Art Fair Philippines makes another move

ART FAIR Philippines has moved away from the central business district in the Ayala Avenue area that had served as its home for years — first at the car park next to the Shangri-La Makati, then the Ayala Triangle garden — to a completely different area of Makati. The 13^th edition of the art fair will occupy Circuit Corporate Center One at Circuit Makati, from Feb. 6 to 8.

For the fair’s founders — Trickie Colayco-Lopa, Lisa Ongpin-Periquet, and Geraldine “Dindin” Araneta — there’s great potential to be found in the new venue. There, six floors of an office building will be repurposed for the fair.

While it may seem like an odd journey from a carpark to an urban garden and now to an office building, the three expressed their eagerness to continue growing a local audience for contemporary art in another part of the city.

“This year’s edition is not just an art fair — it’s the start of a bigger cultural ecosystem in the heart of Makati,” Ms. Lopa told the media at a press conference in Circuit, the former Santa Ana racetrack that Ayala started developing in 2011. “They have a mall complex and a performing arts theater here, and soon they will have an arts hub,” she said.

Ms. Araneta added that the contemporary art museum being built by Ayala by the Pasig River (slated for completion in 2027) is one of the reasons art enthusiasts must get used to the area.

GETTING THERE
There will be hourly P2P buses from the One Ayala transport hub on EDSA corner Ayala Ave., to cater to fairgoers coming from the central business district. The bus will stop right in front of Circuit Corporate Center One.

“It’s not that far. It’s not that bad, but I understand it’s also a psychological thing — that it’s not where it used to be, in the center of Makati,” Ms. Periquet said. Art Fair Philippines is also partnering with Grab to offer a promo code.

She explained that having the corporate center repurposed is an exciting part of the Art Fair.

“We’ve had a rich history of adaptive reuse of space, especially in a country like the Philippines where we lack the infrastructure, so it’s an appropriate adjustment for us. Adaptive reuse is a practical move,” said Ms. Araneta. “This year, it’s six floors of an office building with glass partitions, so design firm Leandro V. Locsin and Associates is working with that element to carve out gallery spaces.”

The art fair will occupy levels six to 11 of Circuit Corporate Center One. They will be serviced by eight elevators in total, to accommodate persons with disabilities (PWDs).

“I invite people to be adventurous. They’re building up this space as an art hub. There will be a contemporary art center coming up in the corner by the river in a very beautiful site, so it’s good to get used to this space,” Ms. Periquet added. “It’s exciting to have a new place every year, but it’s hard for us because planning it is not easy.”

All three founders shared that they aim for the move to Circuit, Makati, to be permanent.

EXHIBITORS AND HIGHLIGHTS
This year’s fair will have exhibitors from the Philippines, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Spain.

They are: 125 Projects, Ames Yavuz, Archivo 1984, Art Agenda, Art Cube Gallery, Art for Space, Art Lounge Manila, Art Underground, Art Verité Gallery, Artemis Art, Avellana Art Gallery, Boston Art Gallery, Caiyun Art, Cartellino, Cayón, CCP x Scarletbox, Core Contemporary, Der-Horng Art Gallery, FotomotoPH, Gajah Gallery, Galerie Stephanie, Gallery Kogure, ISTORYA STUDIOS, J Studio, Kaida Contemporary, Kawata Gallery, León Gallery, Modeka Art, Museo Trece, Orange Project, Parallel+, Pintô Art Museum and Arboretum, Qube Gallery, Rose Studio Art Gallery, SHUKADO + SCENA, Silverlens, Tarzeer Pictures, The Columns Gallery, The Crucible Gallery, The METRO Gallery, TLYR Collective, Tomura Lee, Triangulum, Village Art Gallery, Vin Gallery, White Walls Gallery, Yeo Kaa (Ames Yavuz), YOD Gallery, and Ysobel Art Gallery.
This year’s edition aims to have “greater spatial flexibility and a more integrated environment for galleries, curated projects, and public programming.”

The ArtFairPH/Projects section will be celebrating artistic excellence and experimental innovation, with a focus on modern masters and contemporary visionaries. It will be placed in an exhibition space designed by Nazareno/Lichauco. Artists featured are Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Ambie Abaño, Max Balatbat, Ged Unson Merino, Jon and Tessy Pettyjohn, Filipino diaspora artists from Berlin-based Sa Tahanan Co. collective, Spanish artist Ampparito, and four late Filipino masters: Brenda Fajardo, Constancio Bernardo, Solomon Saprid, and Romeo Tabuena.

“There’s a wonderful variety in our Projects section this year. We have so many featured artists each year — sometimes six, sometimes eight — and this time we have 11,” Ms. Periquet said. “There’s social realism, geometric abstraction, printmaking, installation art, ceramics. There’s really a variety.”

The ArtFairPH/Residencies section this year will welcome Anne-Laure Lemaitre as the curator for the residency grant. An independent curator and producer based in New York, Ms. Lemaitre is recognized for her work in cross-disciplinary projects and her expertise in navigating the intersection of public art, technology, and cultural storytelling. Applications are now officially open, inviting artists to engage in this transformative cross-cultural dialogue.

This year’s ArtFairPH/Talks, handled by the Ateneo Art Gallery and the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, will present daily discussions that dive into the evolving art landscape, including project artists’ work at the fair and experts’ views on art collecting and the art market. Speakers and specific topics for the 2026 sessions will be announced on the fair’s website.

Now on its fourth year, the ArtFairPH/Digital section will feature painter and graphic artist TRNZ’s animated short film The Keeper, created in collaboration with Fleet Studios. It explores “the gravity of pressure in our society, and how important things fall through the cracks in pursuit of success, accolades, and external validation.”

There will also be an immersive installation by TLYR Collective. It will center on the theme of “digital alchemy,” where the fluidity of identity in virtual spaces is explored and the boundary between physical and simulated is challenged using generative art and augmented reality.

10 DAYS OF ART
Complementing the fair is the 10 Days of Art initiative, a series of events, public installations, and museum openings held around Makati City from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8.

Some of the public art include a usable carousel of fantastical creatures by Ronald Ventura at Ayala Malls Circuit, an interactive piece called Signs and Intimations by Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan at the Fountain Area of Ayala Tower One, and Nagsasalitang Ulo by Mich Dulce and Art 2 Wear by Joel Wijangco, both at Greenbelt 5.

Photography collective FotomotoPH will also transform the Paseo Underpass into a display of local photography, while Isaiah Cacnio will present his digital work Between Thoughts on the walls of the One Ayala Mall Terminal, the Glorietta 4 Cinema, the Glorietta Activity Center, Greenbelt 4, and Circuit Mall Makati.

A regular day pass to the fair is P750. Tickets for students, senior citizens, and PWDs with valid IDs are P500. Makati students and teachers with valid IDs can get tickets for a discounted price of P300.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.artfairphilippines.com. They will also be available at the reception area for the duration of the event. For more information, visit the Art Fair Philippines website and follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram (@artfairph) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/artfairph). — Brontë H. Lacsamana