Government to help art industry

MANILA, Philippines - The government will help the art industry as local contemporary Philippine paintings and galleries share the limelight with Filipino exporters at the 50th edition of Manila F.A.M.E. International, a government-led trade platform for the home and fashion lifestyle sectors.

“There are no boundaries now in Philippine art,” said Manuel Duldulao, founding chairman of the Exhibition Center for Contemporary Art and author of “Philippine Art Now”.

Duldulao likewise said that the saleability of Filipino paintings stemmed from the portrayal of distinct Philippine themes.

“Filipino paintings on fiesta, landscapes, landmarks, tourist spots— those are the paintings you can sell because no other countries have them.”

He reported that there is a high demand for Philippine art in Singapore art galleries and auctions, with some of the art works by Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Fernando Amorsolo, Arturo Luz and young artist, Ronald Ventura, to name a few broke records in Singapore Sotheby’s auction.

In fact in 2005, the Creative Economy Report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) cited the Philippines as one of the top 10 exporters of visual arts among developing countries.

The Philippines exported around $107 million worth of goods in 2005 and creative industries in the country contributed some 4.92 per cent to the gross domestic product and cited as the fifth in the export of sculptures.

Philippine contemporary art refers to paintings that evoke the Filipino spirit such as the protests in the streets, current events, the social responses to political occurrences, romanticism, as well as local color reminiscent of festivals like the Pahiyas and the Maskara.

ART: MNL, a preview to the Philippine International Art Fair in 2010 is a new feature of Manila F.A.M.E. International meant to showcase the export potentials of the creative industries in the Philippines , particularly visual arts.

It is also an exhibition designed to promote awareness and recognition of the works of Filipino artists.

Organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, ART: MNL also aims to foster a cultural interaction and exchanges with other art markets such as Singapore , Hong Kong and Malaysia .