Philippines: Art in Island – Largest 3D Museum in Asia

Visiting Art in Island was like a time machine that brought me back to when I was 10 years old here at the world’s first selfie museum, and Asia’s largest 3D trick art Museum. So many things to see and do—filled with 3D art, illusions and plenty of fun!

It was founded by Yun Jae Kyoung together with a team of 18 Korean master painters who were specially flown in for the project. They all worked together and created the paintings in the museum. The museum had over 200 masterpieces, including reproduction of works of masters, animals, Egyptian ruins and others—most of them are 3D! These arts give the illusion of depth when viewed from a certain angle, and is designed to serve as a backdrop for photo opportunities.

The purpose of opening a 3D trick art museum in Manila was to acknowledge Flipinos’ love affair with taking selfies and sharing them with their loved ones on social media.

I once went to a trick art museum, Art in Paradise, in Chiang Mai, Thailand with a buddy of mine back in October 2014.

That was before Seek the World was even born!

Although Art in Paradise was definitely an awesome place to visit, but it was nothing like Art in Island.

As soon as I found Time’s article about Art in Island being world’s first selfie museum in one of my online researches for attractions to check out while being in Manila, Philippines; I knew I had to come and embrace the kid inside me.

Your trip to the museum would be pointless if you didn’t interact and take pictures of your crazy poses with the art! Just like how the corporate secretary of Art in Island, Blyth Cambaya quoted to Mashable, “Here, art paintings are not complete if you are not with them … If you don’t take pictures with them.” Blyth surely knows the truth and I can affirm it.

I personally am an artist myself and I absolutely love art in general, so this was like an art amusement park for me as everything was 3D and interactive.

When I found out about the 3D museum, I emailed them requesting a sponsored visit to the museum in exchange for a blog review. They generously agreed to my proposal.

I visited Art in Island last April 16, 2015 and it instantly became one of my favorite places here in Manila even if it recently opened last December 25, 2014. However, I’ve been to only two trick museums (including this one), but this is definitely my favorite. It allows me explode my creativity and do a pose that looks like I was part of the scene.

Art in Island would be absolutely great for everyone of any age!  Especially for the young ones and young at heart! I was very fascinated to see everyone overly excited and delighted to show off their poses and bring out the creativity within them. It would be a great bonding for group of friends or the entire family.

How did I get there?

I was hosted by a Deaf local named Christian in Manila, so I asked him to come with me and show me the way to to the museum and in the meanwhile, he could guide and show me around in Manila. He gladly agreed, mainly because he wanted to show me the best of Manila and he hadn’t gone to the museum before.

We took a train to Araneta Center-Cubao LRT-2 Station and then took a jeepney (Philippines’ most common form of public transportation). Because of how recent the museum was opened, the jeepney didn’t take us to the right place. Christian had to ask around for some directions and finally we found the museum. It was somewhat hidden, so I would suggest you to have a taxi cab take you there directly from the train station as the fare is still cheap. Otherwise, you could reach the museum from the train station by foot using this direction. 

The beginning

Upon arrival, I showed myself to the front desk and informed them of the agreement that I had with the marketing manager. Her name was Marge Mamauag. The front desk assistant quickly went to the back and brought her to the front desk. Marge was very nice and welcoming. She came with the museum’s official brochure with information for me to review and learn more about the museum. I personally found it useful.

Before entering, we were asked to leave our shoes at the counter. Yes, SHOES were NOT ALLOWED inside to preserve the paintings because some can be found in the floor. You better wear socks or bring one. I roamed around the museum with my barefoot and the floor was quite cold! Not only that, the museum was fully air-conditioned, so I’d suggest bringing a jacket if you were the kind of person who would get cold easily. For me, it was perfectly cool as it was really hot outside.

I also left my backpack as it wasn’t allowed too, leaving me with just my DSLR camera and myself.

Speaking of what were not allowed, the following were not allowed in the museum:

• food and drinks
• tripod
• pets

Themed Zones

There were many different themed “zones” that I truly enjoyed and I was blown away when I entered the first hallway of the museum. It was themed as the Masterpiece Zone where you could interact with the famous paintings from all over the world (i.e. “The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh, “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, etc.).

