THE DABAWENYO Artists Federation, Inc. (DAFI) is organizing the Davao Art Festival at La Herencia, Torres Street, from May 12-19, 2023.
The eight-day festival will showcase 14 Davao-based visual artists groups, art-related activities, and artistic performances.
DAFI has been mounting art shows despite the pandemic. Now on its fifth art exhibit, DAFI is unfazed and ready to face the challenges the Davao art community faces. So far, having mounted three virtual shows and two major onsite art events in SM Lanang Premier and La Harencia Davao Art Space, DAFI art events have thrived and garnered quite a following.
The federation comprises 14 artist groups, namely BaiHinang, Floral Artists of Davao, Bintana Art Gallery, Artists Initiative, Piguras Contemporary, Art Sanctuary, Art Pavilion, Davao Watercolor Society, Tabularasa, Pintanao, G.A.M.A., Guhit Pinasm, TM Artists, and La Herencia Art Space. These groups have a membership of a wide variety of artists.
Some have been refining their craft for years, while others are tapping into their creative wellsprings. All these groups will exhibit their best works: sculptures, installations, and paintings.
Founded in 2020, DAFI was created because many Davao artist groups wanted to unite and achieve common goals. This need and clamor for unity resulted in a melding of ideas and opinions in 2019. Its vision is to become the foremost cohesive visual artists organization in Davao City. Their mission is to establish an ecosystem of marketing processes to help artists sustain their creativity and be able to live on their art. It also desires to establish an artistic environment where artists can relentlessly produce artworks with utmost excellence, honest-to-goodness, creativity, and humility of heart. Furthermore, it also wants to provide an avenue for artists to uphold their rights and welfare.
The Davao ArtFest 2023 provides opportunities for artists and gives Dabawenyos an art experience where they can see a broader range of artworks. This is an opportunity to immerse themselves in the Davao art scene, engaging with the artists and finding their definition of beauty and art within themselves.
This has been the dream of DAFI president Josie Tionko and vice-president Victor Secuya. They have envisioned providing opportunities to broaden the Dabawenyos’ awareness and interaction with art. Together with like-minded officers in the federation, DAFI has been taking significant strides toward realizing this dream.
