For the third time, Tarlac transformed into a multiverse of color, talent, and imagination as it celebrated local artists during the Luzon Art Fair 2025.
From visual arts and handicrafts to heritage pieces, each creation told a story brought to life by the hands of talented artists.
Each booth was a portal to a different world, filled with unique stories about both the art and its artist.
Preserving culture through art
With a steady hand and ink, 24-year-old Jascha Tolentino from Pampanga joined the art fair with one goal.
He wanted to revive a vanishing culture passed down by his ancestors.
Living in the Kapampangan-speaking province of Pampanga, Tolentino witnessed how the once wonderful Kulitan, an indigenous Kapampangan writing system, was slowly forgotten.
With his talent and dedication, Tolentino offered free Kulitan writing at his booth, reintroducing the traditional writing to curious visitors.
Every stroke of his brush symbolizes his dream to help preserve the vanishing culture of the Kapampangans.
Just as he stepped outside the comfort of modern writing to revive the fading Kulitan, Tolentino advised the youth to venture into the unknown.
For him, stepping outside one’s comfort zone is the best way to learn and grow, just like he did.
Art as a symbol of bayanihan
On the other side of the exhibition stood the Marz Today Studio booth, a representation of artists bound through unity.
Owner Marz Aglipay took the lead in bringing printmakers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao together through the Paper Route Exhibition.
Each artwork is a print reflecting the artist’s perspective and story.
For Aglipay, joining art fairs allowed their team to represent artists who could not physically attend by showcasing their artworks.
“Wala man dito yung artist, at least napakita namin yung trabaho niya. Ito ay bilang tulong na rin sa mga artists na mas makilala pa sila (The artists might not be here in person, but we were able to showcase their works. This served as a way to help them gain recognition),” she said.
They take turns representing their team on events like the Luzon Art Fair.
Their taking turns representing their studio and team symbolizes their shared commitment to supporting one another in their art.
For their team, art is bayanihan. It is a collective effort to help each other.
Their group is not just a team of co-workers but a symbol of artists helping artists, a spirit of bayanihan that defines Filipinos.
Beyond the entertainment and amusement
The Luzon Art Fair is a powerful testament to how art connects generations, regions, stories, and people.
Despite differences in language, culture, and beliefs, art brings people to understand each stroke, color, and message whispered by the artworks.
Moreover, the strong support from the Provincial Government of Tarlac highlighted the vital role of the art industry in enriching the community’s identity and culture.
“We will continue to host different opportunities in culture, tourism, and the art,” Tarlac Governor Christian Tell Yap said, promising unwavering support to the art industry.
The untold stories behind each piece displayed at the Luzon Art Fair tell the public one thing.
Despite the rise of artificial intelligence that can generate images in just a few seconds, nothing beats the hand of a true artist.
The heart, soul, and purpose of every artwork can only be brought to life by an artist.
Artists are not just artists.
They also tell stories, preserve cultures, and bring to life narratives that no AI-generated art could ever replicate. (CLJD/AJRR, PIA Region 3-Tarlac)
