Gateway Art Fair marks 5th year with new programs

FOR ITS fifth year, the Gateway Art Fair is continuing its mission of making art more accessible by going beyond exhibiting the works of artists, artist groups, galleries, and art schools from Metro Manila and nearby provinces. It will be introducing two new programs: a capacity-building workshop organized with the Department of Trade and Industry, which will provide artists with marketing tools and other skills to help them develop as creative entrepreneurs; and the inaugural Gateway Art Fair Awards, which will recognize participating artists with prizes from Boysen Paint Philippines and Art Bar. The fair’s goal is to provide an artist-driven, community-centered platform where the public can seek out, and seek refuge in, art. The free event — mounted by the J. Amado Araneta Foundation (JAAF) and Gateway Gallery — runs from Oct. 1 to 4 at the Gateway Mall 2 in Quezon City, though it is set to hold its free workshops, talks, and art installations all around Araneta City. “This year, we have 244 artists and art groups and 36 simultaneous exhibits. It’s the biggest so far in the fair’s history,” Rowell Recinto, president of JAAF, said at a press conference on Sept. 22. “We want this to be a gathering place of stories, perspectives, possibilities, a space where Filipino artists can be seen and heard,” he added. Proceeds from the Gateway Art Fair will support JAAF’s arts and culture programs. GALLERY IS MOVING Mallgoers can expect another significant change: the Gateway Gallery will be relocating to Gateway Mall 2. “It will be relocated from Gateway Tower’s fifth floor to Gateway Mall 2, just across World Kitchens, in a space spanning over 1,000 square meters,” said Diane Romero, executive director of JAAF. “It’s going to be an expansive modern museum bringing art straight to the public. Mallgoers will be able to experience art up close.” The move will be finalized hopefully by November, she added. EVENTS Three days of talks and workshops will take place from Oct. 2 to 4 at Gateway Mall 1, led by participating artists and experts from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts (UP CFA). For Toym Imao, dean of the UP CFA, the fair is important because of its very central, accessible location. “There’s a saying that the so-called center of the universe is Cubao. It’s a nexus, a portal from the north of Metro Manila to everywhere else,” he explained. “Some other art fairs can be a little snobbish. Dito, napakagaan (Here, it’s much lighter), and that’s the way it should be. It should be a welcoming environment.” He added that bringing self-driven artists not represented by big galleries to a community-centered platform also serves as exposure to art that is not tainted by artificial intelligence (AI). “If left unchecked, without guardrails, AI poses a serious threat to our artists because it’s so easy to outsource creativity to an algorithm. It’s so easy to come up with beautiful images out of words and prompts — and that’s what’s scary about it,” Mr. Imao said. “What’s good about this art fair is that it will give us a chance to meet actual creators on site beside their works. You won’t find that in the bigger art fairs. I think the aim right now is to strengthen authorship, to still find the authentic creators who make things by hand, who have their own history. This is as close as you can get.” — Brontë H. Lacsamana