Arts&Culture (05/03/23)

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BSP receives award for museum webpage, calendar

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has received international recognition for the BSP Museum webpage and its 2023 calendar in the 10th Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards recognize innovation in the workplace in all 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. Over 800 nominations from the Asia-Pacific region were considered in various categories for this year’s awards. The BSP won the Gold Stevie Award under the “Innovation in Government Websites” category for the BSP Museum webpage which features virtual exhibitions of its four collections: Fine Arts, Pre-Colonial Gold and Pottery, Numismatic, and Decorative Arts. This interactive gallery allows viewers to immerse themselves in the exhibit, get a closer look at the pieces, and learn about the featured artists and their works. The central bank developed the webpage to continue making the BSP Museum collections accessible to the public during the pandemic lockdowns. It also features its newest collection in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Philippine Independence. Meanwhile, the 2023 BSP calendar received the Bronze Stevie Award under the “Innovation in Community Relations or Public Service Communications” category. Themed “Handog: Mother Nature’s Gift to Humanity,” the calendar features flora and fauna-themed works of national artists such as Hernando R. Ocampo and Ang Kiukok and emphasizes the need to protect nature’s handog or gifts to mankind. The BSP also launched a dedicated webpage for the calendar to promote environmental protection and conservation. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 100 executives around the world acting as judges in February and March. The winners of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards will be recognized during a virtual awards ceremony on June 27.

2 Pinoy works in Smithsonian’s newest exhibit

Two artworks by Filipinos which were previously on display at the National Museum of Fine Arts were loaned to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. as part of their newest exhibition, “1898: US Imperial Visions & Revisions”. The Portrait of Felipe Agoncillo by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo (from the National Fine Arts Collection) and the Portrait of Apolinario Mabini by Fabián de la Rosa (from the National Library of the Philippines’ Collection) are temporarily being showcased at the “1898” exhibition, marking the first time that artworks from the National Museum and National Library have been featured in a major exhibition by the Smithsonian. Inaugurated on April 27, the “1898” exhibition focuses on American wartime imperialism at the turn of the 20th century and the lasting effects that it had on the annexed territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a website that will provide supplementary educational resources and digital access to information about the exhibition, including Filipino translations of select texts. The exhibition, co-curated by Taína Caragol and Kate Clarke Lemay, with assistance from Carolina Maestre, will run from April 28 to Feb. 25, 2024.

ARTablado exhibit focuses on auspicious objects on canvas

For her second exhibit at ARTablado, called “All the Luck in the World,” artist Valerie Teng has 40 artworks that are a collection of symbols that represent good luck such as water, fish, and mythical creatures. The show runs from May 1 to 15 at ARTablado in Robinsons Galleria. In June 2022, she held her first solo show was held at ARTablado in June 2022. While her first solo show focused on flowers, there is a similar thread running through this collection of auspicious items, which is one of overwhelming positivity and brightness. “My first solo show focused mainly on florals and the idea of getting lost in a sea of flowers. I’ve always enjoyed being surrounded by light and happy colors for it gives you a sense of tranquility which my works represent,” Ms. Teng said. “In the almost one year since then, my love for pastels hasn’t diminished but this time, I’ve incorporated more elements and adjusted the hues a bit, made them deeper. I also used ‘lucky symbols’ that I hope bring luck and peace to the homes of whoever buys the pieces,” she said. “Since I am a huge fan of Feng Shui, I decided to showcase artworks that I feel could bring good luck, peace and happiness. The collection, I might say, is quiet but speaks volumes. It is what I’ve always wanted to achieve in life: to be calm, to be peaceful and to be loved.”

Tate Modern acquires works by Maria Taniguchi, Yee I-Lann

Silverlens has announced that The Tate Modern in London has acquired one of Maria Taniguchi’s “brick paintings,” part of a body of work that has been ongoing since 2008. Each brick painting consists of thousands of meticulously hand painted cells that accumulate on the surface of the canvas to form grey-black monoliths. The series is exceptional in its ever-expanding volume, accruing methodically for over 15 years. On May 4, Taniguchi will be opening her first New York gallery exhibition titled “Figure Study,” featuring nine new large-scale brick paintings at Silverlens’ New York branch (505 W 24th Street, New York City). Also in the Tate collection now is Yee I-Lann’s “Mansau Ansau” (“To walk and walk without knowing where you are headed”) (2021), a tikar (woven mat) made in collaboration with Dusun and Murut weavers from Sabah. This weave, mansau ansau, was accidentally invented by I-Lann and her weavers in 2018. In the Murut language, it means “to keep journeying without knowing where you’re headed” and perfectly captures I-Lann’s journey with her community of weavers since 2017. Silverlens represents both Maria Taniguchi and Yee I-Lann.

