Qube Gallery opens second outlet

CEBU, Philippines - Pushing forward Cebu’s bid of becoming a “creative hub” in the Philippines following the declaration by the British Council as “Creative City”, gallery capitalists have established its second art gallery shop to promote the good visual arts industry in Cebu.

Qube Gallery, owned and operated by partners Jon Gotiong, and Maris Holopainen-Hadaway opened their second outlet of Qube Gallery at the Henry’s Hotel to provide more venues for visual artists from Cebu and other parts of Southern Philippines to showcase their fine works of arts.

In an interview with Gotiong, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Qube Gallery Inc., he said that there is a need for visual artists to showcase their works commercially, while the facility is also trying to uplift the appreciation of the market for arts.

“We are here to help the [visual] artists, profit is only our second priority,” he said.

Cebu, a well-known destination for both local and foreign tourists, is a good venue for galleries to thrive, while stakeholders in the tourism industry noted that some art enthusiast tourists look for galleries in Cebu.

Gotiong believes that there is a good market for visual arts in Cebu, and that the positioning of the province of becoming a “creative hub” should also provide this kind of facility—Galleries.

Although, the market for fine visual artistry is in the high-end segment, Gotiong said one of the objectives of Qube Gallery is to promote the appreciation of visual arts to the mainstream market, as well as to the young generation.

In the Philippines, specifically in Cebu, galleries thrive because of collectors and those people who deeply appreciate arts, but Gotiong is hopeful that aside from this market, visual artistry commercialization will grow.

At present, the company with its two outlets in Cebu, the one which was opened six months ago, at the Persimmon Plus, in M.J. Cuenco, and at the Henry’s Hotel, along Maria Luisa Road in Banilad, has at least over 1,500 artwork collection inventories.

“Qube gallery continues to strive not only to further professionalize the fine art industry but also to raise the standards of contemporary art exhibition with out of the box strategies, or rather out of the cube,” Gotiong said.

Already, the government and the creative industry in Cebu had been promoting the standardization, and commercialization of creative sector here, including the visual arts.

In a separate interview with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-Cebu provincial office) director Nelia F. Navarro, she said that a program is now being implemented in collaboration with the Creative Council of Cebu to bring together the visual artists here and make a good data base of their works and contacts to help these artists sell their works both in local and foreign customers.

This is also in preparation for the upcoming funding that Cebu may get from the ASEAN Funding group, to help the creative sector in the region. And Cebu, being named by the British Council as the Creative City, it is expected to get a share of this funding, Navarro said.

According to Navarro although the visual arts sector in Cebu has a good potential to get the attention for the visual arts enthusiasts, and collectors not only in the Philippines, but also in other markets abroad, there is a need for the Cebuano visual artists to be well organized, so that they can get a proper help from the government.

Also, Navarro said the DTI’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) has included the visual arts in its budget, through inviting visual artists to participate in the world trade fairs, and promote their works to the international market.

With this, there is a big chance for good Cebuano artists to take advantage of this opportunity. After-all Cebuano talents have already gained name in the world’s creative sector, Navarro said 

“There is a big potential for the visual arts industry in Cebu, only if players will come and reach out to the right people,” Navarro said.  (FREEMAN)