the visual arts, and to continue to expand the appreciation of fair visitors for contemporary art, ArtFairPH/Talks features daily discussions presented in partnership with the Ateneo Art Gallery, Museum Foundation of the Philippines, and the Embassy of Spain. The talks will be accessible at www.artfairphilippines.com.
This year’s ArtFairPH/Talks will include a series of virtual discussions with Paco Barragán, an independent curator and arts writer based in Madrid, about art collecting and advice for artists. There will also be a panel discussion about NFTs, which was the main focus of last year’s edition of Art Fair Philippines.
Art Fair Philippines 2022 also continues to develop ArtFairPH/Open Studios. For this edition, Art Fair Philippines has collaborated with J Studio and ceramicist Pablo Capati to showcase a three-part series of pottery demos, titled “Conversations on Clay,” with Jezzel Wee, Marco Rosario, Ella Mendoza, Krista Nogueras, Jon Pettyjohn and Joey de Castro.
The fair will continue to present virtual art tours as well. In the pipeline for ArtFairPH/Tours is “Baguio Artists Studio Visits: Part 2,” a continuation of last year’s video documentation of visits to artists’ studios by Nona Garcia, Abbie Lara and Kawayan de Guia.
Art Fair Philippines 2022 gathers 46 exhibitors from the Philippines and abroad, set to showcase artworks in their respective physical locales and through online viewing rooms at the fair’s web site. To help visitors plot out routes for viewing the gallery shows, the organizers have put up a Gallery Hop section on the web site.
What’s more, “10 days of Art” returns to this year’s run. The initiative is a series of events around the Makati Central Business District that celebrates art beyond the venue of the fair. As in previous years, the public may visit art installations around Makati City.
This year’s three major public art exhibits will include an art installation by James Clar, titled I Can’t Tell You What I Don’t Know, Only That I Don’t Know, at the plinth in front of Ayala Museum. Works by Juanito Torres and Norman Dreo, two solo exhibits in conversation under the title Perspectives, will also be on view at the Greenbelt 5 Gallery. For schedule and updates, visit www.10daysofart.com.
More information about this year’s program and schedule of activities is available at www.artfairphilippines.com. For updates, follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram (@artfairph) and Facebook (www.acebook.com/artfairph).