The Manila'Bang Show Is Back, Baby

From time to time, we need a reminder of how much contemporary art in Manila has evolved, especially now that we're in a post-pandemic setting. The Manila’Bang Show 2022 Contemporary Art: The Manila Way will be celebrating this creative diversity with an exhibition in the South this coming December. Rethink, prospect, and respond, it says.

The name of the show is a nod to its history in Alabang back in the 1980s when Big Bang Alabang, an amusement park and fair south of the country’s capital filled with commercial activities and entertainment, was once a communal staple. Since its debut, Manila Bang has been known to showcase the progressiveness and immense talent of Filipino artists, while also highlighting the ferocity of the art market with Manila at its center.

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>pAs part of a collaborative curatorial effort led by its artistic director Alain Zedrick Camiling, the show offers a closer look into the contemporary art ecosystem, as well as the cultural and creative industries it relies on.>p"We intend to accentuate Manila as a nexus of a vibrant and expansive arts landscape that extends across the archipelago having Philippines as one of Southeast Asia’s strongest art markets," the director tells Esquire Philippines.>pALSO READ:>pThis New Art Fair Looks to Disrupt the Southeast Asian Art Scene>pThe Best Works We Saw at Art Fair Philippines 2022>p

Camiling also says that we can observe an "exponential growth" in people's interest in contemporary art in recent years. "This is characterized by various dynamic audience development mechanisms and continued exploration on platforms and models for arts and culture," Camiling explains.

He adds: "For instance, we can observe these in various recent well-attended art fairs introduced within and outside Metro Manila in the past three years. There is also a stronger presence of regional initiatives in various parts of the Philippines along with collaborations among individuals, groups, and entities despite limited support."

We can expect to see The Manila’Bang Show toy around with various mediums and modalities that reflect the contemporary, from art toys and installations to the crypto-digital world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

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>pThere will be 300 contemporary artists, both prominent and emerging from the Philippines and the international art scene, who will showcase their works at the 2,500-sqm space in Festival Mall Alabang. These includes the likes of Rishab Tibon, Raul Isidro, Demi Padua, Celeste Lecaroz, and Erwin Mallari, among others. The Manila’Bang Show 2022 is set to feature more than 20 galleries, too. Participating galleries like Secret Fresh, R Gallery, Galerie Joaquin, Daloy Likha, and more will be presenting, as well.>pCamiling continues: "To continue last year’s set of art talks for Manila Bang, we envision to sustain our attempts to dissect issues and perspectives on contemporary art and art collecting.">pAs part of its efforts to "expand" conversation, the show will also feature programs like "Art Talks 2022: Interchange," where professionals gather to discuss some key concerns in the local market.>pThere will be a four-part dialogue series on collecting and art market, NFTs and the digital sphere, art and abodes, contemporary art management and handling, and photography. According to Camiling, these talks should help promote art policies that put responsible art collecting, arts and cultural understanding, and knowledge circulation at the heart of their practices. Free on-site workshops will be open to the public, as well.>pThe Manila’Bang Show 2022 will be open to the public from December 9 to 11, 2022 at Festival Mall Alabang. For more details, visit the show’s website here. >p