TAGUIG, Philippines – An explosion of colors and sounds of live music are ready to fill the landscapes of the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) as it celebrates the country’s first-ever mural-centric arts festival dubbed as the Art BGC NextACT ONE Festival. Bonifacio Arts Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) and the country’s #1 mobile brand Globe Telecom are teaming up to bring the first arts and culture initiative of this size and scope in BGC.
A week-long event that brings internationally-acclaimed artists to the Philippines to paint murals across BGC’s cityscape, the Art BGC NextACT One Festival hopes to create both a unique sense of place and build an experiential atmosphere for both local residents and international visitors to BGC. The aim is to showcase the inclusive nature of public art by creating murals that can be enjoyed by the entire city of Manila as well as an international audience.
Slated from May 22 to May 30, the first ever arts festival of its kind is done in collaboration with an L.A.-based art consultancy, LeBasse Projects. LeBasse Projects are most known for their works in USA and Asia. Multidisciplinary artists, namely FAILE, Nate Frizzell, CYRCLE, Drew Merritt, AKA Corleone, and Kristin Farr, will transform iconic BGC walls into artistic spaces filled with new murals. The Festival was developed by LeBasse Projects and BAFI as more than just a set of murals adorning the city, but also as an educational platform to enhance the arts and culture awareness of the community.
Their creations will come to life on the building walls of One Global Place, Bonifacio Technology Center, Icon Plaza, C1 Building Bonifacio High Street Central, The Palace Pool Club, all the way to the smaller facades of Bonifacio High Street in BGC.
“Globe is very excited to be part of this endeavor as part of our continuing The NextACT campaign which marked the launch of our GEN3 stores last year to transform the retail experience of our customers. It is very fitting to spearhead this year’s Art BGC NextACT ONE Festival together with our partners from BAFI as it breathes life to what ACT is all about – Art, Community and Technology. These three (3) elements are the anchor of the country’s first-ever mural-centric arts festival which brings together a community of artists and art communities here and abroad, and through technology and social media, we expect this Festival to reach the rest of the world and mark another milestone in art history,” said Joe Caliro, Head of Retail Transformation and Management at Globe.
Coming from a highly successful art-driven event in 2014 with the opening of its new GEN3 stores in Quezon City and Cagayan de Oro, Globe brought art closer to more people through GEN3 Next ACT, which featured live art demonstrations that featured an original mural developed by over 20 local artists in the course of 3 months. Globe now takes on an even larger fete, bringing the NextACT to a bigger community in Bonifacio Global City as part of another much-anticipated milestone that is set to revolutionize the Filipino retail experience towards end of this year.
Also making the event possible are great brands like Nyogi Coconut Water, Vans, & illest. These brands have put together a “tropical survival kit” to equip these artists from around the globe with the necessities to survive in the tropical summer of Manila.
Public festivities will begin on Saturday afternoon, May 23, with a Watching Session at the open lot on the corner of 26th Street and 5th Avenue. Projections of the mural design will illuminate the area as the artists prepare to paint to the backdrop of soulful beats.
On May 27, more art and musical experience await visitors and participants. Guests can also drop by any of the locations any time from May 24 to 30 to watch these mural artists paint non-stop and let their creativity flow out into their given spaces.
And as the event comes to a close on the afternoon of May 30, a closing party directed by Paolo Valenciano will be held at Bonifacio High Street Central Amphitheater complete with food, music, and fun.
The art-centric event will showcase live painting from 16 local artists accompanied by acts from DJs and bands like Severo, Zombettes, She’s Only Sixteen, Techy Romantics, and Taken By Cars.
The festival, which is open to the public, will also feature pop-up restaurants and interesting art activities, including freedom wall painting, photography contests, tours, and a public film fest.
For details and updates, visit artbgc.com/one or follow BGC on www.facebook.com/bonifacioglobalcityph, twitter.com/@ExploreBGC and @bonifacioglobalcity on Instagram.