Fresh art at the Fringe

ART NEED not be staid — it can be a comedy show with funny Japanese men, a live painting battle between visual masters, or a painting “battle.”

An advocate of fresh art, Fringe Manila puts art front and center to showcase what’s hip and happening in the arts scene of the Philippines and around the world. It showcases fresh, fun, bold, and disruptive works by emerging and established artists in art genres like theater, music, dance, visual art, film, cabaret, performance art, burlesque, spoken word, comedy, magic, and workshops. For its fourth edition, Fringe Manila returns on Feb. 7 to 25 at different venues around Metro Manila.

“Fringe’s mission is to make art accessible to audiences here in Manila who want to engage with the arts through fresh lenses and experience works that resonate with them,” said Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, Fringe Manila’s founding board member and festival director.

“We built this festival as an inclusive platform for artists here in the Philippines, Fil-X artists (i.e. Filipino-Canadian, Filipino-American, FilipinoEuropean, etc), and international creatives to present original works that celebrate the diversity of talent that converge in the metro.”

The festival welcomes newcomers to the celebration including GUMBO, an awardwinning theater group from Japan whose show, Are You Lovin’ It?, is a surreal comedic romp with dancing Japanese businessman, crazy cartoon mascots, and fast food satire.

Then there is PUP Maharlika’s Karera. Inspired by the urban rat race, Karera is dance- theater production on the survival of the fittest in the urban jungle. It is choreographed by Daloy Dance Company’s Buboy Raquitico.

To be screened during the Fringe fest is an unfinished documentary called Nobenta Nostalgia by Eljay Castro Deldoc, which revolves around 1990s television, told through interviews, monologues, and songs.

This year, the festival brings back crowd favorites such as Deus Sex Machina, SPIT, ADHD Productions, Burlesque PH, and Airdance.

Fringe Manila will also stage the championship round of a live painting competition called Art Battle, where painters compete for votes from the audience for the chance to compete in the Art Battle International.

Meanwhile, there will be performances by Kulintronica, a California- based musician who fuses the sounds of the traditional kulintang with modern electronic music, and Pagbalik, another Californiabased act performing a sound and dance narrative that reflects what it means to be a Filipino-American.

There will also be a number of workshops during the festival.

“It’s so important for these types of festivals to exist. By bridging independent creatives with small businesses and working with cultural institutions, Fringe works closely with its communities to make the arts a vehicle for meaningful collaborations, and a safe space for ideas and expanding networks,” said Jodinand Aguillon, the festival’s creative producer and a Fringe artist himself.

Since it started in 2015, Fringe Manila — which is under the umbrella of the internationally acclaimed World Fringe Network — has welcomed 30,000 audience members in 45 venues while featuring more than 500 performances and exhibitions by more than 1,000 artists.

Tickets to some Finge performances are available at TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld. For more details and updates, visit facebook. com/FringeMNL or follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @ fringemnl or visit fringemanila. com. —