Love Art? Visit the Artfull gallery and Cafe in Bacolod City!

Local Art and food? Head down to the Artfull gallery and cafe on Lacson street. It’s an art gallery and cafe run by artists from Negros Occidental and Bacolod City!

What is the Artfull Gallery? It’s an art collective that offers artists a place to exhibit their art. They have a mini art gallery, lounge, cafe and studio space for artists.

For fans of local art, this is a great place to hang out. There’s Wi-fi, aircon, the food is super affordable, and the place just offers a pleasant alternative to that “outsider” coffee shop across the street. Support Local.

The inside of the Artfull Gallery and Cafe is bright and well lit. There’s plenty of tables where you can sit and view the art while having some snacks.

The dining area also doubles as an art gallery. The walls are decorated with the works of the artist currently having an exhibit. There’s a big glass window with seats along side where you can sit and watch the cars on Lacson drive by.

There’s a nice variety of simple meals, drinks and snacks for the customers. We ordered a Hungarian sausage sandwich, a mango shake and a plate of puttanesca pasta for our visit.

The food was simple but quite good. We especially liked the puttanesca pasta and the mango shake. For 140 pesos, we got a huge serving of pasta and it even came with a side of buttered toast – er… bun. Super sulit and not bad for the price na.

The exhibits at Artfull Gallery and Cafe change depending on the artist currently exhibiting their works. Currently, artist Ramon de Los Santos is having his Basta Bata exhibition this September 2021 at the Artfull Gallery and Cafe.

Ramon De Los Santos is a famous Bacolod Artist who is known for his depictions of children in art. He is a multimedia artist who works with sculpture, ink and all sorts of stuff. His Basta Bata exhibit collects work from several years of his career.

Long time readers of our website will remember that massive art piece above. That’s titled “Dalagan Ta” and it depicts children running through a sugarcane field. It’s especially significant for us because this was the very same piece exhibited when we first wrote our article about Ramon de Los Santos eight years ago. You can read the article by clicking HERE.

It is a delight to see the various sculptures and multimedia pieces. Ramon De Los Santos’ mastery of the medium is uncomparable.

His other works in the exhibit are a delight to see as he works with various media. His multimedia work “Palupad Burador” depicts children flying kites in a hot, hazy summer day that is reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Starry night. Colorful swirls decorate the trees and the far off mountains evoking the shimmer of heat and the play of sunlight among the leaves.

Another piece that we liked in Ramon De Los Santos’ exhibit is “Dakop Alimusan”. It’s a piece depicting a young boy catching a fish. Ramon De Los Santos manages to cleverly centralize the boy by placing him in the center of a “swirl” of grass and a curving tree trunk. The fish is sculpted in a similar curving position yet the way the fishing line is curved and the painted ripples in the water evoke a sense of movement. The fishing pole is straight and breaks through the swirl of grass – giving a sense of sharp movement. The wrist of the young boy goes with the path of the swirling grass evoking an upward tugging motion.

Brillant execution.

A lot of the major pieces by Ramon De Los Santos show the same beautiful mastery that he has over the medium.

See, art is fun and accessible! We’re so happy that places like the Artfull Gallery and cafe exist!

There’s a second floor at the Artfull Gallery and Cafe. You can go up the stairs to see more art exhibits and the artist studio.

The wall is decorated by works from famed local artist Martinez.

Reaching the top floor, there are two rooms that house more art! There’s a lot of beautiful paintings by local artists and even some sculptures.

The other room is a studio and mosaic room where famed artist Tey sevilleno is currently making a mosaic. This space is open to the public but please don’t touch anything. Touch only with your eyes and heart, not with your hands.

All of these artworks are for sale. Artfull Gallery and Cafe will be opening their shop area soon so you can buy some handicrafts and small tiny art “stuff” made by local artists.

Here are a couple of paintings and prints that caught our eye

This is a print thats limited to just 20 copies. It shows Van Gogh in a hot tropical summer night. It’s awesome and funny!

There’s a lot of fun things to see at Artfull Gallery and cafe. Please visit them for a fun art and dining experience! For more details on the gallery and local artists, please visit their official Facebook Page.

Artfull Gallery and Cafe
Montelibano Apartments, Corner 18th and Lacson Streets, Bacolod City Negros Occidental, Philippines 6100

Opens from 8am-8pm

Telephone number: 0956 271 8108

The Bacolod Food Hunters did not accept any freebies, incentives or money for this article. We paid for our own food. We practice ethical blogging.