ManilART is the flagship activity for the National Commision on Culture and the Arts (NCCA)’s Museums and Galleries Month (MGM), celebrated every October. This eleventh year, ManilART showcases the Global Filipino Artist through the display of homegrown talents that have captivated the world’s stage. The premiere art fair has championed its cause for accessible art by catering to everyone from art collectors to high school students.

What comes to mind when people think of ManilART is often the visual arts, particularly through the medium of painting, but the fair’s activities go far beyond that. Art education and the showcasing of diverse artistic media are made possible through ManilART’s range of activities.

There will be walking tours for students and the general public led by art professionals. This year, there will likewise be a whole-day art workshop geared towards Music, Arts and PE (MAPE) teachers from different schools. The whole-day lesson will encompass the basics, from the very definition of art, to the analytic practice of art criticism. The goal is not just to equip the teachers with new skills—it is through these workshops that ManilART aims to reach even more young art enthusiasts. The workshop will be conducted by Prof. Gerry Leonardo of the Philippine High School for the Arts.

Artist’s Talk by Jonathan Dangue

ManilART’s advocacy is not just limited to the art industry. The art fair, in partnership with Manila Bulletin, will also be hosting for the first time the Art for Red, an annual fundraising event for the Philippine Red Cross, a humanitarian organization providing emergency and disaster assistance. A satellite exhibit shall be featured at the SM Aura atrium of the artworks for charity.

The Zonta Club Women’s group will host a film screening of “Patay Na Si Jesus” (2016), with a Q&A session with the film’s acclaimed screenwriter and producer, Moira Lang. It will be shown in Cebuano, with the goal for the language of cinema to bridge the gap between the Philippine languages.

The Subcommission on Cultural Heritage of the NCCA will hold a Heritage Night engaging with different cultural institutions involved in celebrating Museums and Galleries Month—the government body was mandated with the specific role to implement arts and culture projects in the country, and plays a crucial role not just in the art fair, but in all MGM-related activities this October.

By Rissa A. Coronel