Major watercolor exhibit goes virtual

THE PHILIPPINE Guild of Watercolorists, Inc. (PGW), will be opening its annual exhibit — which is also its first virtual exhibit — on Jan. 9. The exhibit, which will be held at the Art Cube Philippines gallery, will run until Feb. 12. A virtual exhibit opening will be held on Jan. 9, 4:30 p.m., via FB Live on the PGW and ArtCubePhilippines Facebook pages. PGW is the official country branch of the International Watercolor Society (IWS) Globe Art Network (PGW is known internationally as IWS Philippines). PGW aims to build awareness, interest, and appreciation for watercolor art and to discover, hone, and support local talent. Nearly 80 artists will be participating in the exhibit.

Muni-Muni podcast tackles Hotdog

THE 7th episode of the Filipinas Heritage Library and the OPM Archive’s Muni-Muni Stories: A Podcast on Filipino Music will be released on Jan. 8, 6 p.m., on Spotify. Episode 7 is titled Hotog/Manila & Muling Kagat. Muling Kagat, the topic of this episode, is a one-of-a-kind tribute album to the 1970s band Hotdog. The album, produced by Paolo Garcia, includes a new version of the band’s hit song “Manila” along with unreleased song covers. It commemorates his late father’s work and gives this generation a fresh introduction to the Hotdog legacy. This episode discovers parallels between the “Manila” remake and the changing moods of the city Filipinos celebrate up-close and in other shores.

Golden Milestone at Shangri-La Mall

ARTIST Dominic Rubio celebrates his 50th birthday with an exhibit of paintings and sculptures called “Golden Milestone” which opened on Dec. 27 and is ongoing until Jan. 15 at the lobby of the Shangri-la Mall East Wing. Rubio depicts various Filipino archetypes in his works, marked by elongated necks and large heads. Rubio is not only celebrating his 50th birthday, but also his 25th year in the art scene as well as his 20th year with Galerie Joaquin. For this exhibit, Rubio introduced a new element in his paintings, using gold leaf paint to highlight details of characters and images, or as background to his familiar imagery. A deluxe edition of his brass sculptures based on his well-known themes of Old Manila, Plantation Life, and the Filipino-Chinese community are also featured. For inquiries, contact Galerie Joaquin at info@galeriejoaquin.com or 8723-9253 or Galerie Raphael at galerieraphael.shang@gmail.com or 8941-6194.

Art and the environment lectures this January

CRUCIAL environmental issues and climate emergencies and the vital role of arts in addressing these problems will be tackled in a pair of free online public talks spearheaded by key industry experts, hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. The two lectures, namely, “Humanizing Climate” scheduled on Jan. 12, and “Designing Solutions: A Conversation on Re-imagining the Environment” on Jan. 26, will both be conducted online at 3 p.m. For “Humanizing Climate,” Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Weather Division Weather Services Chief Dr. Esperanza Cayanan will expound on the importance of print and non-print materials to educate and update the people, while Climate Policy Analyst and Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) Executive Director Red Constantino will elaborate how the institute’s award-winning and pioneering literary anthology on climate change, Agam, serves as a platform for advocacies. Oscar M. Lopez (OML) Center Associate Director Perpi Tiongson will discuss how the non-profit organization raises awareness on the environmental crisis to the most vulnerable sectors through translation projects that go beyond science into user-based communications and co-production. Manila Observatory Energy Collaboratory Director and Senior Fellow on Climate Change Attorney Tony La Vina will explain the important points to address climate justice. In “Designing Solutions: A Conversation on Re-imagining the Environment,” multimedia artist, curator, Black Artists in Asia Founder and Green Papaya Arts Projects Artistic Director Norberto Roldan will share his insights about his unrealized project Storm Signal. Pasig-based editor, writer and filmmaker Erwin Romulo will discuss the artist’s engagement with the environment as well as the creative ways of addressing the climate crisis, plus the developments of the Masungi Electrocardiograms Project to engage the participants into a re-thinking of art practice and production of new knowledge for a better future. The public programs are in line with MCAD’s current exhibition, “The Cone of Concern,” the first solo Philippine exhibit of South Korean artist Haegue Yang. The titular name of the exhibition refers to a meteorological graphing tool and initiates the timely conversations about climate change. For more information about the exhibit and public programs, visit www.mcadmanila.org or follow @MCADManila on leading social media platforms.

Mo_Space opens year with 2 exhibits

MO_SPACE opens 2021 with two exhibits: “Mute Earth,” featuring the works of Lec Cruz, Winner Jumalon, Jason Montinola, and Kaloy Sanchez at the Main Gallery; and Jed Escueta’s “Shoo Shine” at Gallery 2. Both exhibits open on Jan. 9 and will run until Feb. 7.

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