Exceptional times demand extraordinary steps for the art world, and what better way to uplift spirits than from the Ortigas Malls’ award-winning and admission-free Ortigas Art Exhibition 2021, to bring art closer to everyone.
Which is in its fourth year, with the aim of creating art open to all, the annual Ortigas Art Festival was first launched in 2018. Ortigas Malls continued to achieve its mission of uplifting the art community and decentralizing art by making the Ortigas Art Festival a yearly celebration, with the success of its first run featuring over 60 local artists from well-known groups. The roster of the festival expanded to over 130 artists from all over the Philippines in 2019 and then grew even bigger with over 200 artists in 2020, including international Southeast Asian artists.
Ribbon Cutting
“The art group has always been sponsored by us at Ortigas Malls. We are able to bring hundreds of highly skilled and even foreign artists together during the Ortigas Art Festival and give them better a forum to share their crafts and motivate people from all walks of life,” says Architect Renee Bacani, Vice President of Ortigas Malls. “This year’s Ortigas Art Festival theme aligns with the Enjoy Daily campaign of Ortigas Malls, which promotes the value of making every day pleasant and seizing every opportunity, considering the many difficulties that life may bring,” adds Bacani.
This year, the fourth iteration of the Ortigas Art Festival went out to film exhibits of photography, paintings, and sculptures from the previous year. In order to keep all kinds of art lovers engaged, exhibition head Renato Habulan, a multi-awarded Filipino artist, and Ortigas Malls promise a hybrid festival with on-ground and virtual events.
Art is an integral aspect of culture, nourishing the soul. The art industry will flourish, he says, as long as the group remains committed to pursuing the craft and enthusiasts continue to help it.
Habulan states, in these tough times, that Partnership and imagination between Key goals remain for musicians. “We are the ones Thank you for maintaining this relationship with Ortigas Malls via the Ortigas Art Festival annually. We are able to cultivate a sense of similarity among artists through events like this, promote learning, and drive the industry together,” adds Habulan.
Exhibit area
Ortigas Malls and the Ortigas Art Festival’s partner artists have taken all the stops to do so. Making the month-long festival as enriching and unforgettable as the years before. Here are the positions, any of the highlights from February 24 to March 31 that everybody can look forward to
- Agos.studio. The headline gallery at the Ortigas Art Festival 2021. Renato Habulan, headed the Agos.studio. He presented its fluid and borderless art to the world. And still carry on to lead the e-mentoring sessions for those hopeful and habitual artists to uplift their confidence and help them in these hard times. With the Art Relief Mobile Kitchen as their recipient helping them and giving back is most certainly their desire, no matter where the gallery goes.
- Born in Film. Aside from the traditional forms and elements of the Art Festival each person can also look for the works of Born in Film. Alberto Garcia is included in this non-profit organization. He is the only Filipino photographer that encompases in the Time Magazine and National Geographic’s Most Influential Photos of the 20th century with his Mount Pinatubo picture “Beauty Amidst Disaster”. Alberto Garcia’s works have been displayed in the festival, along with virtual workshops on Visual Storytelling and Creative Composition, as well as Darkroom Developing on Color, Black and White, and Scanning Your Negatives broadcasted via Zoom and on PhotoNation International.
- The Film Development Council of the Philippines’ work together with Ortigas Malls, the festival’s journey to film won’t be wasted and will turn to be known with its first-ever Vertical Cinema Contest, which is open to the public.
These and more excites and give trill to the hopeful artist and enthusiast at the 4th Annual Ortigas Art Festival. Spearheaded by Estancia G/F East Wing in Pasig City to witness the likes of Agos.studio, Art Relief Mobile Kitchen, Born in Film, PhotoNation, Richard Buxani, ArnelBorja, La Maison D’ David Art Gallerie, vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery, and many others showcase art safely in the new normal at the Ortigas Art Festival 2021 from February 24 to March 31.
To know more about the event and online activities, you can check out the Ortigas Art Festival 2021’s Facebook page.
