ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Drive devider Five projects to watch out  for at Mindanao Art 2023

Five projects to watch out  for at Mindanao Art 2023

It's time to get to know Mindanao's artists

Published Sep 19, 2023 12:40 pm

At A Glance

  • 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. 

By Karlo Antonio Galay David
Photo by Kublai Millan

1.jpeg
Author and Kidapawan historian Karlo Antonio Galay David

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!

2.jpeg
ANCIENT ART Ancestral soil was once bartered for canned goods

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!

3.jpg
OPEN FOR ALL The North Wing of SM Lanang will be converted to an outdoor gallery for all to marvel over the work of Mindanao's top-selling artists

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.

4.jpeg
ARTISINAL WONDERS Jag Bueno is one of the artists included in Kulit Kultura, a collective of sculptors that specialize in sculpting wood, steel, resin, and other media


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.

5.jpg
SHORT DELIGHTS Mindanao Art resident filmmaker and director Rey Dimar Lagadlad has put out a series of short films to promote the event (Photo Mindanao Art Ar Ar video still)

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.

6.jpg
BONE CHILLINGLY COOL A giant skull art installation by Victor Dumaguing can be spotted by SM Lanag's iconic fountains

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.

Related Tags

Philippine Panorama SM Lanang Premier Karlo Antonio Galay David Mindanao Art Fair
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.