Quezon City hosts a refreshing alternative to big-name fairs
The country’s top art fairs are held in Quezon City. The big art fairs are situated near wealthy business districts. However, those art fairs operate on an inflated sense of largesse, pandering more to volatile and cynical art market-isms that intimidate the casual art lover.
Quezon City offered a more relaxed, intimate, and joyful encounter with art. This was the recent Summer Skyline Art Fest held at the 98 Kalayaan VCP Building. This provided a view of Quezon City that is not usually known: its vantage point to see the sprawling Metro Manila skyline.
Known as one of the wealthiest cities in the country, Quezon City also hosts two institutions that are stalwart progenitors and supporters of Philippine arts and culture: the University of the Philippines Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University. Both universities not only offer courses on the arts but also lead the way in the country’s formation, questioning, propagation, and progression of the arts.
Demographic density hints at why QC is palatable for many young Filipinos who see this city as less pretentious and have many authentic experiences. At the Summer Skyline Art Fest, you can see all the age ranges represented as they look for bargains and great art. QC has a massive cluster of condo units that would need smaller and more accessible works for art lovers. This was among the main tasks for this event.
The organizer, Ricky Francisco, curator of the Sanso Foundation, who is also a practicing artist, shares that this event was born of a quickly organized idea. Artist friends and gallery contacts said yes, and they created an exciting art event with good food, great music, and an impressive skyline from Quezon City.
There was evident enthusiasm that, even at the start of the event at 4:00 p.m., attendees and buyers already showed considerable force. You can see university professors scouring a bin for prints from the 1970s.
There is lively chatter of support for participating artists whose works tackle social problems and are not just relegated to an investment portfolio. There is genuine camaraderie among participating artists who exuded joy in seeing friends. I did not see any artist who looked mentally frazzled or exhausted from preening and preying themselves to convince the filigree elite to buy their works.
I asked Ricky if the Summer Skyline Art Fest will have a regular schedule. He is unsure but was very pleased with the turnout. He just had this as an idea, and despite a scant budget and marketing, the reception is palpable and well-received.
Let us hope they do the Summer Skyline Art Fest again. It is an excellent change of scenery, and we are genuinely happy to be there. Art fairs should feel jovial and brimming with shared joy for a sector like the arts that is generally ignored or corralled by money and attendant egos.
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at kartunistatonto@gmail.com or chonggo.bsky.social
