After three years of being held online, Art in the Park made a grand face-to-face return to the art scene on March 19 at Salcedo Village Makati in Jaime Velasquez Park. The long-awaited event, organized by Philippine Art Events, Inc. for the benefit of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, had over 60 participating artists, food and drink vendors, and even special performances from various artists.
The much-anticipated return of Art in the Park shook the art community as the one-day event hosted countless collectors and enthusiasts. With the event starting at 10 a.m., entrances were lined up with early birds waiting to enter the park.
Art, artists, and art fair goers galore
The scorching heat of the summer sun was not enough to stop art enthusiasts from sweeping the park to find art that they appreciated and had resonated with them. With special exhibits featuring Bjorn Calleja’s “Dirty Hands,” Kabunyan de Guia’s performance piece “Kidlat Ngayon!!!! Isang Taon na Paglalakbay as Soul,” and Isaiah Cacnio’s light projection “Beauty in Chaos,” people were enchanted by the display of artistry and contemporary art that could be seen throughout the exhibit. There were also guest performances that displayed indisputable talent—from Titik Poetry’s spoken word performance “Sigya” to Casa San Miguel foundation’s very own Pundaquit Virtuosi string ensemble.
Art in the Park 2023 was a feast for one’s senses—not only did they invite several local artists, but they also brought in local food concessionaires offering tasty refreshments and snacks while browsing the art.
Bringing life back into art
Participants were not only composed of individual artists and some art houses, galleries, organizations, and even colleges and universities in NCR. One was De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, featuring the works of students, faculty, and alumni.
The College’s Marketing head for Benilde Art in the Park, Alexadra Alcazar, an ID 121 Art Management student, expressed her joy and excitement as Art in the Park resumes its face-to-face event. “You know I feel so good to be back, honestly! Because I feel like nothing beats the face-to-face and, like, the onsite interactions that you see from people being mesmerized by the works,” she said, encapsulating everyone’s general tenor of the event.
Alcazar's statement also reminds us that Art in the Park showcases beautiful artworks by different artists in their respective mediums and reignites the sense of community that art provides and promotes.
Despite the pandemic interrupting the 17 years of in-person gatherings, event organizers have managed to pull through and recreate the once-year-long awaited event and keep the interests and passion of artists to show off their captivating artistry to the art community.
