Forum on Contemporary Art and the Art Market at CCP

A good Saturday afternoon alternative if you're free tomorrow:

In the 1990s, art was selling in the artwalk of Megamall. Today, we see galleries pulling out of such accessible locations and moving into so-called “destination places” – you have to seek them out. Former warehouses, residential houses, music auditoriums and other unlikely buildings turned cutting-edge art spaces are sprouting – despite and maybe because of the economic crisis - along Pasong Tamo and the suburbs, and there is even one gallery in Santa Cruz, Laguna. There was also a time when biennial/triennials were distinguishable from more market-driven exhibition platforms like art fairs and auctions. Today, the boundaries appear to be blurring.

How do artists, art managers and administrators, curators, art critics and academics, gallery owners, collectors, educators and the various art publics position themselves in light of these exciting developments?

Ctrl+P Journal of Contemporary Art invited a curator, an artist and a gallery owner to address this and similar questions and lead a forum on contemporary art and the art market, April 25, 2-5 pm at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Multi-purpose Hall. The panel speakers are: Joselina Cruz, curator of the 2008 Singapore Biennale; Marina Cruz, a multi-awarded young artist who crosses commercial and non-revenue platforms with ease; and Tina Fernandez, owner of Art Informal, a cozy gallery located in a residential area on Connecticut Street, a short stroll away from Ortigas corner.

This forum is being held in conjunction with the forthcoming Ctrl+P issue on contemporary art and the art market (edited by Flaudette May Datuin and Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez), and the exhibit Uncommon Sense: trauma, interrupted, too now on show at the CCP 2nd and 3rd floor Hallways until April 30. The exhibit is presented by ARTHOC (House of Comfort Art Network), in cooperation with the Drawing Room, Silverlens, and Britania Art Projects.

CCP is located at Roxas Boulevard, Manila. For more information, please call ARTHOC at 414-7446 and 0917 407 9196 or CCP at 8323702.