Qube Gallery director Pia Mercado joins other outstanding individuals and collectives under the age of 40 who contributed to transforming the global art scene.
With her continuous efforts to uplift and provide a platform for the Filipino creative community, Qube Gallery’s director Pia Mercado has grown to be a notable figure in the art industry—not just locally, but also globally.
Her latest achievement is becoming part of this year’s Apollo 40 Under 40 Asia Pacific list, which celebrates the contributions of 40 outstanding individuals and collectives under the age of 40 in transforming the global art scene. Nominated by experts across the world, these notable personalities are born or based in the region, which includes East Asia, South East Asia, and Australasia. The final winners are then selected by a panel of distinguished judges who lent their time and expertise in art-making to name the Apollo 40 Under 40 Asia Pacific honorees.
Qube Gallery director Pia Mercado during one of the gallery’s exhibits.
Apollo 40 Under 40 Asia Pacific lauded Mercado’s work as director of Qube Gallery since 2019, wherein she manages a digital program and two physical gallery spaces—one at Crossroads, Banilad, Cebu City, and the other at Design Center of Cebu in A.S. Fortuna Street, Banilad, Mandaue City.
Since its inception in Cebu City in 2013, Qube Gallery has become one of the leading commercial galleries outside the capital of Manila and has participated in several international art fairs, including Art Kaohsiung and Art Tainan in Taiwan, Tokyo International Art Fair, Art Apart in Singapore, and Art Central in Hong Kong. The gallery also recently participated in the Modern and Contemporary Art Festival, which was held at The Grand Ballroom, Fairmont Makati.
READ: Qube Gallery brings Cebu’s contemporary artists to MoCAF
Apollo 40 Under 40 Asia Pacific also highlighted Qube Gallery’s commitment to the local arts community of Cebu City, which is shown through its frequent collaborations with artists, organizations, and spaces across the city to conduct exhibitions and programs. In a previous interview with CDN, Mercado said that there is no need for collectors to look outside of Cebu because there are talented visual artists in Cebu that deserve support.
“A lot of people still want to understand what a curator does for a show. It’s more than just arranging the artworks, you have got to be there from start to finish – from the conceptualization until the end of the show, the egress. The artist does the work and the curator creates the dialogue between these works and the audience,” shared Mercado.
During the creative industry’s standstill brought by the pandemic, Qube Gallery persevered and continued to help artists cultivate and share their art by building an online presence. Among the gallery’s efforts included establishing online viewing rooms, sending out newsletters, and partnering with online platforms to reach international audiences.
Aside from providing a space for artists to exhibit their art through Qube Gallery, Mercado is also building her own art collection. She has also been mounting shows and working behind the scenes on exhibitions for several years.
The gallery aims to promote Filipino artists beyond local archipelagic reach and to develop an international art dialogue by featuring foreign artists who have a close affinity to the Philippines. | Know more about the gallery
“A lot of people still want to understand what a curator does for a show. It’s more than just arranging the artworks, you have got to be there from start to finish – from the conceptualization until the end of the show, the egress. The artist does the work and the curator creates the dialogue between these works and the audience,” shared Mercado.
Established in 2014, the Apollo 40 Under 40 list is curated by the international art magazine Apollo and last highlighted the Asia Pacific region in 2016. Together with Mercado, London-based Filipino artist Pio Abad also made it to the Apollo 40 Under 40 Asia Pacific list. They also join other highly-respected individuals in the art industry such as award-winning documentary photographer Hoda Afshar, Art021 co-founder David Chau, Sotheby’s Modern Art department in Asia head Felix Kwok, and Seoul’s Gladstone Gallery director HeeJin Park, among others.
Through this recent 40 Under 40 recognition, Mercado—along with her work at Qube Gallery—further solidifies her presence as an esteemed personality in the art industry providing instrumental ways for Filipino artists to create, connect, and take the spotlight all across the globe.
To know more about Qube Gallery, you can check their website or follow their official Facebook and Instagram pages. To set an appointment, you may also contact the gallery at +63 918 807 4175 or info@qubegallery.ph.
Read more: Qube: A platform for creative communities