HERE are two pieces of good news for art lovers: Art Fair Philippines 2018 will spread out in over six levels and will occupy all the available floors of Makati City’s The Link carpark, and, besides paintings, installations, and sculptures, the fair will now feature a new section on photography.

“With the record attendance of Art Fair Philippines 2017, we’ve seen how the interest in Philippine contemporary art has grown. Securing a bigger space is the natural next step for us not only to expand our reach but also to be able to shine the spotlight on more artists,” said Dindin Araneta, a cofounder of the Art Fair along with Trickie Lopa and Lisa Periquet.

The art fair will run from March 1 to 4, 2018.

“The expansion allows us to stay true to our mission of developing the audiences for contemporary art. And we are very excited to stage our biggest show yet,” said Ms. Lopa.

The carpark will house 51 participating galleries showcasing some of the best in modern and contemporary Philippine art.

The participating galleries and organizations are: 1335 Mabini, Asian Cultural Council Philippines/León Gallery, Altro Mondo Arte Contemporanea, Archivo, ARDNT, Art Cube, Art Lab, Art Underground, Art Verite, Artemis Art Gallery, Artery Art Space, Artinformal, Avellana Art Gallery, Blanc, Boston Art Gallery, CANVAS, Edouard Malingue Gallery, Finale Art File, Fost Gallery, Gajah Gallery, Galería Cayón, Galerie Anna, Galerie Stephanie, Galleria Duemila, Gallery Kogure, Gallery Orange, J Studio, Kaida Contemporary, Mind Set Art Center, MO_space, Nunu Fine Art, Paseo Art Gallery, Pinto Art Gallery, Salcedo Private View, Secret Fresh, Silverlens, SOKA, STPI, Taksu Gallery, The Crucible Gallery, The Drawing Room, Tin-aw Art Gallery, Underground Gallery, Vinyl on Vinyl, Viva ExCon, West Gallery, XuArtspace, Yavuz Gallery, YOD Gallery, and Ysobel Art Gallery.

The sixth edition of Art Fair Philippines is introducing a new section called ARTFAIRPH/PHOTO which aims to increase awareness of photography as a contemporary art.

“We feel that the time is right to do this, as the fair has opened up the exposure of Manila’s audience to various visual art practices. Hopefully, photography can finally find its place in our local art scene,” said Ms. Periquet.

Another highlight of the fair is ARTFAIRPH/PROJECTS, featuring new commissions by internationally established practitioners. The participating artists will be announced in February.

The fair’s educational programs — ARTFAIRPH/TALKS and ARTFAIRPH/TOURS — are organized in conjunction with the Ateneo Art Gallery and the Museum Foundation of the Philippines respectively.

Before the fair opens in March, there will be a series of events and museum openings around Metro Manila called 10 Days of Art, which aims to celebrate art beyond the carpark.

Art Fair Philippines 2018 is co-presented by Ayala Land, Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Platinum, Julius Baer, and Bench. For more information, visit www.artfairphilippines.com or follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram (@artfairph) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/artfairph). — NFP de Guzman

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