Art Fair Philippines 2025 Promises to Be a Walk in the Park

News broke in November 2024 that the highly anticipated Art Fair Philippines is moving to a new venue. From its home of 12 years at The Link, the annual art event is happening about 600 meters down Makati Avenue: the Ayala Triangle Gardens. It runs from February 21 to 23, 2025.

"The rumors are true," joked Art Fair Philippines co-founder Trickie Lopa about the big move during a press event held on the eighth floor of The Executive Centre - Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2.

Art Fair Philippines 2025's New Venue

How exactly are they shifting a five-floor indoor event into a two-hectare garden?

It's still the same Art Fair Philippines, with all the components: Projects, Digital, Film, Talks, Residencies, and 10 Days of Art, we've known since Day 1, Lopa assured. Except everything's happening in tents, configured in such a way that visitors would walk from one end of the park to another (whether from the Paseo de Roxas side to the Makati Avenue side or vice versa). The sixth and eighth floors of The Executive Centre, as well as the Amphitheater, will also come into play. It's a literal walk in the park, which ArtFairPH organizers hope will be a figurative walk in the park. (See what we did there?) 

"The Art Fair is mostly contained within a tent. It won't be that difficult. We're trying to work very hard on our signage because this will be a new space," co-founder Lisa Periquet explained.

"And then, at the end of it, we end up, or you can start here, in Tower 2, which will all be on two floors, also contained. So the tent, the covered areas, will be a natural way of driving you either from this end to Ayala Avenue or from Ayala Avenue to this end. So we hope it won't be too difficult. However, we recognize that the spaces are all very different because some are in the commercial area, and some are in the tent spaces down there. I think it should be exciting. I hope it will be exciting," she added.

As of January 21, 2025, the tents are still being set up one side of the Ayala Triangle Gardens.

"I just want the space to work out. We don't know yet the final form. It's taking shape out there," Periquet said.

Co-founder Dindin Araneta chimed in: "The best way to really start is to look at the website because all the information is provided on the website. And then I think the other thing that is interesting is that while we have entrances, you can start at any point, meaning if you want to see the Projects first, you want to go to the galleries next, you want to watch the film, you want to attend a talk." Tickets are now on sale through the website for P750.

As the co-founders mentioned, Ayala Triangle Gardens have two entrances, which will be maximized on D-Day.

"There are two entrances, so not everybody will be driving around Ayala Avenue, especially on a Friday afternoon. There are two ways to enter the fair. On the weekend, we are incorporating the regular activities of the Triangle, car-less Sunday until 10 a.m.," Lopa clarified.

It is exactly this vibe of the Ayala Triangle Gardens, from the winding walkways, patches of green, branches of trees overhead, and pedestrian-friendly roads, that they hope to imbibe during Art Fair Philippines.

"I was here one Sunday at the park. It was so nice. It felt so good to be around all of those trees in a garden. So I think that's what I'm looking forward to, being around so much nature, families, and different types of people just enjoying the Art Fair," Araneta added.

From The Link to Ayala Triangle Gardens

The million-dollar question that was in everyone's mind was: Why the big move? 

"We just like to give ourselves a hard time," Lopa quipped. They've been doing it since 2013, after all, and what else can they do to make it new?

"The Link was great. I get sentimental when I go there; it's still the home of the Art Fair. When we started in 2013, it was the newest car park in the Ayala Land properties. It's gotten a little old, too. I guess it was just time for a change, time to embrace something new. That's what we always try to do anyway. We always try to conceptualize something new each Art Fair. So why not go bigger this year and just change the entire venue?," she said.

"I think it's also the idea of moving to the center of the community. A lot of us also live near the Ayala Triangle area. We're thinking about that. Of course, we also wanted to find a venue that could also transform the experience of being in an art fair. That was the opportunity that came our way after also trying to look for so many years," Araneta added.

The Amphitheater, as well as two floors of the Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 (Paseo de Roxas Entrance), will also be used during the Art Fair Philippines.

What to Expect at Art Fair Philippines 2025

ArtFairPH/Projects

ArtFairPH/Projects, which is presented by BPI, is almost always what viewers watch for every year. It features a mix of established masters and emerging talents chosen by the founders to showcase their works: Manny Garibay, Manuel Ocampo, Goldie Poblador, Ryan Rubio, and Jezzel Wee. Joining them is a Madrid-based artist named SpY, who is known for large-scale installations and interventions.

Nazareno/Lichauco is designing the space.

Manny Garibay

Manuel Ocampo

ArtFairPH/Digital

ArtFairPH/Digital, which is presented by Globe, was introduced in the 2023 edition of Art Fair Philippines. For this year, Chia Amisola presents KAKAKOMPYUTER MO YAN, harking after a Filipino inside joke where mothers always blame their children's excessive use of the computer and Internet. Amisola's exhibition showcases Internet art and Third-World online experience.

Isaiah Cacnio also brings his works, which explore themes of light, movement, and spatial dynamics, to ArtFairPH's new space.

Other digital works are also scheduled to be on display at the Amphitheater.

ArtFairPH/Film

Award-winning director J Pacena is set to screen Kono Basho, which was included in the Cinemalaya 2024 roster. It tells the story of a young Filipino-Japanese woman who travels to Japan for her estranged father’s funeral and her experience connecting with his Japanese family, especially with her half-sister. A talk-back with the film's cast is happening after the showing.

Part of the Film lineup is The F.A.T. Boys!! Episode 1: Each One Teach One, by American director Drew Milo. It follows two friends, Splashman LV and Mr. StarCity, on their travels. The premiere episode, shot during their trip through the Philippines last year (as Mr. StarCity was part of ArtFairPH 2024), features Toby Tamayo, an environmentalist based in La Union.

ArtFairPH/Talks and ArtFairPH/Film are taking place on the sixth and eighth floors of The Executive Centre - Ayala Triangle Tower 2. Entrance to the Talks and Film sections comes with the cost of the fair’s ticket.

ArtFairPH/Residencies

Residencies was introduced in 2021 when Art Fair Philippines chose five artists to complete their residencies in different art hubs in the country. For 2025, they partnered with Ateneo Art Gallery for ArtFairPH/Residencies Curator’s Grant Program.

SpY will be putting up an installation similar to this one on one of the trees at Ayala Triangle Gardens. The founders assured us that the artist is strict about having the materials recycled or repurposed after the event.

10 Days of Art

From February 14 to 23, various spaces in Makati City are hosting public art installations, including outdoor sculptures by Briccio Santos at Legazpi Park, an immersive and experiential installation by Kim Borja at Glorietta, JEFRË’s Talking Heads at Circuit Makati, photographs by Fotomoto at the Legazpi Underpass, works by Neal Oshima at Greenbelt 3 Sunken Park, and TYLR Collective's works at Paseo Villar Underpass.

The 10 Days of Art initiative also highlights special exhibitions of participating galleries and museums that week.

Art Fair Philippines 2025 runs from February 21 to 23, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., at the Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati City. Regular tickets, which are already available through the website, cost P750. Concession tickets, available on-site, are at P500 for students, senior citizens, and PWDs; and P300 for Makati students and teachers.