The upcoming ArteFino Fair 2024, aptly titled “kaPAMANA,” will push the conversation on Philippine crafts and expand the concept of heritage while welcoming new voices into the community.
Year after year, ArteFino—the movement that founders Maritess Pineda, Mita Rufino, Cedie Lopez-Vargas, Susie Quiros, and Marimel Francisco established in 2017—has steadfastly endeavored to highlight homegrown brands and products that support, revitalize, and ensure the survival of time-honored traditions of Philippine craft. As such, heritage has long informed the work of the movement, both within its popular fair and beyond. Each fair puts cultural values, the sustainability agenda, as well as livelihood empowerment at the forefront of its operations, and the upcoming ArteFino Fair 2024 is no exception. Aptly titled kaPAMANA, the event is a nod to ArteFino’s beginnings, honoring tradition while inviting the community to explore new ways of doing things.
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The fair will take place on August 22 to 25, 2024 at The Fifth at Rockwell. During this four-day celebration, the events hall will transform into a vibrant discovery space for 100 heritage brands and products.
PAMANA in 2018: Elevating The ‘Made in the Philippines’ Mark
In 2018, ArteFino mounted a fair that emphasized the concept of heritage or pamana. It gathered designers, brands, social entrepreneurs, and artisan communities whose collective stories of culture, craft, artistry, and heritage have helped shape the movement. These narratives—which the participants wove seamlessly into every product at the fair—were expressions of an elevated ‘Made in the Philippines’ mark.
Francisco recalls: “The focus during that campaign was more on generations and families—best friends, grandmothers and grandchildren, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons.”
“Through the years, we have created a movement that has continuously grown and evolved. In pushing forward or forging ahead, we bring the entire community with us,” says Lopez-Vargas. “This year, we are expanding the concept of PAMANA, and asking ourselves: Where do we take this conversation? How do we build on what we had started? What is it that we want to hand down?”
KaPAMANA in 2024: Heritage Told Through A Contemporary Lens
If 2018’s PAMANA celebrated the country’s craftsmanship across generations, 2024’s kaPAMANA returns to this central concept, but views it through a fresh lens. It inspires partner brands, social entrepreneurs, and designers to consciously seek possibilities that lie outside the box. “When we briefed our brand partners about kaPAMANA, it felt like a full circle moment for us,” confesses Francisco. “We have always talked about instilling culture and heritage in the next generation. The focus remains the same, but we are turning the spotlight on contemporary expressions […] in our history. It’s essentially heritage, but not in an old-fashioned way.”
In communicating this year’s theme, ArteFino brought together partner brands and muses for a campaign that showcased shared stories of heritage and the building of legacies. This includes fashion icon and lenswoman Jo Ann Bitagcol, who photographed accomplished personalities across industries.
The shoot took place at the newly-opened School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA) Design Institute at the Proscenium Retail Row, and served as a reunion of like-minded individuals bound by their passion for creativity. “More than just a venue for our shoot and the press preview, SoFA has always been part of the ArteFino journey. Our community is made up of several designers who are alumni of the design institute,” Fransisco introspects. “Our values have always been aligned in that we are both dedicated to fostering the next generation.”
Old Favorites, New Experiences
So what can attendees expect? Apart from the fair mainstays, an influx of new brands, social entrepreneurs, and designers will also add dimension to the kaPAMANA narrative. A larger space that marries ArteFino Finds (a fair booth that features a diverse range of homegrown brands) and Barracks (which serves as a dedicated space for all things menswear) will showcase new design propositions that explore fluidity in dressing. There will also be a dedicated area for heritage crafts and brands.
The central display space, which welcomes visitors of the fair, will showcase Leeroy New’s installation of Sacred Heart art pieces. The on-going dialogue with sustainability heavily informs New’s body of work. “He identifies with ArteFino in that sense. Leeroy works with existing materials, turning them into installations that provoke thought. For this year, we are interspersing his Sacred Heart pieces with products that will be showcased at the fair,” Lopez-Vargas expounds.
At the heart of the ArteFino movement is the HeArteFino Foundation. The advocacy-centric initiative supports specific communities or crafts around the Philippines. This year, the foundation will serve as a platform for a limited edition collection by Patty Eustaquio for Bayo Atelier.
Fashion, Community, and Sustainability
Eustaquio—a multimedia artist who integrates textile, painting, and sculpture—has reimagined the still-life genre by using objects from the past.
As the artist returns to her design roots, she lends the same point of view in art to creating zero-waste garments. For HeArteFino, she takes up the challenge presented to her by Bayo Atelier: to marry art, community, fashion, and sustainability. Black and white prints on the garments come from photographs of Patty’s past artworks. Like art, only a limited number of pieces will be available for the fair. Each one will feature an embroidered signature of the artist.
For Bayo Atelier’s Anna Lagon, the collection is an exercise in conveying the message of circular fashion with HeArteFino as the platform. “What we are doing is not just for Bayo Atelier or Patty Eustaquio. We are working towards showcasing an example of how circular fashion can be realized,” she explains. The collaboration also endeavors to highlight the communities that the brand supports into one collection.
As the founders of ArteFino express in a statement: “KaPAMANA is more than a campaign. We believe that our heritage is not merely a relic of the past, but a living, breathing force that shapes our present and our future. It’s about recognizing the talents we have today who are inspired by the masters of yesterday. It’s finding harmony between tradition and innovation, celebrating the Filipino story in all its complexity and beauty.”
ArteFino Fair 2024: KaPAMANA is made possible by Security Bank, Rockwell Land, and SoFA Design institute. For more updates, follow them on Instagram @artefinoph.
Photos courtesy of ArteFino.
