Take away the decades, the digital revolutions, and the changing zeitgeists. What does an artist from the 1990s share with an artist working today? Both seem to endure a perpetual negotiation for space: a space in the audience’s consciousness, a connection into networks of patronage, and ultimately, an inscription into the narrative of art history.
The “space,” whether literal or discursive, functions as the primary mode of interaction between art and its audience. Ideally, this is also where critical dialogue begins. Therefore, who is granted this space, how it is allocated, and under what terms it is occupied, are important questions. In this light, and because art festival season is upon the whole country again, these platforms cannot be excluded from the discussion of space.
This Year’s Art Festivals in Panay
In August, the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) closed proposal submissions for its yearly competitive grant. Among the categories was the staging of a regional art festival, with funding allocated at P1.5 million. The call was open to organizations accredited by the commission. This is the same grant that the organizers of the Visayas Island Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon), an artist-initiated biennial, usually receive. This year, the biennial is set to be held in Aklan in November, with the exhibition component of the biennale curated by Martin Genodepa of the UPV Museum of Arts and Cultural Heritage. The conference program tackles the relevant issues faced by artists in the Visayas Islands. Both components are woven together by a theme elected by the artists and cultural workers from Aklan. Space in the VIVA ExCon’s context has always been inclusive, with the event’s storied history bounded by the different occasions of artists expressing their displeasure in instances of infractions of its supposed inclusivity. The framework of the biennale traveling to other provinces hosting each iteration is also a testament to how the biennale tries to rid the platform of monopoly.
The Iloilo Art Festival, announced by the Iloilo City Government to have a funding of 1.5 million, covered multiple fields of art, including film, fashion, design, architecture, music, and theater. The Iloilo City Government, in its Facebook page, published a list of events, which included an exhibition of Patis Tesoro’s “Filipiniana is Forever” at the second-floor galleries of the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA). Patis is the favorite among old Ilonggo families, evident in the photos during the opening. Another exhibition is also hosted in ILOMOCA, an exhibition featuring the KKPP artist group at Hulot Gallery. The festival director, former Councilor and currently Executive Assistant to the City Mayor, Jay Treñas, says the exhibition is a celebration of artistry, collaboration, and Ilonggo pride. Notable in the list of events are venues, all of which are located at the Iloilo Business Park, which was declared the Center of Arts and Culture.
The festival also features a festival within a festival, the ICfilm Fest: Ilonggo Cinema Festival, with programming helmed by Ilonggo filmmaker, Reymundo Salao. Within the ICFilm Fest, there is also another film festival, Salao’s very own Cine Encanto, which, as the title would suggest, has a lineup of mystery, fantasy, and other aligned genres. Screening of these film festivals are for free.
A Look at our Neighbors
Looking at models in Southeast Asia provides a clearer vision of what publicly-funded festivals can achieve when they prioritize artistic and social engagement.
The Jogja Biennale in Indonesia is an example often mentioned by artists from Southeast Asia because of how deeply it is rooted in the public that funds it. The biennale’s strength lies in its ability to activate the local through discourses that connect them to the global south. It focuses on collaboration and social practice by embedding artists in local kampungs (villages). This is where they engage in research-based projects with residents, transforming the festival from a passive viewing experience into an active process of mutual learning and social inquiry, tackling issues such as environmental justice and urban development while using art as a catalyst.
Similarly, the George Town Festival in Penang, Malaysia, is celebrated for its integration of arts into the urban fabric of a UNESCO World Heritage site. According to many articles about the festival, it is hailed as one of the reasons for the city’s revitalization. The festival strategically uses heritage buildings and alleyways for exhibitions, installations, and performances to make art accessible, thereby treating the spaces where the public moves as art spaces in their own right. The festival has since grown to become a destination even for tourists, driving economic activity within the community, a testament that critical depth and tourism can be negotiated.
Challenges of Organizing Art Festivals
In one of Thrive Art Gallery’s “Slides Show” Sessions, writer Jose Taton discussed frictions, citing it as one of the limits of the art world. Artist and art historian Ed Defensor even cites rivalries between Ilonggo sculptors in the 1930’s in the introduction of his paper on Vicente de San Miguel, which contains a detailed retelling of the precursor of Iloilo’s art scene. Often, frictions happen between artists, art groups, and institutions as the dynamics shift and turn. And as someone who many times has been part of the organizing committee of such events, personally, in the local context, the biggest challenge was negotiating around personalities and navigating the many tensions among artists that precede the festival itself.
Aside from frictions, the limitations of funding remain a perennial challenge. Current sources and basis of funding include the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Annual Competitive Grants, the Local Culture and Arts Councils (LCACs) mandated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memo No. 2017-133A and the recently signed Philippine Creative Industries Development Plan (PCIDP) 2025–2034. Public sources of funds for events like these raise the questions of public service and accessibility. While opening the art festivals to corporate sponsorships means creating curatorial compromises.
All these also point to the question of sustainability and legacy. The event-based nature of art festivals, which is the framework prevalent now, creates an ephemeral tendency towards exhibition-making. The question remains: how can art festivals create a lasting impact? Does it expand the opportunities of the local artists? Does it create new networks of artists, cultural workers, and structures of support? Without investing in both physical and intellectual infrastructures, a festival risks becoming a spectacle more than a vehicle for cultural development.
Note about the featured photo:
“Hublag: The Ilonggo Arts Festival,” an annual art festival celebrated from 1988 to 1996. Photo by: Dodjie Tan
