For the Filipino artisans! What to expect at MaArte Fair 2025 in August

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MANILA, Philippines — MaArte Fair turns fifteen, returning with its signature blend of conversation, curation, and the everyday beauty of things made by the nation’s own hands.

From August 7 to 10, 2025, Makati City’s Peninsula Manila becomes its stage once again, with the event unfolding across the Rigodon Ballroom, the Garcia Villa and Balagtas Rooms Function Rooms, The Conservatory, The Upper Lobby, and select deluxe rooms on the 2nd and 5th floors, recasting each space of the storied hotel in artisanal flair.

This year’s theme, KKK: Kaalaman, Kultura, at Kaartehan, signals a return to the hand, heart, and histories that guide artisans.

A departure from the last two editions’ focus on nature, the 2025 fair turns inwards to the corporeal for disciplines that shape crafts (Kaalaman), the cultural memory that informs it (Kultura), and the irreverent, inimitable flourish that makes it distinctly Filipino (Kaartehan).

THE ARTISANS. The creators and organizers behind the MaArte Fair 2025 come together. All images by Angela Divina/Rappler

With some of the country’s most thoughtful artisans and designers under one roof, MaArte promises a weekend of striking showcases, surprising finds, and stories waiting to be told. Here’s what to expect at this year’s installation of the fair.

A fair that gives back

MaArte serves as the flagship fundraiser of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (MFPI), a volunteer-led nonprofit that has long advocated for the country’s museums and cultural institutions.

The illustrious group behind MaArte traces its beginnings to the 1980s, when it was formed by like-minded civic individuals under the name “Concerned Citizens for the National Museum.” Their mission has since matured in scope, encompassing grant-making, exhibition support, and cultural research nationwide.

In 2025, the MFPI is funding nine grantees, with its ongoing commitment to heritage preservation across disciplines.

“[The grants are] aligned with what we do, which is to preserve our rich heritage and culture,” Tanya Pico, Executive Director of MFPI, told Rappler.

MODERN TRADITION. Models showcase a fusion of contemporary silhouettes and traditional Filipino textiles.

“But usually the help that they need is really funding. So if we can help them in that way, then we’ve done our job as a foundation.”

The foundation’s recent initiatives stretch from architectural preservation to contemporary mentorship. With the National Museum, it is co-producing a forthcoming monograph on Filipino art deco architecture, mounting a botanical photo exhibition centered on native flora, and curating an entomology publication for the Stanley Cabigas Coleoptera collection.

Elsewhere, MFPI turns its support towards HABI: The Philippine Textile Council’s documentation of abaca, and backs a curatorial mentorship program by the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design aimed at equipping young curators with practical tools for building their own language.

Other grantees include the Cordillera Textile Project, which is reissuing children’s books on local weaving traditions, alongside the independent team behind a forthcoming retrospective on artist-activist Imelda Cajipe Endaya.

MFPI is helping champion the Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco Studio-Museum, which offers visitors an immersive journey into the world of the legendary National Artist.

With an expansive array of causes under the MFPI’s wing, each purchase at the fair becomes part of a grand, sprawling heritage preservation effort — channeling resources to where they are needed most, from conservation projects to education and outreach.

SCULPTED STORIES. Finely crafted jewelry pieces on display, inspired by the Philippines’ rich landscapes and heritage.

Handpicked and handmade

More than a typical weekend market, MaArte is a curated celebration of Filipino ingenuity. The fair brings together over 160 exhibitors this year, including 40 first-time participants.

“It’s really all about the Filipino creator. So the Filipino designer, the artisan,” says Pico. Exhibitors are encouraged to meet an “80% Filipino” standard, with many meeting that requirement by working directly from communities across the country.

Whether it’s locally woven fabric, hand-poured resin, or heirloom ingredients, MaArte’s curatorial vision emphasizes an artisan lineup laden with provenance, nationalism, and intention.

For the first time, this year’s iteration of MaArte also introduces a dedicated food and beverage category; now welcome into the fold are culinary artisans whose craft comes alive not in cloth and stone, but in spices and scents.

Among the fair’s featured names are fashion designer Happy Andrada and Yssa Inumerable of Yssa Studio, whose contemporary takes on Filipiniana reinterpret tradition without losing its soul.

Further into the fashion roster, Raquel’s Piña Cloth presents textiles steeped in centuries-old technique, while brands like Angkan marry illustration and craft in support of indigenous communities. Also on view is Construction Layers, a menswear label helmed by two designers whose atypical work channels a retro-futurist aesthetic in early 20th-century silhouettes.

DESIGNER DISCOVERIES. Clothing vendors abound in the fair lineup, whose diverse work highlights Filipino visions and craftsmanship.

The fair’s accessories section features the likes of ArtJoy, the jewelry line of husband-and-wife team Fred and Georgina Teng, whose pieces take forms from the nation’s diverse foliage, stone, and steel. Cebu-based designer Neil Felipp brings his lauded minaudières: small, sculpted bags which, by way of his brilliant creative process and quality materials, have appeared both on screens and global runways.

Footwear and leatherwork also take center stage in MaArte’s selections. Marikina-based artisan Alexie Nethercott honors a late sapatero (shoemaker) who deeply influenced her craft, channeling that legacy into one-of-a-kind pieces made by hand.

“Craftsmanship is beautiful, it’s not just a hobby. It can move people, you’ll have a direction through your hands with other people. I’m trying my best to inspire my sapateros in Marikina and the youth because we are of course the future of the Philippines in art,” says Nethercott.

Grief and tribute echo through other booths as well. Palaweño Brewery, the country’s first women-led craft brewery, returns with new, proudly Puerto-Princesa-brewed offerings following the loss of their master brewer.

Perfumer Oscar Mejia III has created an exclusive scent for the fair, designed to evoke memory and place through a scent inspired by Golden South Sea pearls. Meanwhile, La Mesa Mead is set to debut its bold CoffeeXmead, a drink that merges fermentation science with native flavor in a honeyed bridge of the experimental and ancestral.

NOW BREWING. This year’s expansion of artisans in the food and beverage categories allows for the presence of new products like craft beers.

Across stalls and stories, the fair honors the labor of love behind every piece. Guests are welcome to experience it all as admission is free throughout the duration of the event. – Rappler.com

Angela Divina is a Rappler intern studying Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the Ateneo de Manila University.