HELD last month from October 15 to 19 at SMX Aura Convention Center, Taguig, ManilART marked its 17th edition with “Across Forms, Beyond Borders,” celebrating the cyclical nature of creativity through painting, sculpture, fashion, functional art, home and living design, and heritage cuisine.
Over five days, the fair welcomed visitors and reaffirmed its role as the country’s national platform for artistic exchange during Museums and Galleries Month, gathering artists, galleries, educators, cultural workers, collectors, students, and families under one roof.
The vernissage set the tone as the ManilART Lounge transformed into a living tablescape that married visual art with culinary heritage. Guests of Honor were served CocoKusina’s mana-pulutan by Chef Riza Matibag-Muyot amid ceramic tableware by Ugu Bigyan, sculptural lighting by Danny Rayos del Sol, and functional art hardwood furniture by Agi Pagkatipunan.
Natural décor including nganga, dayap, juvenile macapuno, and tropical flora infused the setting with a distinctly Filipino sensibility, introducing the fair’s cross-disciplinary spirit that rippled across its exhibitions and programs.
This year saw the launch of a new initiative focusing on art education and industry development. ManilART Education expanded hands-on learning and public engagement through talks, workshops and demonstrations hosted at the ManilART Lounge and guided walking tours of the fair for student groups and pre-registered fairgoers.
From October 16–18, artists, practitioners, and curators led tours for 600 public-school students from Taguig and over a hundred private-school students—bringing interpretation, exhibition design, and cultural context to life on the fair floor. The program’s sessions moved fluidly between heritage and practice: Ombok Villamor shared professional methods for exhibition installation; Patis Tesoro traced indigenous textiles and the enduring relevance of Filipiniana, and San Pablo’s Arts, Culture and Tourism Officer An Mercado Alcantara presented case studies on the creative economy as a pillar of community development. Day two continued with Carlito Camahalan Amalla’s seminar on Agusan Manobo textile traditions for public-school MAPEH teachers, a health-focused lecture by Dr. Bambi Coronel on preventing overuse injuries among visual artists in partnership with the Quezon City Medical Society, a live heritage-cuisine demonstration and tasting by Chef Riza Matibag-Muyot and Michelin-starred Chef Roger Asakil Joya, and a panel led by Secretary Dante Ang on the Global Filipino as culture ambassador. Beyond the halls, the San Pablo Art Circuit (SaPAC) kiosk spotlighted a month-long regional “Artstravaganza” across ten venues with seven weekend shuttle tours reaching roughly 300 participants, extending ManilART’s educational and cultural footprint to the province.
