THE world just celebrated the International Museum Day last May 18, with the theme of “Museums, Sustainability and Well-being.”

But Pinto Art Museum is extending the celebration by offering free entry on May 23, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

International Museum Day was set to encourage people to visit museums, specifically those with free admission. Some private museums that usually charge entrance fees to visitors also opened their doors for free to mark the annual celebration.

You’ve probably heard about Pinto Art Museum from celebrities and other personalities, but what’s in the place that makes it so attractive to museumgoers?

House of contemporary arts

The contemporary museum was founded in 2010 with the purpose of exhibiting the art collection of Dr. Joven Cuanang, a Filipino neurologist who believes that art can heal one’s mind.

Cuanang has been collecting art pieces since the early 1990s when he began supporting a group of artists known as The Salingpusa. The neurologist’s collection eventually grew as he included other generations of artists, leading him to build the museum. 

Antonio Leaño, one of the artists that Cuanang supported, designed the Mediterranean-inspired buildings of the art haven, which young people find Instagrammable. 

Visitors to the place are given a map as their guide to the art complex, which sits on a two-hectare garden known as the Silangan Gardens. 

Pinto, which means door in English, now houses the masterpieces made by various artists including Leaño, Elmer Borlongan, Mark Justiniani, Jose John Santos III, Emmanuel Garibay, Rodel Tapaya, Geraldine Javier, Marina Cruz, and Joy Mallari.

But it is not only paintings that can be seen inside the museum. The collection of more than 200 art pieces also includes sculptures and installations.

The museum also has a gallery where exhibitions of contemporary Philippine art are held.

Since there will be a lot of walking, visitors might get hungry and thirsty. But they need not fret because Pinto also has a cafe that offers drinks, rice meals, and pasta, among others.

Pinto Art Museum is located at 1 Sierra Madre St., Grand Heights Subdivision, Antipolo, Rizal. It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Other museums to visit

Some museumgoers might not be available on the day of Pinto’s free admission since it falls on a regular working or school day. But no worries, there are museums that they can visit without any fees.

They can check out these free museums around the metro where they can spend quality time with their friends and loved ones.