#MuseumMonth: Pintô Art Museum

by Renee Christopher Ultado

In celebration of Museum and Galleries Month this October, I will be sharing my experience in the Pintô Art Museum. It would be fun to "Museum Hop" this month since most are waving the entrance fees and sometimes there are even free scheduled guided tours! My lola used to say that the perfect place to meet a husband is in a church, I say it is in a museum. Maybe it's just me, but there's something really romantic with being surrounded by beautiful things and other people trying to connect with the said beautiful things.

Pintô Art Museum is in Antipolo. I paid 75 pesos which was the student rate. (It's 120 pesos for Senior Citizens, but 150 pesos is their regular rate.)

I do not want to pre-empt your impression of the museum but for me it seemed like a small village, entering it feels like escaping to some hamlet in the Spanish countryside, with the "houses" serving as galleries. There was even a chapel!

I suggest you savor the place, go through each area slowly, and take time to appreciate, not only the artworks, but the architecture and the interior design.

I went here with my boyfriend Alexandre (I'm not talking about the horse) but different things interested us and we decided to start exploring on different areas.

Artworks are found inside the "houses" I love how it doesn't look like a normal art gallery. It imagined it like a house of a rich politician with a wife who has a taste for the finer things in life.

I love how this place is essentially "Filipino", featuring local artists, and highlighting our rich culture.

It makes you feel something, makes you reflect about our history and the current state of Philippine society, makes you question, and reminds you what Philippine art should be about.

My "It's Almost Friday!!!!" face

This place is also full of little quirks like this cabinet of unsent love letters. There's a pen and sheets of paper at a nearby table. You can actually write your own love letter and keep it in the cabinet. Can you imagine all the feels and all the "what ifs" hidden inside? I can't, because I did not open and read the letters. Okay, maybe one letter. Or four.

There's even a charming little café inside the museum!

It is such a nice getaway from all the stress of living in an urban area (and studying in UP).

We can also find beds and garden sets scattered randomly outside,

Me taking a break (and a selfie) while lying on a very pretty banig. I almost stole it but it wouldn't fit in my bag.

Maybe it's just me over-reading, and the blankets and the metal chairs are simply not well-maintained, but it felt like they intentionally made it look that way, to make the place seem abandoned and ancient, despite the museum being relatively new. For me, this makes Pintô Art Museum an artwork, even a poem, in itself.

Additional information from their Facebook page:

We are open Tuesday through Sunday, from 09:00 am to 06:00 pm. For inquiries regarding prenuptial shoots and other events, please call 697 10 15 and look for Mikey Blanco. Ticket prices are below:

PHP150 for regular ticket
PHP120 for senior citizens and PWD with valid IDs
PHP75 for children and students with proper school IDs 

Guided Tour Schedule:

09:00 am - 11:00 am
12:00 nn - 02:00 pm
02:00 pm - 04:00 pm
04:30 pm - 06:00 pm

About the author:

Renee is a third-year French major at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is currently the Director for Publicity of the UP Le Club Français, an organization that aims to further the bilateral relations between the Philippines and France. He enjoys sad poems and green tea ice cream.