Aside from tall buildings, cars stopping and going, and busy people walking, another thing that makes Makati Central Business District alive is the art that flourishes in the atmosphere, in its corners, on its walls.
The Makati CBD is home to museums where the public can appreciate art. And every year, the city hosts one of the biggest art events in the country, the Art Fair Philippines.
The fair, which kicked off on Feb. 21 and runs until Feb. 23 at The Link car park, showcases Filipino art and the passionate community behind it. In addition to the actual event, art spills to other venues in the city.
One of the initiatives of the fair is the 10 Days of Art, for which Ayala Land, Inc. and Make It Makati arranged several activities around the CBD. It began on Feb. 14 and runs until Feb. 23.
The special activities highlight Filipino creatives, from visual artists to filmmakers and musicians to magicians.
The activities for 10 Days of Art has begun by bringing art closer to the people by transforming a building facade into a canvas. Through the form of video projection mapping, Manila-based projection designer G.A. Fallarme and Dutch artist Henk-Gert Lenten light up the facade of The Link.
The video projection mapping called “The Art of Now: A Selection of Philippine Contemporary Art” features artworks of various Filipino contemporary artists. The still pieces come to life as they are presented as vibrant and dynamic moving images, illuminating Makati Avenue.
Movie lovers were treated to a unique experience on Feb. 14-15 with “The Unconfined Cinema: An Outdoor Cinema Experience,” an unconventional movie screening event at the fountain area of Tower One and Exchange Plaza. The movies were projected on the arched ceiling of the plaza while the audience laid down on comfortable carpets and pillows.
On Valentine’s Day, after the screening of the all-time favorite One More Chance, former love team John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo surprised the cheering audience with a live script reading of Antonette Jadaone’s hit film That Thing Called Tadhana.
Meanwhile, a few areas around the CBD serve as stage for street performers busking during the span of the celebration (Feb. 14 to 23). Busking, a common yet unappreciated performance art form in the Philippines, is an activity wherein artists play their music live on the street or a public space for donations.
Catch musicians along Greenbelt-Dela Rosa Walkway, Paseo Underpass, Sedeno Underpass, and at Ayala North Exchange from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Other events which already concluded were TranscenDance at Kondwi, Artist in a Box featuring Pablo Bermudez at Modeka Residency, La Luminosa pop-up exhibit at Almacen in Poblacion, and Learn How to Draw in 3 Hours by Gig De Pio at Rustan’s Makati.
Also included in the initiative are various exhibitions happening in and out of the city during and beyond the 10 Days of Art period. Some of the exhibits include Lawrence Borsoto’s Nevertheless at Eskinita Art Gallery at Makati Central Square; Material Culture by Daniel dela Cruz at Art Cube Gallery along Chino Roces Ave.; Inscapes: A Retrospective by Agnes Arellano at Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University; and Arte Povera: Italian Landscape at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, to name a few.