By Karlo Antonio Galay David
Photo by Kublai Millan

Mindanao’s biggest art fair takes over SM Lanang Premier in Davao this year, occupying much of one of the largest malls in the country. Mindanao Art 2023, which opens on Sept. 24 and runs until Oct. 1, will once again feature hundreds of artists from all over the island. 
The fair this year is being held on the theme “Art in Glitch: Resonating and Reverberating,” candidly confronting some of the longstanding problems of the island’s art scene, and stirring things up to produce more resonant art.  
With works by a diverse range of creative, from Talaandig soil painters to tattoo artists, there will be around a thousand artworks on show. 
Here are five special art projects that the fair is putting the spotlight on!

The Takos Project 
Yours truly will be debuting as a visual artist with The Takos Project, which will see me sell indigenous land! Soil from the ancestral domain of the Obo Monuvu of Kidapawan will be sold in upcycled sardine cans. This is to raise awareness about the historical bartering of ancestral soil for canned goods. I will be working closely with Monuvu artist Zhejie Manibog, who will be adorning my art installation with a mural of his Modern Monuvu series. See fresh and subversive depictions of the indigenous peoples on this exciting young artist’s mural!

The Outdoor Gallery 
The fair will be taking over the North Wing of SM Lanang and converting it into an outdoor gallery of large, 8ft by 8ft murals by artists mostly from Tagum City. Artists to watch out for are Elviz Goloran, who is courting controversy with his introspective take on Christ, Jamedith Abuan,whose distinct comic book-like style is one of Mindanao’s top sellers, and Rey Ursabia, one of Mindanao’s emerging voices in LGBT art.

Talagsaon ra Muabot  ang Kasinatian 
Kulit Kultura, a loose collective of Mindanao sculptors, will be filling up the third floor of the mall, treating mallgoers to sculptures in wood, steel, resin, and other media. The exhibit’s arresting title, which translates to “experiences rarely arrive,” prompts reflection on how contemporary lifestyles have prevented people from fully experiencing life. Artworks to watch out for are Hafid Millan’s distinct carved carabao skulls, Jag Bueno’s bas relief explorations into the Mindanao hybrid, and Jong Tangiday’s evocative sculptures in driftwood and recycled wood.

Rey Dimar Lagadlad 
Mindanao Art’s resident filmmaker and director, Rey Dimar Lagadlad, is a show on his own, churning out one crazy video after another. Aside from the fair’s very creative promotional videos, this auteur is also directing the opening gala. Check out his series of short films interpreting poetry by Stella Estremera on the Mindanao Art Facebook page.

The Giant Skull
Leading Tagum artist Victor Dumaguing has taken over the Fountain Court with an art installation of steel and cloth. Looming over SM Lanang’s iconic fountains is a giant skull, flanked by steel sculptures of lotuses and figures in boats. This provocative piece of public art celebrates incongruity, its memento mori message contrasting starkly with the life and capitalism its location glorifies.