UP College of Fine Arts professor Toym Imao. Gateway Art Fair/Facebook
QUEZON CITY — The fifth edition of the Gateway Art Fair officially launched Tuesday, bringing together more than 200 Filipino artists and art groups for a four-day showcase of local art from October 1 to 4 at Gateway Mall 2.
But beyond the exhibitions, one conversation at the media launch centered on a technology increasingly reshaping how images are created: artificial intelligence (AI).
For UP College of Fine Arts professor Toym Imao, AI can be both a tool for artists and a potential threat to them.
“Nakakatakot,” Imao said during a panel discussion at the launch.
“For some, it will be an enabling tool in order to further [our] art-making process. Pero at the same time, if left unchecked at walang guardrails, it poses [a] serious threat sa ating mga artist.”
Seated from left are Gateway Art Fair 2026 panelists Lydia Velasco of JOSE/Velasco Art, Chressa Rufon of Mindoro Artists Group, Nikki Zureta of Yaru Nu Artes Ivatan, and Gari Apolonio of Gateway Gallery during the fair’s media launch in Quezon City. Photo by Ralph Revelar Sarza
Imao pointed out how easily AI can produce increasingly sophisticated visual works. “Kasi it’s so easy to come up with beautiful images out of words and prompts. And it’s also easy to print the most intricate kind of sculptures using a 3D printer. And that’s what’s scary about it,” he said.
For Imao, the fair also gives artists a chance to reinforce the importance of authorship.
“I think what is good about this particular art fair is that it will give us a chance to meet actual creators onsite, beside their works. I think the name of the game right now is to strengthen authorship. Kasi if we can easily consume images through the internet, through printing, through prompts and AI, maghahanap pa rin tayo ng authentic, eh. We always try to [find] the authentic.”
For Imao, that also means changing how collectors look at the works they buy.
“I think this is also an opportunity for us to also educate our future collectors or ‘yong mga young collectors na they will not only be buying an image that will connect to them, but rather, they will be buying an artwork that will somehow carry an authentic story about the artist.”
“You’re buying the story of the creator,” Imao added. “And that’s what [AI cannot generate] -- the authors, authentic creators who paint things [by hand] at mayroon silang pinaghuhugutan na istorya, may pinanggalingan silang lugar. Geographically, [the art] is authentic, the materials are authentic, the idea is organic.”
J. Amado Araneta Foundation Executive Director Diane Romero and UP College of Fine Arts Dean Prof. Abdulmari Asia Imao sign the memorandum of understanding between the two institutions during the Gateway Art Fair media launch. Photo by Ralph Revelar Sarza
He said the fair’s setting also gives artists an opportunity to engage directly with their audience.
“Kaya maganda itong opportunity na the young artists still have the time to be beside their artwork and to [actually] talk to people. You won’t find that in the bigger art fairs na nakatago ‘yong artists.”
The fair is presented by the J. Amado Araneta Foundation (JAAF), Gateway Gallery, and Araneta City. During the launch, JAAF also formalized a partnership with the UP College of Fine Arts through a memorandum of understanding.
The event also included the turnover of Art in the City art kits to children from the Special Needs Education (SNED) class of Pateros Elementary School, children with disabilities under the Parents Federation in Pasig, and SNED students from Basilan and Sulu.
The program will also include a UP College of Fine Arts talk on the impact of AI in art education, along with workshops and other free activities designed to bring audiences closer to art and its creators.
For all the possibilities AI brings to art, Imao’s comments point to a question that may become harder to answer: if AI can make the image without a human creator, what story does the artwork really tell? And should we really call it art?