MoCAF delivers most comprehensive edition for its 5th year
THE Modern and Contemporary Art Festival (MoCAF) is expanding its participating galleries, programs, and collaborations in its fifth year, with over 50 local and international exhibitors.
From July 3 to 5, MoCAF will present art showcases and experiences at the Marquis Events Place in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig.
Since its first edition, the festival has grown from a platform for 19 galleries into a place to see works by hundreds of visual artists, handcrafters, artisans, and other creatives, MoCAF’s organizers said at the media launch on June 1 at Savea Bay City Manila.
NEW AND FAMILIAR NAMES
“We’re bringing in a stronger lineup of galleries, artists, and creatives, including both returning and new participants,” Coleen Wong, MoCAF’s festival director, said at the launch. “We’re proud to share the international galleries exhibiting — new ones to the festival are White Space Art Asia from Singapore and Shikisaisha Gallery from Japan.”
They join two other international galleries: Gallery Kogure, also from Japan, and Kate Contemporary Madrid from Spain. Alongside them are local exhibitors like Ysobel Art Gallery, Fundacion Sansó, Art Underground, and White Walls Gallery.
A program that is continuing this year is MoCAF XTN (Extended), which opens additional exhibition spaces and creates broader opportunities for galleries and artists to present their work. Artists with special exhibitions are Jerika See, Sheila Go, Jappy Agoncillo, and a collaboration between Toym Imao and Tarantadong Kalbo.
Beyond the galleries showing fine art, there will be fashion, crafts, jewelry, food, and performances, all highlighting the skill of Filipino makers and innovators. The lineup of artisans includes returning brands MILKWEAR and Baybayin Bags, alongside new participants like Armore Collective, Anmari & Co., and Binibini Marikit.
“Upon reaching the main exhibition space, the most exciting aspects of modern and contemporary art and lifestyle will be on full display for everyone to enjoy,” Ms. Wong said. “Then there’s the XTN galleries along the hallway and the different courtyards housing the artisans.”
Chinabank is the festival’s major bank partner through an initiative featuring 100 artworks by 100 artists on the mezzanine floor of the events place. Meanwhile, MoCAF Discoveries, the festival’s dedicated platform for young artists, has selected alumni from previous batches to showcase how their practice has grown.
MORE INITIATIVES
For the first time, MoCAF will feature digital artists and illustrators, with works printed and framed in collaboration with Art Caravan. The initiative affirms digital creativity as a valid and celebrated art form, bringing screen-native works into the physical exhibition space for audiences to encounter firsthand.
As for one of the special exhibition participants, Kevin Raymundo (more popularly known as Tarantadong Kalbo), the jump from digital to physical artwork is important despite its challenges.
“My art style will be the same, only in a sense more tangible works. Loko-loko pa rin (Still crazy),” he said. “With paintings, there’s no undo or erase. It’s permanent. There’s also the added texture of the cost of creating.”
MoCAF Limited is also back with a curated selection of artist-made merchandise, including a limited-edition capsule collection developed in partnership with Team Manila. Then, there’s the expanded XTN Bites food and beverage offerings, with returning favorites ODD Café, Butterboy, and Hijo De Mexican Cantina, joined by new participants such as The Good Poison, Fiasfud, Bored & Hungry, The Spirits Library, and SIPP, among others.
“MoCAF has always been envisioned as a space that feels welcoming and safe, not just for artists and creatives, but also for the public. Whether you’re a collector, an artist, or someone simply curious about art, there will be something to see, experience, and take part in,” shared Ms. Wong.
In line with MoCAF’s continuing commitment to inclusivity and access, MoCAF Gives Back returns this year to support initiatives that uplift communities beyond the festival space. The program continues its support for ScholarSip by Fundacion Sansó, which helps fund the tertiary education of art scholars, and the Mbrace Project, which extends care and support to Filipino children in need.
MoCAF 2024 will run from July 3 to 5 at the Marquis Events Place in BGC, Taguig. Attendees can secure their tickets, priced at P380, at www.mocaf.net. Students, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens are entitled to discounts on the ticket price. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
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