What better way to start National Arts Month than with a week-long celebration of the arts leading up to Art Fair Philippines 2026?

Over the weekend, you might have already spotted a flurry of art installations popping up around Makati City. These are all part of the 10 Days of Art lead-up to the art fair itself, which is set to take place from Feb. 6 to 8. Here’s a quick peek at what you can expect over the next few days.

'SIGNS AND IMITATIONS' Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan, Fruitjuice Factory Studio

'NAGSASALITANG ULO' Mich Dulce

Out in the wild

Art is best enjoyed when encountered in public. If you’re a regular around Makati City, it’s almost like a fun Easter Egg hunt to try and spot all the new art installations that have been put up. For the first encounter, start by alighting from the MRT and heading into One Ayala, where you can spot Isaiah Cacnio’s hypnotic LED billboard visual, “Between Thoughts.” It’s an enchanting sight, letting passersby get lost in the wavy motions for a tiny bit of respite before carrying on about their day. If you somehow miss it, you’ll still encounter it among various billboards in Glorietta, Greenbelt, and Circuit Mall Makati. From One Ayala, you can make the trek over to the Greenbelt 5 gallery to see Joel Wijangco’s “Art 2 Wear” and Mich Dulce’s “Nagsasalitang Ulo (Talking Heads).” Joel’s space has his out-of-this-world shoe designs on display. Meanwhile, Mich’s piece shares her exploration of identity through headwear. At the Ayala Museum and Ayala Triangle Garden, you can spot handwritten calendars marked all the way to 2099, an installation titled “Esperanza de Vida (Life Expectancy)” by Ampparito, as a sort of exercise in compressing a lifetime into a single week. Also at the Ayala Triangle Garden is the interactive installation “Signs and Intimations” by Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan, and the Fruitjuice Studio, where viewers can form words with the electrical letters scattered throughout. Crossing via the Paseo Underpass also shows photo exhibits through FotomotoPH’s open call program, “Fotomoto Underground.” In Circuit Makati, you can find Ronald Ventura’s “Carousel.” Ronald’s piece serves as a metaphor for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, presented in a whimsical manner. You can wrap up the art trip by catching AR Manalo’s “Balai Hari” exhibit at Seda Residences Makati.

Gazing upon galleries

Over 50 galleries, with some coming from other parts of the world, are set to participate in this year’s run. A special exhibit will also shed a spotlight on 10 artists (Ambie Abaño, Ampparito, Max Balatbat, Constancio Bernardo, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Brenda Fajardo, Ged Unson Merino, Tessy and Jon Pettyjohn, Solomon Saprid, and Romeo Tabuena). Daily sessions, in partnership with the Ateneo Art Gallery and the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, are set to delve deeper into the works of these contemporary artists. 

Tickets for Art Fair Philippines 2026 can be purchased at Circuit Corporate Center 1, Circuit Mall Makati.