MANILART 2011

On August 24 to 27, 2011, NBC Tent in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig shall house MANILART 2011, the country’s biggest gathering of art galleries. 

“We promise a more diverse and vibrant art exposition and viewers shall witness a groundbreaking event—the simultaneous opening of various art exhibitions during gala night,” said Delan Robillos, MANILART 2011 Director.  “Exhibitors will not simply be showcasing the works of artists they represent but each gallery shall be presenting a conceptualized art exhibit,” he added.

In 2009, Onib Olmedo’s iconic jeepney painting served as the image of the first ManilArt while Andres Barrioquinto’s “Crystal Gazer” was the face of last year’s art fair.  This year, ManilArt shall be graced by Elmer Borlongan’s “Batang Edsa” which shall also be translated into modern dance during the launching gala by premiere contemporary dance maven and Dance Forum founder, Myra Beltran.

Hosted by writer, magazine editor, and TV personality RJ Ledesma, the Filipiniana opening night will also feature a fusion of indigenous and modern music by Banda Malaya.  The award-winning Fatima University Chorale shall also render a performance.

MANILART 2011 through the Varsitarian, the official student publication of the University of Santo Tomas, has invited UST to celebrate their Quadricentennial year during the 4-day affair.  The recognition  of outstanding Thomasian visual artists shall highlight a program featuring Thomasian performers which has been tentatively set for August 26, 2011. 

The MANILART lecture series this year includes, among others, “How we turn paintings into Bicycles:  Lessons in Art, Law, and the Internet,” by Atty. Gigo Alampay and “Semiotics in Visual Art” by Dr. Oscar V. Campomanes.  

Atty. Alampay the Executive Director of CANVAS, a non-stock, non-profit organization that promotes Philippine art, culture, and the environment and teaches Contemporary Legal and Policy Issues in Information and Communications Technology at the University of the Philippines’ College of Law. 

Dr. Campomanes is a permanent panelist at the annual Jerry Elizalde Navarro Workshop on Arts Criticism in Baguio City and teaches critical theory and cultural studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, and semiotics, media criticism, and culture theory at the UST Graduate School. 

Award-winning poet, fictionist, playwright, and essayist Vim Nadera shall give a talk titled “Visuals on Rizal Today” in commemoration of National Hero Jose Rizal’s 150^th birth anniversary.

Little art enthusiasts will also enjoy the storybook reading hour at the lecture room.  RepubLikha Executive Director and former preschool teacher, Carisse Escueta shall read “The Rocking Horse” which features paintings by Elmer Borlongan.  VJ Chino Lui Pio of MYX, and Ramon Bautista, have also been invited to read “Message in the Sand,” with artworks by Roel Obemio, and “Sol: A Legend about the Sun” with images by Farley Del Rosario, respectively.

Artists in Residence, Inc. (AIR) founders Architect Jojo Ballo, Cathy Lasam, and Jill Arwen Posadas shall also give a lecture on basic drawing for kids. 

Since year one, Manilart’s live sketching sessions have always been one of the highlights of the art fair. The event not only aims to foster fellowship among the artists, but gives the audience the chance to witness how they are able to render the same subject through different style-genres from scratch. The live sketching session also serve as an interactive experience between the artists, the subjects, and the spectators, allowing art enthusiasts a glimpse at how artworks are brought to life.  Leading up to the art fair, satellite sketching sessions shall also be held at Mercato Centrale on several weekends prior to August 24.

Among the art fair’s goals, in conjunction with promoting Philippine art, are to compound visitorship, strengthen support from both local and foreign exhibitors, and fortify media relations to expand media coverage that is both more extensive and intensive.

MANILART 2011 is presented by the Bonafide Art Galleries Organization (BAGO) and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and co-presented by Allied Bank and Contemporary Art Philippines with the support of Bellarocca, Business Mirror, Business, World, Colleen and Derwent Art Supplies, Crown Fine Arts, La Creperie, Las Casas Filipinas de Azucar Heritage Resort, Manila Bulletin, Mercato Centrale, Midas Hotel,Oakwood Premiere, Pebeo Art Supplies, Ronac Art Center, Secret Fresh, Sustain Pro Complex, UNO Magazine, and Uratex Premium. 

The gala event on August 24, 2011 is by invitation only.  The art fair is open to the public on August 25-27, 2011.  For lecture series registration, call  531-6231 or 0917-8511333 or email info@manilart.com.  Visit www.manilart.com