Marker 2016 was the first showcase of it's kind of Filipino artists at any major international art fair and the first exhibition in the Middle East to date, aiming—as in previous editions of Marker—to nurture cultural exchange between its focus country and the Gulf.
Led by curator-artist Ringo Bunoan, Marker 2016 highlighted independent and artist-run spaces in Metro Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Artist-run spaces have long been vital spaces for the development of Manila’s contemporary art scene, allowing artists to create and present works outside the conventional frameworks of museums and commercial galleries. Ringo worked closely with independent spaces to develop a group exhibition that showcases a new generation of artists from the Philippines, in all its diversity; Marker 2016 encompasses divergent media, and addresses ideas of community, place, intervention, collaboration, labour and alternative economies.
The exhibition featured 98B, Post Gallery, Project 20, Thousandfold, among others, and included photographs, videos, paintings, soft sculptures, works on paper, and textiles by artists including Mark Barretto, Tammy David, Jed Escueta, Miguel Lope Inumerable, Gino Javier, Czar Kristoff, Wawi Navarozza, Katherine Nuñez, Jayson Oliveria, J Pacena, Julius Redillas, Issay Rodriguez, IC Jaucian, Gail Vicente, and Tanya Villanueva.
Serving as an anchor to the exhibition was the work of Roberto Chabet (1937-2013), a pioneering Filipino conceptual artist, teacher, and curator who played an active role in several artist-run spaces throughout his lifetime. Marker 2016 included a major installation by Chabet.
Alongside the exhibition of artworks, Marker 2016 also featured a selection of artist books, monographs, zines, and other independent publications from the Philippines.
