How Cartellino bridges an important gap in today’s art world

Everyone enjoys art. Or at least, most people do. Many, however, view it from a distance that goes beyond just the physical, which has been aggravated by today’s circumstances, when most art spaces and galleries have been closed from the public. Art, after all, isn’t very cheap nor should it be. 

But what if you want to get into collecting art but are not yet confident about your financial capabilities to do so, wouldn’t it be nice if there was something out there that can serve as a bridge between you and the works of artists you love? Wouldn’t it be nice to have access to some of the best local contemporary artists we have today? 

This was the idea behind Cartellino, an online art digest and shop born from the collaboration between young art enthusiast Tanya Mallillin and Galerie Stephanie’s director Abby Frias Teotico. 

Cartellino’s website went live without much fanfare in September 2020, containing only the online art digest, written by Francesca Testa. Then, in February this year, weeks before the country went into lockdown because of the ongoing pandemic, Cartellino’s online store opened. By then, the site’s content was under the supervision of Elo Dinglasan.

Tanya and Elo, guided by Abby, remain steadfast in fulfilling the original goals of Cartellino, which they came up with even before galleries and art houses started going digital and hosting virtual exhibits. 

To put Cartellino out there more, so to speak, the team is having its first run of limited edition art prints from Nov. 16 to 30. Dubbed as “First Edition: Artist Print Cooperative,” it is Cartellino’s formal foray into the world of art collection by offering limited edition prints from over 130 local artists, both emerging and established. Each of these prints are signed by the respective artists. 

Some of the more familiar names participating in “First Edition” are Manix Abrera, Jimbo Santos, Ciane Xavier, Leeroy New, just to name a few. Works from masters like Federico Alcuaz, Abdulmari Imao, and Juvenal Sanso. 

“First Edition,” Tanya and Elo explained, isn’t just an ordinary art sale, however. Each of the participating artists, curated into groups, have chosen to support a particular community, foundation, or not-for-profit organization. Part of the proceeds from the sales would go to the artists and to their chosen beneficiaries, following a 50/30/20 allocation—this means 50 percent of the profit will go to the artist, 30 to the selected beneficiary, and 20 into an artist communal fund. 

These limited edition prints come signed and numbered by the artist, along with a Certificate of Authenticity (CoA).

“From a future audience’s point-of-view, we hope to eventually come across as ‘embedded,’ Tanya and Elo share. “There are enough avenues for writing and e-commerce for art as it is. Again, we’re all for it. We can only hope Cartellino is of a different kind.”

To checkout “First Edition” print-on-demand, which will run from Nov. 16 to 30, visit cartellino.com.| IG: @cartellino.art