Aside from featuring the best of Philippine contemporary art, the three-day fair will also showcase artists, galleries, and talents from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.
Art Fair Philippines 2024 is only a month away! From February 16 to 18, the leading venue for exhibiting and selling Filipino modern art will once again transform The Link into a bustling creative landscape, filled with local and international galleries, artists, curators, and educators.
Revered as one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant art scenes, the multi-exhibition hub will feature not only the best of our local artistic talents, but also creatives from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.
Here’s a rundown of what you can expect from this year’s Art Fair:
Preview the special art exhibits and projects
Art Fair Philippines will showcase a collection of thoughtful and innovative exhibitions commissioned for the fair. Expect works by renowned Filipino artists including Jonathan Ching, Jigger Cruz, Gean Brix Garcia, Rod Paras-Perez, and a group of muralist painters mentored by Alfredo Esquillo Jr. and Renato Habulan.
The section will also feature 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.
Also of particular interest is Pambabae, a special exhibit that will reappraise and highlight the contribution of Filipina women modernists—artists that Art Fair Philippines deems to have been largely 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 will also celebrate the 10th anniversary and winding down of the Karen H. Montinola (KHM) Selection, a grant given by the Montinola family in memory of a collector who championed the works of emerging Filipino artists.
Check out cross-cultural collaborative works from creative residencies
Art Fair Philippines has historically conducted residency programs to allow artists to deepen their practice and develop networks beyond their usual context, such as working in their studios. The time spent in another place enables them to work on a new project or idea and collaborate with artists from the community they are immersed in.
This year, the selected artists for exhibition 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 Project 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.
Learn from the masters and experts
For the 2024 edition, 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, Art Fair PH/Talks, will include 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.
Immerse yourself in multimedia experiences
ArtFairPH/Digital will fly in David Gryn, founder of Daata, the foremost proponent of digital art globally. He will present Best Dressed Chicken (Manila Version), a selection of great digital video artworks that engage with notions of vanity and choice.
Another highlight of the Digital section is a special exhibit in collaboration with CryptoArt PH, a community dedicated to empowering Filipino creators in the dynamic web3 space, with a focus on showcasing Filipino talents within the realm of NFTs and blockchain technology.
Meanwhile, the ArtFairPH/Photo section, introduced in 2018, will cast the spotlight on FotomotoPH, a Manila-based organization of 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.
Finally, ArtFairPH/Film will present NO SHOWING, a project curated by filmmaker Moira Lang. The project is envisioned as 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. It is an event and a concept, a festival of conversations with music by selected filmmakers. NO SHOWING is co-presented by Archivo Gallery, in cooperation with Club Kino.
Look forward to art exhibitions beyond the fair
Complementing Art Fair Philippines is 10 Days of Art, an initiative highlighting a series of events around the Makati Central Business District. Local galleries, museums, and other establishments will host activities to celebrate the best of Philippine contemporary art beyond the fair’s venue.
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 will present A Warm Orange-Colored Liquid, his biggest and most ambitious work to date. On the other side, motion graphics artist and multimedia engineer Isaiah Cacnio will showcase 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.
To kick off 10 Days of Art, Art Fair Philippines will hold the Gallery Weekend from February 9 to 11, where visitors are encouraged to see the gallery exhibitions at their respective locations throughout this three-day effort. 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).
