Art Fair Philippines 2025: All you need to know

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Art Fair season is almost here!

Held every February or National Arts Month, Art Fair Philippines has been bringing together the best of contemporary art in one space, and across various media.

Here is all you need to know about Art Fair Philippines 2025.

1. Dates and tickets

Art Fair 2025 is happening on February 21, Friday, to February 23, Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Fair tickets are now available online and can be purchased in advance via the official website, artfairphilippines.com. Tickets will also be available at the Art Fair Philippines reception area. These are priced at P750.

2. A new venue

Art Fair 2025 made a bold move by changing its venue after 12 years. Instead of The Link Carpark, which is often dubbed the home of the Art Fair, this year's edition will be held at the Ayala Triangle—in tents, building rooms, and outdoor art pieces displayed in the park itself.

The fair has two entrances, ticket counters, and reception areas along Ayala Avenue and Makati Avenue. Although there are entrances, fairgoers can go into any point they want.

Tents are already being built on the park itself, and the Ayala Triangle Towers 1 and 2 will also hold gallery exhibits and specially commissioned works.

The park's amphitheater will also be transformed into a hangout spot with food and drinks, plus projections done by the fair's digital artists.

Both ArtFairPH/Talks and ArtFairPH/Film will take place at The Executive Centre, the fair's venue partner. Their spaces are located on the sixth and eighth floors of Ayala Triangle Tower 2. Entrance to the talks and screenings comes with the cost of the fair's ticket.

"I think it will be fun for people to navigate a new space which is completely different. It's not just one area, you have to walk from one end of the park to the other," Art Fair Philippines Co-Founder Lisa Ongpin-Periquet said.

"And of course, we also wanted to find a venue that I guess, can also transform the experience of being in an art fair," co-founder Dindin Araneta added.

Designers Nazareno/Lichauco also created the ArtFairPH/Projects space and the café for this year's fair. The designers put a special emphasis on giving audiences breathing room and a space to reflect as they take in each art piece.

3. Exciting works

Art Fair will maintain its sections for the 2025 edition, namely, Exhibitors, Projects, Digital, Photography, Film, Residencies, Talks, and Tours. Galleries from the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Spain, and Austria will be part of the fair. And as always, artists at different stages in their careers and who work with various media will be participating.

ArtFairPH/Projects remains the fair's most significant section. "It's what we consider our curation for the year, and it gives the character of the fair for that year," Periquet said.

Under Projects, the participating artists are Manny Garibay, Manuel Ocampo, Goldie Poblador, Ryan Rubio, and Jezzel Wee.

Manny Garibay, a social realist, will have an exhibition titled "Dambana: A Critical Reflection on Belief, Power, and Memory." He explores themes of sacredness through the elements of culture, belief, power, memory, history, and politics.

Manuel Ocampo is known for his religious iconography with social and political commentary, and is meant to elicit reactions from the viewer. He will present mixed-media work titled "Ideological mash-up/remix" at the fair, with one piece almost 10 meters high.

Goldie Poblador uses glass in her work by melting then sculpting these. Her Art Fair exhibit is titled, "The Rise of Medusa," and features miniature and delicate pieces. The exhibit is inspired by the archetype that presents a monstrous woman, and an oil spill in Verde Island that it affected the marine creatures in that area.

Not only that, Goldie will also feature sound and scent in her multisensory exhibit.

"So basically, the sculptures have pockets in them, and the sounds will be different. So viewers can come, and go near, and smell. And then the sound, I think will be installed, either like around the sculptures or up high like the ceiling," Goldie told GMA News Online in an interview following the media launch. She added that these will be "scent-to-sound translations."

She also teased that the three scents are called Red Coral, Oil Slick, and Verde, "which is like a hopeful scent, because the Verde Island passage is called a hope spot by scientists, meaning that despite the oil spill, the species are resilient." Goldie added that a scent may include Filipino ingredients like green mangoes.

Ryan Rubio's exhibit is titled "The pain passes...the beauty remains." The artist works with stone, and will feature ones from the riverside and seaside. Rubio uses power tools to shape these and give them faces, reminiscent of ancient carvings. He will also present highly textured paintings.

Finally, Jezzel Wee is a ceramicist who will share an exhibit titled "Pagbulong." Jezzel created her own version of the traditional Japanese Daruma Doll. Her pieces invite guests to pick up a doll and whisper their wishes. As guests shake the doll, they will hear bell-like sounds inside them.

Jezzel did a ceramic residency in Japan and wanted to share the experience. "At that time, 'yung perspective ko with the Daruma Dolls, para siyang wishes for me ng mga tao. Tas ngayon, gusto ko naman i-share 'yung experience ko in giving a wish for yourself, for others, or whoever, or a place dun sa audience," she told GMA News Online.

More than that, the artist hopes that viewers would be able to appreciate the pieces in new ways.

"Parang may quiet time ka with the object, maa-appreciate nila 'yung small pockets of quiet time nila for themselves," Jezzel said. "Kasi palagi nalang tayong busy. So at least 'yung experience na 'yun, kahit ilang minuto, matitigil ka and you focus on one thing."

4. Interactive and larger artworks

The Art Fair's Digital section has been one of the most popular because of the interactive works.

Isaiah Cacnio, an engineer by profession, will present the exhibit "The Language of Infinity," with immersive digital projection of animated fractal art.

Artist and technologist Chia Amisola presents, "KAKAKOMPYUTER MO YAN!" which is a traveling and collaborative exhibition showcasing internet art and the third-world online experience.

SpY, an anonymous urban artist from Spain, has chosen an acacia tree in the Ayala Triangle Gardens. He will hang barrier tape on the branches to create his outdoor piece, but is yet to unveil specific plans.

The tapes will reach the ground, highlighting the breeze, scale of the tree, and its shadows to make the public reflect on their relationship with and the state of the environment. The tapes from SpY's piece will also be recycled after the Art Fair.

5. 10 Days of Art

An accompaniment to Art Fair Philippines is 10 Days of Art, which starts on February 14 all around Makati City.

Gallery Weekend will be on February 14 to 16 where art enthusiasts can visit galleries from all over the city ahead of the fair.

10 Days of Art is also known for its public art displays, which will go beyond the Ayala Center this year. The pieces ranging from various media will be displayed in parks, underpasses, and more open spaces.

The full schedule, list of venues, and updates are up on www.10daysofart.com.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News