Pinto Art Museum, Antipolo: It is more than just for Instagram

Pinto Art Museum in the hills of a subdivision in Antipolo City, is one of the most aesthetic museums in the country. I was in this museum four years ago with some of my girlfriends, but it was more of a photo shoot than an art appreciation day. So I went back, tagging my boyfriend along. This time it was more for the art than for Instagram.

P.S. If you’re a photography enthusiast, this place is screaming a lot of pretty subjects.
Double P.S. I made a horrible mistake of going on International Museum Day (free entrance = gazillion people)

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How to go to Pinto Art Museum

Since we were already from Rizal, the drive only took less than an hour. From Marcos Highway, we turned right to Sumulong Highway until we reached Antipolo Simbahan. We then turned left to Ynares Center then turned right to Sierra Madre Subdivision before reaching Jollibee Antipolo Capitol. It was always better to Waze it if you’re driving. There was no parking lot, but you can park on the side of the road since it’s safe inside a subdivision.

If you’re commuting, ride a jeepney in Gateway Mall, Cubao or a U.V. Express in LRT-2 Santolan Station, S.M. Megamall or Robinson’s Galleria that will bring you to Antipolo Simbahan. From Antipolo Simbahan, you can ride a tricycle to Pinto Art Museum.

Pinto Art Museum

Pinto Art Museum, as its name suggests, Pinto is the Filipino term for the door, is a gateway to modern and contemporary arts, and an opening door for talented artists. It has six galleries of contemporary arts, an indigenous section, a restaurant, a cafe, and the newest Academy: Arts and Sciences for Healing and Wholeness.

As we entered Pinto Art Museum, there was a reception first in the entrance. The entrance fee was free during International Museum Day, so they only made us sign up our names and addresses. After that, they gave us a map of the area, and we’re ready to go.

Entrance Fees:
Adult – P200
Senior/PWD – P180
Students – P100

Operating Hours:
Tuesdays to Sunday, 9 AM to 6 PM

The first thing we saw when we entered was the first Mediterranean gallery, the chapel, Rizal Cafe, and a garden with rustic beds and arts. The Rizal Cafe had gorgeous windows and a vintage rustic interior. The menu had rice and pasta, but the price was a little on the high range (around P400/meal).

PINTO ACADEMY: ARTS & SCIENCES FOR HEALING AND WHOLENESS

This was the newest addition (Feb 2016) to the museum that was still not here when I visited four years ago. It took me almost a minute to be amazed by its architecture despite the heat and the crowd. Pinto Academy is a school for visual arts, dance, theatre, and literature.

The owner, a neurologist, believes that you cannot disassociate art from science, so as same as science, art is connected to any healing process. That was the inspiration for Pinto Academy, where artists can hold seminars and lectures about art. And this can be a way for someone’s healing – treatment for depression, pain relief, and stress management.

The academy has a library, conference rooms, an open-air auditorium on the rooftop of one of the buildings, and a lot of open spaces that can use for lectures.

THE CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERIES

Gallery per gallery, Paul and I wanted to see each artwork and read their descriptions. We stopped by on pieces that caught our attention. We started with Gallery 1, which was all paintings that have political, social, and economic meaning behind it. We sat by the middle of the room and tried to understand the most prominent art that took almost one wall of the gallery.

Gallery 2, accessible via Gallery 1, is a combination of paintings, sculptures, and art installations. In this gallery, I lost all the whys of each piece. Paul told me just to shift my “looking for meaning” perspective to just appreciating its beauty.

Sculpture and wire are the themes of Gallery 3. It has the famous “Hollow Man” that I usually see on Instagram and what made me excited on my first visit. When I entered this gallery, I instantly asked a little kid, maybe around six years old, to not touch and swing the artwork as her mother was busy chatting. Please, if you’re bringing a child, be responsible, and educate them.

Gallery 4, however, houses the modern arts. If you’ve heard of Pinto Art Museum, you surely know the “We are the kids that your parents warned you about” art that everyone who went here has. I loved it so much because it speaks the truth for most of us. There were also interactive arts here that the kids will enjoy. This gallery was where most Millenials would relate.

Gallery 5 will confuse you. It looks like a normal veranda than a gallery, but if you observe, you’ll see.

Between Gallery 5 and 6 is an open garden-like in the middle and mini-gallery rooms – Erotica, Love, and Usapang Babae.

Still, in a modern theme, Gallery 6 is full of paintings with the current social issues. The one side has a lot of different arts beautifully arranged together while another portion has only a black and white portrait of a triathlon. It also has a mezzanine where you can shoot from a different angle. In the mezzanine, there are two rooms with chairs and the most needed wind due to the heat. We stayed in one of the rooms to regain some strength and beat the heat.

Our energy dropped after completing the six galleries. It was nearing noon, and the heat was also getting unbearable. We walked our way back to gallery three and climbed our way back to the other side of the 1.3 hectares museum. We saw the pool and Cafe Tan-aw, the overlooking cafe of Pinto Art Museum, which I heard is beautiful at sunset.

The Indigenous Gallery

We hiked down some stairs to see another set of those white Santorini-inspired galleries, but except this time, it was a lot more forest vibes. We saw different photos, wooden sculptures, paintings, and woven tapestries from the various indigenous tribes in our country.

Is Pinto Art Museum worth the drive and P200?

Yes, I mean, I’m not an art-kind-of-girl, but I enjoyed the galleries of this museum. How much more if you’re a consistent museum-goer? And compare to other museums, this one has the charm of incorporating nature and art that it doesn’t feel suffocating and fresh in the eyes. I can just sit in one of their art bed installations and just breathe the fresh air and the beautiful view of this white galleries. Maybe the owner is right; there is indeed a connection between art and our body.

SOME TIPS BEFORE YOU VISIT THIS ANTIPOLO MUSEUM

1. Go on a weekday if you can to avoid the crowd. If you can’t, go early on the weekend.
2. Wear something light and bring bottled water and a fan. It is hot.
3. Allot maybe 3 hours to roam the whole area thoroughly. It is a 1.3 hectares museum, so also wear comfortable shoes.
4. You could ask for a guide or assistance in the main office if you wanted to know more about the arts.
5. Take a lot of photos, okay, but please don’t forget to be one with the arts, be one with nature. Drop your camera after some time and try to breathe it all in.