Art Fair PH 2024 announced its line-up of exhibitions and plans for its upcoming event at The Link on February 16-18. This year assembles a mix of local and international artists highlighting the trends and advancements that Philippine contemporary art achieved in the past year.
The line-up, announced on January 16 at Raffles Makati, showcases various partnerships with galleries across the country and over 55 exhibitors from across the world. You can check out the full list of artists here.
Art Fair co-founder Lisa Periquet explained this year’s exhibitions do not follow a specific overarching theme. However, they based their selection of artists on how effectively they interact with the contemporary world.
“We are very well-aware of prevailing thoughts, trends, issues, and of course, we try to bring all of that in. So, of course, environmental issues, women, things that are under the radar,” she said, hoping that the fair would be a platform of discussion for these issues.
Engaging with Filipinos Today
The different Art Fair projects on deck include works by performance artist Eugenio Ampudia. His interactive work, Be A Tree Now, is a humorous jab at environmental efforts today.
Other artists involved are multimedia artist Taloi Havini, whose untitled exhibit shows corals spawning and mating; Romanian artist Andreea Medar, whose work Leftovers from the Future tries to recreate her grandparents’ garden with plastic and luminous thread; and sculptor Jigger Cruz’s Dialectic Disruptions.
A partnership with Don Papa Rum allows Art Fair PH to display the work of artists who completed residences in various parts of the country within the year.
Emerging Art from Emerging Technologies
This year’s Art Fair will also feature a digital media exhibit sponsored by Globe Philippine. The work “incorporates and engages with computer technology, animation, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and the metaverse.”
Among the contributions is a special piece by CryptoArt PH called Whispers of the Tide. It highlights the talents of Filipino artists currently working “in the realm of NFTs and blockchain technology.”
Other pieces include Daata founder David Gryn’s Best Dressed Chicken (Manila Version). It’s a mix of different video artworks from MIlo Creese and Jane Bustin whose themes “engage with notions of vanity and choice.” The work will reportedly include AI-made videos.
A Retrospective to the Past
Art Fair Philippines also has some intriguing choices in some of the art retrospectives they decided to plan this year.
One of the main retrospectives is Rediscovering: Rod Paras-Perez, centering around the work of the renowned artist and critic. Additionally, the fair will also exhibit materials from his archives, including a small sample of his erotic works.
Another retrospective happening is Pambabae: Exploring Abstraction by Women Artists 1969-1989. This showcases works of women artists previously overshadowed by the dominant male voices of the era. Curated by Miguel Rosales, the featured artists include Lilian Hwang, Ileana Lee, Evelyn Collantes, and Phyllis Zaballero.
Finally, the Art Fair will feature a 10-year anniversary retrospective of the Karen H. Montinola Selection. The Montinola family created and awards the grant “in memory of a collector who championed the works of emerging Filipino artists.” Curated by Norman Crisologo, the collection exhibits works of past grantees like Pio Abad, Alvin Zafra, Liv Vinluan, and Faye Abantao to celebrate the grant’s ten-year history. This year’s the grantee is Gean Briz Garcia.
Art Fair PH 2024 as a Conduit for Discussion
On top of the exhibits themselves, however, are a series numerous talks and discussions about art planned by the organizers. Art Fair PH/Talks, a collaborative project with the Ateneo Art Gallery, Lopez Memorial Museum, and the British Council, aims to foster open discussions about art and its impact on the nation.
The various talks and panel discussions, scheduled between February 16 to 18, serve to broaden the fair’s offerings. “The Talks program is one way that helps people understand, [in] a deeper sense, things that we’re doing in the fair. So, we always have that program,” Periquet shares.
Art Fair PH/Films, co-presented by Archivo Gallery in cooperation with Club Kino, takes on a different spin this year. Filmmaker and curator Moira Lang’s exhibit called No Showing, will not show any films. Instead, it will be a place for filmmakers and moviegoers to talk and discuss the state of cinema over beers. The exhibit hopes to create “a festival–not of screenings, but of conversations” regarding the film industry today.
Periquet hopes the fair will have the ability to connect with general audiences and challenge their conceptions of art. “We want a general audience to appreciate all the different aspects and nuances of art: the art market, if that’s what you’re interested in, of artist issues, things like that.”
Ayala Land, the Bank of the Philippine Islands, and Globe Telecom co-sponsor the event, with Don Papa Rum as a special project partner.
Find out more about this year’s Art Fair Philippines here.
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