With the recent record-breaking single lot sale of a digital work with a unique Non-Fungible Token (NFT) by Mike Winkelmann, aka Beeple, on Christie's for US$69.3, the said crypto-art transaction has made headlines all over the world. Thus, it was fitting for Art Fair Philippines to introduce this to the Filipino audience this year. Called "Welcome to the Metaverse", the NFT 101 showcase, presented by the Bank of the Philippine Islands, for the ArtFairPH/Projects section is co-curated by Tropical Futures Institute and Narra Art Gallery. Through this venue, viewers will have an understanding of the cryptocurrency, buying an NFT of certain digital artworks, and a chance to meet artists and gallery owners embedded within the crypto art community.

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Art Fair Philippines 2021, together with Globe Platinum, partners with digital platform Daata to allow viewers to stream or download high-quality digital artworks on any device. This section in the fair, called ArtFairPH/Film will showcase works by new media and contemporary artists Jeremy Couillard and Petra Cortright, and Keiken, a collaborative co-founded by Tanya Cruz, Hana Omori and Isabel Ramos.

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Longtime partner of the Art Fair Philippines, Julius Bär, will be presenting the six winners of its Next Generation Art Prize.

As a strong supporter of the arts, Swiss private bank Julius Bär recently launched this inaugural competition for Southeast Asian artists, with a focus on the digital image, recognising it as a medium of the future. Open to Southeast Asian artists from 18 to 40 years old, submissions were from 5 November 2020 to 28 February 2021.

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Another exciting new addition to the Art Fair Philippines experience is the artist residency program in partnership with Bleeding Heart Rum Corporation, the makers of Don Papa Rum.

This program is open to all Filipino artists across all disciplines. Five artists selected based on their submitted portfolios will be paired with art spaces and galleries from different parts of the Philippines including Manila Observatory in Quezon City, Linangan Art Residency in Alfonzo, Cavite, Emerging Islands in San Juan, La Union, The Orange Project in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, and Barrio Butanding in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

The resulting artists’ projects will be presented at Art Fair Philippines 2022.

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The fair will also continue its special section for photography. Taking the lead in this exhibition is Paris-based Filipino photographer Ding Panganiban who will be showcasing his photography process using ambrotype collodion. This section is also co-presented by Julius Bär.

In keeping with the fair’s thrust to widen the audience for the visuals arts and to continue to expand the appreciation of fair visitors for contemporary art, ArtFairPH/Talks features daily discussions presented in partnership with the Ateneo Art Gallery, Museum Foundation of the Philippines, and the international publication, Art Review.

Launched last year, the series of workshops dubbed Open Studios goes online with a selection of live demonstrations and recorded "instructionals" aimed to give fair visitors hands-on experiences in art-making. 

Also in the pipeline are two virtual tours:  a look at the singular collection of filmmaker and current Baguio resident, Moira Lang, and a studio visit with acclaimed artist Alfredo Esquillo. 

The 10 Days of Art initiative started in 2018 to create buzz for the art fair beyond the physical confines of its venue.  Even as the fair pivots to a digital platform, an installation is planned for Ayala Tower One’s fountain area with live screenings of the selections of ArtFairPH/Film digital artwork.