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Art lovers, still pleasantly hung over from the delights of last month’s Art Fair Philippines, need not wait too long for a chance to partake of another soul-satisfying visual feast. On Sunday April 2, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., white tents will once again unfurl on the grounds of Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati, in the eleventh edition of Art in the Park.
Featuring 57 galleries, art collectives, independent art spaces, and student groups (some of them first-time participants), the fair as always promises to make available a vast and varied pick of artworks to those wishing to add to their collection, those hoping to start one, or even those for whom the mere viewing of art is pleasure enough in itself. And because Art in the Park strives to ensure that art is not only approachable—hence the casual, open-air setting—but affordable as well, the artworks have a price cap of P50,000, though many beautiful and eye-catching pieces go for way below that. Conceived mainly as a fundraising event, and since its inception in 2006, Art in the Park continues to donate a portion of all sales to the Museum Foundation of the Philippines in support of their projects and programs for the National Museum of the Philippines and its network. Thus, any purchase at the fair—whether big or small; painting, print, photograph, pottery, or sculpture—ultimately goes toward sustaining and promoting culture and the arts.
As has become standard for the fair, and as added attractions to its already enticing offers, Art in the Park every year highlights special exhibits or works by artists commissioned or chosen by its organizers. The past years’ fairs have showcased limited-edition, and therefore highly in-demand, prints, as well as sculptures and interactive installations set about the park for curious and admiring visitors to search out or happen upon. This year, in a collaboration between Art in the Park and Secret Fresh gallery, the latter has been tasked to mold resin versions of the bird in Art in the Park’s distinctive logo, which various artists will then customize with their own individual stamp and style, rendering each piece original and unique. These limited-edition birds will be up for sale at the booth of Museum Foundation of the Philippines, in addition to prints by Mark Justiniani of the intriguing artwork, Kupas, that will grace the Art in the Park postcards and other collateral.
Also not to be missed is the installation titled Bag in a Boat by Carzen Esprela, a graduate of the UP College of Fine Arts. Fourteen feet long, with arms slotted onto the sides where oars should be, and a headless figure at the stern, this thesis piece composed of found objects and Epoxy will surely pique interest and provoke questions as well.
As it is, each edition of Art in the Park brings something fresh and new. And, with music from a jazz trio and the blues band Brat Pack complementing the loose and easy vibe of the fair, plus a choice array of food and drinks to fortify body and soul, visitors to Art in the Park can always expect to be surprised and awed.
Art in the Park is organized by Philippine Art Events, Inc. for the benefit of the Museum Foundation of The Philippines, with support from Brgy. Bel-Air, MACEA, Alveo, Bank of The Philippine Islands, and Globe Platinum. Wooden panels courtesy of Art Edge.
