February is National Arts Month—a month-long celebration of music, theatre, dance, film, literature, and visual arts. And during this season, one of the events in Manila that art enthusiasts look forward to each and every year is the Art Fair. 

Art Fair has pretty much established sections like ArtFairPH/Talks, ArtFairPH/Photo, and ArtFairPH/Projects in the past few years, and while these sections will be staples for each run, they’re now even more committed to fulfilling their mission of growing the audience for Philippine visual arts. Thus, they’ve set up several new components for this year’s Art Fair. Now on its 8th year, expect Art Fair to expand beyond their usual mainstream gallery which is at The Link Carpark in Makati City. Keep reading to find out what to look out for in this year’s Art Fair. 

ArtFairPH/Incubators, a creative space outside of The Link, will give the audience a chance to immerse into a rather traditional format, featuring exhibitors such as art/n23, Giatay, Limbo, Load Na Dito Projects, Project 20, and Signum. In this section, art/n23 will feature a beehive-designed virtual reality piece by Issay Rodriguez, curated by Sandra Palomar. 

Another addition to this year’s programs is the ArtFairPH/Open Studios, complementing ArtFair/Talk, which will provide series of workshops and demos led by masters of the craft—in photography and lighting techniques, watercolor painting, cyanotype, rubber cutting, and sculptural planter-making. 

Celebrating the 100th year of Philippine cinema this 2020, ArtFair/Film section will be launched, a space to showcase the local film industry, curated by film critic Philbert Dy, writer, editor, and film composter Erwin Romulo, and film archivist and historian Teddy Co. For a different experience, it will be an outdoor cinema that will be held at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati, and the first few films will be projected on the ceiling of Ayala Tower One’s fountain area. 

Aside from these new additions to the 3-day art fair, there will also be a collaboration with the Embassy of Italia in Manila, participated by Galleria Tiziana Di Caro, a contemporary art gallery from Naples, Italy. 

With 61 exhibitors both local and international to feature modern and contemporary art, make sure to catch Art Fair on February 21-23, at various sites around the Makati Central Business District.

Tickets are priced at P350, with discounts for students and PWD. For more information, visit www.artfairphilippines.com, or follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

Photos above are from Art Fair Philippines, below are by Marvin Conanan