Embracing digital transformation
By Alana Malika

Nontawat Numbenchapol, ‘Casting Call’, 2019-2020, 1-channel video. Image courtesy of UP Vargas Museum.

Art Fair Philippines debuts their first virtual edition this year in the ‘Metaverse’, an alternate digital reality. With 35 local galleries and 9 international galleries participating from Singapore, Thailand, Spain, Japan, Italy, and Australia, the fair will be free for the public to access at www.artfairphilippines.com. Following a year of rapid digital transformation in the art world, the fair utilises the online format to showcase the limitless possibilities of virtual art.

Gina Osterloh, ‘i am image’, 2020, archival pigment print mounted on Dibond aluminum, 109.22 x 143.51 cm. Image courtesy of Silverlens.

Exhibitors will showcase artworks in their respective online viewing rooms, with some available to view onsite following each gallery’s health protocols. Silverlens will present eight capsule exhibitions featuring 36 artists including Pio Abad (Philippines), Ryan Villamael (Philippines), Yee I-Lann (Malaysia), Mit Jai Inn (Thailand), and Nicole Coson (Philippines). Curated by gallery co-directors Isa Lorenzo and Rachel Rillo, the curatorial selections will be updated online daily and also available onsite in Makati by appointment only.

Umi Dachlan, ‘Gunungan’, 1985, mixed media on board, 70 x 50 cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda, S.E.A..

Art Agenda, S.E.A., which has physical gallery spaces in Singapore and Jakarta, will present an online exhibition titled ‘From Dusk to Dawn'. This pairs Indonesian artist Umi Dachlan with Spanish-Filipino artist Frank Zóbel, who both used abstraction to contemplate universality.

Promotional image of ‘Welcome to the Metaverse: The NFT 101 Showcase’. Image courtesy of Art Fair Philippines and art/n23.

As part of their initiative to embrace the digital transformation of the art world, ArtFairPH/Project will dedicate a whole section to non-fungible tokens or NFTs. Presented by the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Narra Gallery, and the Tropical Futures Institute, ‘Welcome to the Metaverse: The NFT 101 Showcase’ aims to demystify the crypto art community. The programme will include talks, workshops, and presentations covering crypto basics, a guide to purchasing NFTs, and opportunities to meet emerging crypto artists and gallerists.

Jeremy Couillard, ‘Tad Mol, Inventor of the Letter G’, 2021, HD video, MP4. Image courtesy of Art Fair Philippines.

In ArtFairPH/Film, the fair will debut commissioned works from American artists Jeremy Couillard and Petra Cortright as well as collaborative group, Keiken via a high quality streaming platform organized by Daata. Couillard will premiere ‘Tad Mol, Inventor of the Letter G’, an animation of a couple’s pilgrimage across the mechanical universe in pursuit of a shamanic energy drink. The video encourages viewers to reflect on the advancement of civilisation through a fabricated origin story of the letter ‘G’.

Ding Gerrous, ‘Ambrotype 2’, 2020, photograph. Image courtesy of ART/N23.

ArtFairPH/Photo will feature six winners from the Julius Baer Next Generation Art Prize and a special exhibit by Filipino photographer Ding Gerrous. Presented by Art/n23, the artist adapts Victorian era film methods into a modern setting. Amidst lockdown, he holds Zoom photoshoots to produce ambrotype glass portraits. In addition to these online programs, the fair will also include ArtFair/Residencies, ArtFair/Talks, ArtFair/Open Studios, and ArtFair/Tours.

Jed Gregorio, Tarzeer Pictures, ‘Self Portrait As A White Rabbit’, inkjet print on tarpaulin, 177.8 x 177.8 cm. Image courtesy of Art Fair Philippines.

Following previous iterations, this year’s fair will also include ‘10 Days of Art’ a contemporary art programme featuring partners from around Makati such as UP Vargas Museum, Ayala Museum, Run Rabbit Run, and more. UP Vargas Museum presents ‘Homecoming/Eventually’ a duo exhibition featuring Nontawat Numbenchapol and Ryan Villamael. The collection ponders on the complex meaning of ‘home’ during times fraught with separation, isolation and postponed homecomings in Southeast Asia.

Art Fair Philippines will take place from 6 to 15 May online.