That really kicked off my energy in the beginning and I ended up taking the time to play with most of the art in different themed zones. They featured themes that includes the following:

• Aquatic Adventures (underwater zone)
• Journey to the Jungle (animal zone)
• Winter Wonderland (Christmas zone)
• Religious World of Art (religious zone)
• Dungeons of the Ancient Times (central hall)
• Magical and Mysterious Walls (fantasy zone)

Not limited to what was mentioned above, there were also optical illusion set-ups that will trick your perceptions and help you create unbelievable photos.

The visit took Christian and I around 2 hours of planning, posing, acting, exploring, and cracking up. It was a morning very well spent and none of the other visitors mocked us no matter how weird we looked. =P

Hey! I’ll stop myself here and spare you the details to let you enjoy the gifs I made for you all with a nonsense story plot! =P

Here’s the story…

My quest began by crossing this dangerous and shaky bridge, but then…

I fell into an underwater world where I saw all of the awesome fishes that brought me up to the surface of the water.

Ended up finding myself in the middle of a sea with glaciers. Polar bears came running to me like paparazzi and took pictures of me as if I were a celebrity.

Like a dream, I blinked my eyes and found myself in a new room with a dancing monkey. Did I ever know that monkeys could dance? Oh, boy…

Next thing was that I saw a bull that could use some help opening up the can of Coca-Cola, so I popped the can and put a straw into the can. The bull quickly grabbed the straw and started gulping. You’d be surprised with how slow it took him to finish!

Before I knew it, a tiger jumped out of a bush nearby. He was so touched that I helped out the bull, so he offered to share his popsicle with me. The bonus thing was that he recognized me as an alumni from Rochester Institute of Technology. Good thing I graduated there, huh?

When I was finished with the popsicle, I got up on my feet and a horse picked me up from my behind with its mouth then threw me onto their chariot and then start racing. The horses ran so fast towards a cliff without paying attention. I pulled the brakes so hard, but the momentum threw me off the chariot and got me falling down the cliff where…

I landed on the mouth of a gigantic crocodile, but I was quick to jump off before it ate me alive. Lucky me!

I sprinted through the raving waters and found an empty rowboat in Venice, Italy. I climbed into the rowboat, but I didn’t know I was supposed to have a date… =(

So, I was accused for stealing the rowboat. I was arrested and thrown into jail. Unfortunately, the cell weren’t strong enough to hold me from breaking out through the bars.

I was surprised to find Charlie Chaplin in a cell next to mine. I broke him out and then he followed my lead as I sneak out, but he disappeared as soon as I entered the next room.

Poof. The End.

Now, this is INCEPTION.

Hey—I know I don’t make any sense at all, but that’s how hilarious I am! Thank you for reading this anyways! That’s why I love you all, my fans!

Don’t forget that we’re also watching y’all as you read this!

A few tips you should know before visiting Art in Island:

• Stay for 2-3 hours. The museum tour can be finished for around two to three hours.
• No shoes allowed! Shoes are not allowed inside the galleries to to maintain the cleanliness of the floors and the painted areas on the floor. (Comfortable slippers socks are available to all the visitors for 150.00 pesos)
• Wear comfortable clothes. You’re going to jump, bend, roll around on the floor, do splits, and basically MOVE, so wear appropriate clothes.
• Bring a camera! You can take as many photos as you like. But use of FLASH is NOT ALLOWED. TRIPODS are also PROHIBITED.
• Be Mindful of Others. Wait for your turn and do not intrude when there are people posing and taking pictures at a certain art. 
• Go crazy! Art in Island lives by the maxim “Be Part of Art.” Therefore, be creative and playful when posing with the art.
• Check the guides.  There are photo points on the floor that would help you figure out where to take the shot.
• Feel free to ask for help. The staff there is very friendly and helpful when it comes to taking your pictures. They would even suggest you how to post or where to stand when taking a photo.

Art in Island

• Admission Fee:
  • PHP 500 for adults (~$12 US Dollars)
  • PHP 400 for students, senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWD) (~$9 US Dollars)
  • Free for children below 3 ft.
• Address: 175 15th Ave. Brgy. Socorro, Cubao, Quezon City
• Operating Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30AM-9:30PM
• Phone Number: (02) 421 1356
• Email: artinisland@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artinisland/ 
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/artinisland/

(Please note that Art in Island does not have an official website, so please direct yourself to the Facebook page for more information)

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Art in Museum. I received a free admission in exchange of this blog review. All opinions are my own.

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