Despite pandemic, artists show their work at first Visayas Art Fair
AFTER over a year in lockdown, artists from the Visayas have come together to showcase their works in Cebu City.
A collaboration between Cebu Design Week (CDW) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Visayas Art Fair will be held on Nov. 25 to 28 at the Montebello Villa Hotel, Cebu City.
Carrying the theme “Connecting the Islands Through Art,” the fair brings together artists from Regions 6, 7, and 8 to showcase Visayan identity, arts, and culture, with the goal “to have a diverse set of participants and our decision makers to celebrate the great diversity and craftsmanship of the Visayas region,” says the art fair’s brochure.
“We want to give a good stage for the artists that we have,” Visayas Art Fair Main Events Chairperson Lorenza Bacquiran said during an online press launch on Nov. 11. “The enthusiasm from artists and different artist groups are incredible. They are just waiting for the right time to get together in one venue to be presented to the world.”
WHAT’S IN STORE
Galleries, art collectives, and artists from all over the Visayas region and National Capital Region (NCR) will display their works and art installations. There will be 17 participating galleries from the Visayas, and nine from the National Capital Region.
The participating galleries from Visayas are: Adeste Deguilmo, Art Portal, CAI, Dramus Art Gallery, Florentino, Jose Picornell, Lloyd Tronco and Anthony Fermin, NANO, Napoleon Gallery, Orange Project, PASPI, PONT Studio, Quebe Gallery, Southwest Art Club, Solitaryo Cinco, and Jose T. Joya Gallery-UP Cebu.
The participating organizations from the NCR are: 1335 Mabini, the Art Association of the Philippines, Galeria Lienzo, Metro Gallery, Mono8 Gallery, R Gallery, Secret Fresh, The Working Animals Art Projects, and Vinyl on Vinyl.
There will be three areas in the art fair venues in the Montebello Villa hotel, including the Cebu Design Week pop up area. There will also be a sneak peek of the soon to open Museum of Contemporary Art in the hotel’s glass house. The Montebello Villa hotel is located at Governor M. Cuenco Ave., Apas, Cebu City.
“Art never thrives in a vacuum. It should be an exchange of ideas, techniques, concepts. By bringing artists from the NCR here, that should make for a very [fruitful] exchange for the future,” furniture designer and Visayas Art Fair overall consultant Kenneth Cobonpue said on the participation of artists from Metro Manila.
“This show is very gallery-driven. The galleries themselves are selecting the artists they are going to present. Depending on the orientation of the gallery, the field of artists will be curated accordingly,” said Maria Luisa Booth, CDW overall event chairperson.
“We are hoping for quite a high level of art, as well as an opportunity for young emerging artists to expose their work and also to be exposed to other artists,” she added.
The fair’s feature exhibitions include “By No Means” which is a curated group exhibit of 10 Visayan women artists and artworks that depict how art connects women across different sectors, cultures, and regions. Affiliate events include workshops and talks facilitated by the UP-Cebu Fine Arts faculty and participating exhibitors.
There will also be a special display by The Chocolate Chamber and fashion shows featuring Miss Cebu 2022 candidates and students at Fashion Institute of Design and Arts Cebu (FIDA).
Other activities include on the spot painting contests, a nude art class, a life-size sculpture installation, and crochet and retaso (scrap cloth) bombing installation on trees.
All guests, exhibitors and staff must be vaccinated. Non-vaccinated individuals will have to undergo a COVID-19 antigen test on site (priced at P380) and must receive a negative result. Pre-registration of guests online is encouraged. Hygiene stations will also be in place. Guest capacity will be based on regulations of the IATF that will be implemented for the duration the event.
To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/VAF2021. for more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/cebudesignweek. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman
