art fair philippines 2014

Art Fair Philippines 2014: A Welcome Visual Assault

I wouldn’t have missed going to the Art Fair Philippines 2014 for anything. Not even a bad cough that had me barking like a dog at times. Even if it meant standing in line for a long time to buy a ticket at the MRT, and being crushed, standing up, inside the train on my way home.
I went to the Art Fair’s 1st staging last year, was totally inspired by the experience, and vowed to go yearly as long as the venue was accessible. 
This year’s Art Fair is bigger than the initial run last year at the same venue, with more galleries and artists participating. For the second year in a row, part of Ayala Center Makati’s The Link carpark is transformed into a temporary art gallery to showcase the best of contemporary Philippine art.  This time the exhibit occupies not just one, but two levels.
Levels 6 & 7 of The … Continue Reading →

Keisuke Yamamoto-Untitled 2006

Winter Garden: Japanese Micropop at the Met Museum

One of the things I like doing when travelling abroad is going to museums. I’d go out on my own to find a nearby museum and take some time to look at what’s inside.  I’m not well-versed in the arts, but I enjoy looking at artworks. Artworks gives one a glimpse of humanity as interpreted by the artist. There’s something about artworks that makes me feel not alone. I hope to make time to visit local museums this year, like the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. I remember the last time that I visited the Met was when the works of Claudio Bravo was on exhibit.
This February, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila opens “WINTER GARDEN: the Exploration of Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art.” Art critic Midori Matsui, curator of WINTER GARDEN, explains that the exhibition is “a desolate garden in winter and a hothouse for rearing plants from the differing climate.”
WINTER … Continue Reading →

8th Spring Film Festival

8th Spring Film Festival Celebrates Chinese New Year

The Spring Festival or Chinese New Year is considered the most important festival for the Chinese.
To celebrate the occasion, the Ateneo de Manila University Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies and the Ateneo Celadon will be showing 8 Chinese films in the annual Spring Film Festival.
Now on its 8th year, the film festival is in line with Ateneo Celadon’s mission “to foster positive awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the Chinese-Filipino culture and way of life.”
The featured films dwell on the familiar themes of love, family, values and triumph over adversity. It’s interesting to note that the lineup includes a Jackie Chan movie “1911 Revolution,” a historical drama billed as his 100th movie. The synopsis of “Aftershock” sounds intriguing enough to be worth watching.
See the lineup of movies below:
This year, the 8th Spring Film Festival will be held simultaneously in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Ilo-Ilo, Cagayan de Oro, Naga, Dagupan, and … Continue Reading →