From large-scale events to intimate launches, check out what’s happening in the art scene this month.
February is shaping up to be a busy month for the local arts and culture scene. From major events and fairs to niche launches, check out the following list to refresh your art and social calendar for the month.
Book launch: will you tell me what i look like?
Independent press, bookstore, and gallery Everything’s Fine PH is hosting the launch of Raphael Coronel’s will you tell me what i look like? at 7 pm on February 2, 2024. The accompanying exhibit is on display at the space up until February 8, 2024.
At the launch, Coronel will discuss his latest book, conduct a few poetry reading sessions, and explain his use of ekphrasis—or the literary description of art—in creating poetry and visual work.
Everything’s Fine PH is located at 14 Tordesillas, Unit G8, Prince Tower, Salcedo Village, Makati.
Street Dreams: The Art of Pop Surrealism
Art+ Magazine presents Street Dreams: The Art of Pop Surrealism, an exhibit of lowbrow art from February 1 to 8, 2024 at Art Lounge Manila, located at The Podium Mall in Ortigas.
The exhibition casts a spotlight on the modern art movement that rose to prominence in the latter part of the 20th century. Lowbrow art challenges norms and thrives on unconventionality, drawing cues from popular culture, comics, graffiti, surrealism, and comics, to name a few.
Street Dreams is part of the upcoming coffee table book on Pop Surrealist artists in the Philippines, to be published by Art+ this year.
gavel&block: Pop!
gavel&block, the Salcedo Auctions subsidiary for emerging collectors, announces its first online auction of the year, happening on Saturday, Feburary 3, at 11AM. Accompanying its signature lots composed of art, antiques and decor, the auction house kicks off its 2024 calendar with an explosive room list of pop memorabilia spanning genres and generations, including lots from homegrown music legends – Pinoy rock pioneer Mike Hanopol and the 1997 National Artist for Literature and Music, Levi Celerio.
Previews for gavel&block: Pop! at Salcedo Auctions will run until February 2, 2024. The auction house is open on Tuesdays to Fridays, 9 AM – 6 PM, and Saturdays 9 AM – 4 PM, at 6786 NEX Tower, Ayala Ave., Makati City.
Pasinaya 2024
The Cultural Center of the Philippines presents Pasinaya 2024: The Open House Festival, the largest multi-arts gathering and festival in the country, happening from February 3 to 4, 2024.
Pasinaya will host over a hundred shows and workshops across theater, dance, music, visual arts, film, literature, and much more. The festivities will happen simultaneously in multiple locations: various venues within the CCP Complex; Circuit Makati; Tagum City, Davao del Norte; and ILOMOCA in Iloilo.
Pasinaya 2024 is open to the public. Check out the full list of events, workshops, and shows via this link to confirm schedules, tickets, and other event fees.
Void of Spectacles: Reflections on Passages Through Time and History
The Ateneo Art Gallery is set to exhibit decorated artist Mark Orozco Justiniani’s “Void of Spectacles: Reflections on Passages Through Time and History” beginning February 6, 2024.
The show will feature Justiniani’s three infinity installations created for the Gallery Children’s Biennale (National Gallery Singapore, 2017-2021), Kinderbiënnale, Japanisches Palais, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (Dresden, Germany, 2018-2020) and the Philippine Pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia (Italy, 2019).
Co-presented with Tungtung Alon Art Foundation, this marks the very first time all three infinity installations are exhibited in the Philippines.
Void of Spectacles: Reflections on Passages Through Time and History is on-view from February 6 to July 6, 2024 at the third floor galleries of Ateneo Art Gallery. The museum is open Mondays to Saturdays, 9 AM to 5 PM. Due to the nature of the exhibitions, guests will be asked to remove their footwear. Non-skid socks will be provided for use. For more information, visit www.ateneoartgallery.com or email aag@ateneo.edu.
Art Fair Philippines
From February 16 to 18, 2024, Art Fair Philippines will transform The Link into a bustling creative landscape, filled with local and international galleries, artists, curators, and educators. Across three days’ worth of talks, exhibits, and events, Art Fair Philippines will feature not only the best of our local artistic talents, but also creatives from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.
Also complementing Art Fair Philippines is 10 Days of Art, an initiative highlighting a series of events around the Makati Central Business District. To kick off 10 Days of Art, Art Fair Philippines will hold the Gallery Weekend from February 9 to 11. For the complete schedule and updates, visit 10daysofart.com.
Fair tickets can be purchased in advance at artfairphilippines.com. Tickets will also be available at the reception area of Art Fair Philippines from February 16 to 18. For more information, visit the Art Fair Philippines website and follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram (@artfairph) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/artfairph).
ALT 2024
Nine galleries across Metro Manila will gather from February 21 to 25, 2024 to launch the third edition of ALT at Hall 4 of the SMX Convention Center at SM Mall of Asia.
This year, ALT promises to deliver an “expansive and experiential new show,” presenting the works of 200 contemporary artists. The four-day show will feature live performances, large scale installations, video art, and critical conversations on art “to enable deeper connections with collectors and the art public.”
Look forward to installations that interrogate our attitudes toward nature, talks that challenge the media and art landscape, and engagements with leading voices in the Philippine creative scene.
Check out the full schedule of ALT and the lineup of artists on their official website.
