A first of its kind in the Philippines
In celebration of local fine art printmaking, a collaborative effort between Fundacion Sansó, Cartellino, and the Association of Pinoyprintmakers ran from Oct. 18 to 25, 2021 on the website of Cartellino. This week-long fair was a first of its kind in the Philippines and it featured hand-pulled fine art prints.
Limbag Kamay, as a fair, maintains that the spirit of printmaking is inseparable from the equitability of its processes. Not only can viewers expect affordable yet exceptional art, a generous portion of the profit will also help such printmaking practices continue by raising funds to build a prototype batch of small-size etching presses. These desktop etching presses are designed for portability and affordability and are to be made available to printmakers across the Philippines. This is a future project to be handled by the Association of Pinoyprintmakers.
Hundreds of works such as intaglio etchings, drypoint, relief, collagraph, and serigraphs were generously shown by none other than some of Philippine printmaking’s most exciting practitioners. There were also original works by master artists and printmakers Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado, Elmer “Emong” Borlongan, Noëll El Farol, Jess Flores, Lenore RS Lim, Manuel Rodriguez Sr., Juvenal Sansó, and Wesley Valenzuela, alongside those by over 60 printmakers the likes of Mars Bugaoan, Joey Cobcobo, Hershey Malinis, and Diokno Pasilan. As Limbag Kamay is artist-initiated, its co-organizers Angela Silva, Anton Villaruel, and Jun-Jun Sta. Ana.
Across each day of the fair were online talks, demonstrations, and discussions on relevant topics about Philippine printmaking where viewers saw its practitioners and caretakers in their natural element. Apart from a live printmaking demonstration by master artist Elmer Borlongan on his printmaking process, a steady diet of discussions and talks by artists, educators, and museum representatives alike were also presented. These informative talks covered printmaking’s history and new trajectories, as well as print appreciation, from its installation for exhibitions to its collection and care.
