THE MFP busybodies: Trickie Lopa, Dindin Araneta, Menchie Duremdes, Maria Isabel Ongpin (chairman), Patricia Limon and Lisa Periquet

WHOEVER declared that the best wagyu burger, shawarma and pizza in the Philippines can be found not in any fancy restaurant but at a weekend stall manned by a batik shirt-leather boots-snake bone necklace-wearing mestizo at the Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati City, is not exaggerating.

In the stall called Pizza di Grazia, besides our firsthand experience, we’ve had encounters with Tourism Undersecretary Ed Jarque and Makati Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin, among the many regular customers. And we are not exaggerating if we say that the chef has perfected the art of cooking.

Located in what is popularly known as the Saturday Salcedo Market, which is open from 6 am to 2 pm, Pizza di Grazia is just but one of the food stalls that offer anything from the freshest vegetables and fruits grown organically, to curachas, prawns, lobsters, shrimps and yellow-fin tunas flown in straight from the Mindanao seas, plus delectable native cuisine packed in microwaveable plastic containers.

But this coming Saturday (June 28), the gustatory feast will be enhanced by the fifth edition of Art in the Park, in celebration of Salcedo Market’s fourth anniversary.

A section of Velasquez Park will be transformed into an outdoor art gallery from 8 am to 2 pm. It goes with the premise: After feeding the body, the soul comes next.

The good news is, the artworks—prints, photographs, sketches, oil and acrylic paintings—range from P200 to P20,000 a piece.

“We’d like art to be accessible and affordable to as many people as possible,” says Trickie Lopa, one of the few busybodies of Art in the Park. “We encourage new art collectors.”

“And we help the artists, both amateurs and veterans. With Art in the Park, their works are exhibited in a relaxed atmosphere, more accessible than the galleries,” says Lisa Periquet, who also helps in organizing the exhibit.

Periquet and Lopa organized the first Art in the Park in June 2006, with the help of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines (MFP), in which both are active members. The core group of dedicated busybodies includes Mailin Locsin, Tana Lopa, Pepper Roxas and Dindin Araneta. MFP is presided by widely respected columnist, art patron, humanitarian and civic leader Maria Isabel Ongpin.

In 2007 Art in the Park was able to raise P1 million, which was used to shoulder the framing of a few paintings by the masters under the care of the National Museum, the main beneficiary of the foundation. The amount also helped in sending museum scholars abroad. This year they hope to raise at least more than a million.

Unlike in past exhibits, there will be an evening art fair called Art After Dark, which will open from 5 to 10 pm. This will give the artists more opportunities to sell their bigger works. This time, the ceiling price is beyond P20,000. 

Up for grabs are the works of artists from Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, Art Inday, Art Wednesday, L’Arc en Ciel, Neo-Angono Artist Collective, Philippine Association of Printmakers, Putik, Sheer Joy, Art Informal, Blanc Art Space, Galeria de las Islas, Galerie Astra, Nineveh Artspace, Tin-Aw Art Gallery, Jay Camus, John Silva, Whitebox Studio, Ral Arrogante, Anthony Palomo, Jonathan and Mariano Ching, Feati University, University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, Far Eastern University and finalists from the PLDT-DPC Visual Arts National Competition.

Periquet told the BusinessMirror there will be sculpture pieces by Agnes Arellano, while gallery owner Albert Avellana promised to bring “my community to yours.” Ilonggo visual artist Charlie Co will also bring his new opus. There will be furniture and functional sculpture pieces from Art Cabinet, Space Philippines and some paintings from Alliance Française.

For collectors old and new, they can use cash or credit card. Complementing Art After Dark, there will be live soothing music as select stalls from the day market will recreate a bistro ambiance in the park. The organizers call it BAD, or Bistro After Dark. There will be wine and tapas or any pica-pica you want while savoring each new art piece on display.

And, yes, the famous wagyu burger, shawarma and pizza will be there.  

***For inquiries, contact Menchie Duremdes or Elvie Magpayo at 404-2685, or e-mail  info@museumfoundationph.org.

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