ManilART Showcases The Global Filipino Artist On Its 11th Year—Here Are 5 Things To Expect

Every October, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts celebrates Museums and Galleries Month by way of ManilART, the national art fair. On its eleventh year, it will be focusing on showcasing the global Filipino artist, revolving around the theme of “Building a Nation, One Exhibit at a Time.” After all, in our storied past, present, and future, there is a lot to be conveyed through the visual arts.

Here’s what we know about ManilART 2019:

1. This year’s theme has gone through a number of iterations, starting out as environmental and sustainability-oriented, but eventually taking a more encompassing stance. ManilART Fair Director Tess Rayos Del Sol shares, “Many of our homegrown artists are making a mark globally at competitions and major international fairs. They help tell the story of the Filipino struggle to define our national identity.”

2. Master painter Romulo “Mulong” Galicano is slated to unveil a large-scale painting, tackling climate change in his signature style that merges classical and contemporary techniques.

3. ManilART’s much-anticipated VIP Lounge will bring to light the issue of the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) diaspora: artists Susanito Sarnate and Anthony Palomo will collaborate for this installation.

4. Poets, painters, and calligraphers will congregate to create unique multimedia artwork. Titled “Dungaw,” the show will be a collaboration among ManilART curator and ostrich egg sculptor Danny Rayos del Sol, poet Riza Muyot, sculptor Agi Pagkatipunan, and painter-sculptor Kublai Millan. The resulting artworks will be interactive multimedia pieces with which the viewers can engage with. Poems will be translated into different Filipino languages, which is apt not just for the myriad of underrepresented groups in the country, but also the different backgrounds each artist hails from—Muyot and Millan come from Davao; Pagkatipunan comes from Rizal, and Rayos del Sol comes from Taguig.

5. There will be exhibits, performances, walking tours, and forums, and ManilART will also be hosting “Art for Red,” the annual fundraising event for the Philippine Red Cross.

This year’s participating galleries are Galerie Francesca, Dave Art Gallery, ManilART Foundation, Incorporated, Legacy Art Gallery, Annual Sculpture Review, Singapore Contemporary Arts Society, Galerie Raphael, Galleria Nicolas, Gallery Nine, Canvas, 371 Art Space, Arte Pintura, Galerie Roberto, AC888, Renaissance Gallery, Galerie Anna, Blanc, Artery Manila, PASPI, Paseo Gallery, Art for Space, Galerie Y, ArtFarm, Artes Orientes, Art Circle, Quattrocento Gallery, Artologist, Ysobel Art Gallery, Artphile by CMG, Galerie Artes, Art Anton, and Espacio Manila.

ManilART ’19 is co-presented by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Bonafide Art Galleries Organization Inc. (BAGO), and Manilart Foundation and supported by the City of Taguig, SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premier, SM Malls, Ladder Events Production, Don Papa Rum, Giffard, Savoroso, Via Mare, Museo Orlina, Shambala Living Museum with media partners, Manila Bulletin, Art+ Magazine, Manila Times, Metro Channel, Experience Travel and Living, EXPTV 080, Metro.Style, asianTraveler, Philippine Primer, BusinessWorld, UNTV, SMNI, Wish 107.5, Crossover 105.1 Manila, DZAR, Channel Hue TVEverywhere, and PINAS.

ManilART ’19 will run from October 9-13 at the third level of the SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premier, Taguig City. Call 7798635 or visit manilart.org for more details.