Art in the Park 2020 postponed amid coronavirus spread

MANILA, Philippines – The 2020 edition of Art in the Park will be postponed, organizers announced Monday, March 9. The event was supposed to take place on Sunday, March 15 at the Jaime Velasquez Park in Makati City. 

“Mindful of our collective responsibility to help contain the spread of COVID-19, the organizers of Art in the Park and the Museum Foundation of the Philippines have decided to postpone the event scheduled for Sunday, March 15,” organizers said in a statement to media. 

They hope to reschedule the event at a latter time in 2020. 

“We were looking forward with anticipation to another successful edition of Art in the Park. However, in consideration of the recent advisories by both the World Health Organization and the Department of Health, we feel that pushing through with the event would be irresponsible.”

“We deeply appreciate the support that our participants, visitors, and partners have expressed throughout the planning process for this year’s Art in the Park. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by the coronavirus globally, and we fervently hope that this crisis will be overcome soon.”

Art in the Park is the latest in a string of public events in the Philippines to be postponed or canceled as cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new strain of the coronavirus, rise in the Philippines. 

On March 9, President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency. – Rappler.com