VLF turns 18 with new plays and a new home

As it turns 18 this year, the Virgin Labfest (VLF), a festival of untried, untested and unstaged plays, will present 12 new plays from both veteran and upcoming playwrights from June 7 to 25, at its brand-new home, the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Blackbox Theater). Following the theme “Hitik,” the festival opens the curtains with four thematic sets of new one-act plays — Adulting 101 (Set A), REBELasyon (Set B), Y.O.LO. (Set C), and Muwang (Set D). The festival will also present one set of revisited plays (Hinog / Set E), and two sets of staged readings. The three plays from 2022 to be revisited are Nay May Dala Akong Pansit by playwright Juan Ekis and director Karl Jingco, Punks Not Dead by playwright Andrew Bonifacio Clete and director Roobak Valle, and Fermata by playwright Dustin Celestino and director Antonette Go-Yadao. After three years, the staged readings make a comeback this year, featuring selected scripts from the VLF18 submissions. There will also be Theater Talks featuring speakers on topics of interest to theater actors, practitioners and enthusiasts and a Playwrights’ Fair with young and veteran playwrights speaking about their experiences and writing journeys. The Staged Readings, Theater Talks and Playwrights’ Fair will be held at the VLF Lounge at the TIG Basement. These events are free to the public. For tickets and other inquiries, contact the CCP Box Office at salesandpromotions@culturalcenter.gov.ph. Follow the official CCP, VLF, Writer’s Bloc and Tanghalang Pilipino social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok for more updates.

Video of lecture on collecting indigenous art released

The Ortigas Foundation Library has released the video of Floy Quintos’ lecture, “Perspective and Directions for Starting a Collection of Philippine Indigenous Art.” The full lecture can be found on the library’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/WZytl65HOYc . The viewing of the associated exhibit has been extended to May 15. “For me, we’re living in an age where we’re all beginning to discover the culture again, and if wanting a piece of it is our way of supporting local craft, by all means, go ahead and do it (collecting),” says Mr. Quintos. “But, ‘learn, learn, learn,’ for me that’s the most important thing — to simply own an object, without knowing about it, without learning about it, without knowing the dark side and the lighter side of things… [is not enough].”

Pianist Montesclaros in fund-raising recital

The LAMDAG Foundation for Women Projects, in cooperation with the Insular Life, presents pianist Inna Montesclaros in a solo piano recital on May 21, 4 p.m., at the Insular Life Auditorium in Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang. The concert proceeds are earmarked for the construction of the Dayao Center in Davao City that will house the foundation, which is dedicated to the total development of young professionals, female students, and lady helpers in Davao and the nearby provinces. Ms. Montesclaros will play Chopin pieces in the first part of the program, while the second part will feature Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major Op. 53, F. Buencamino’s Mayon Fantasia de Concierto, and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10 in E major. For inquiries and tickets, contact 0917-862-7100 and 0917-523-6646.

Imahica offers rare prints by Imelda Cajipe Endaya

Imahica Art gallery now offers artworks from the acclaimed artist Imelda Cajipe Endaya. These pieces are part of the artist’s personal collection, selected by the gallery for their colors and abstraction. Dating back to 1970, 1972, and 1976, these works showcase the artist’s masterful use of complex processes and sophisticated printmaking techniques, such as etching, aquatint, and collagraph, which she often combines in laborious and intricate ways. Imahica Art is at 2-A Lee Gardens, Lee St., Wack-Wack, Mandaluyong City. For details visit www.imahica.art or call 0917-894-5646 or 7622-4008.

GCash introduces GCrypto NFT Hub

Finance app GCash has launched an NFT platform — the GCrypto NFT Hub — through an exclusive partnership with contemporary Filipino artist Reen Barrera. GCash partnered with homegrown non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, Likha, and art gallery Vinyl on Vinyl, for the release of its first GCrypto NFT collection, “The House of Ohlala,” from Reen Barrera. “We are thrilled to partner with the esteemed artist, Reen Barrera, for his first ever NFT collection as we unveil the new GCrypto NFT Hub,” said Jong Layug, GCash Head of Wealth Management. “Through the GCrypto NFT Hub, we hope to provide Filipino artists a platform to bring their digital art to a wider audience, while also enabling more Filipinos access to buy their first NFT art.” During the House of Ohlala launch in The Astbury, Makati, hosted by NFT enthusiast Mikael Daez, members of the NFT and art community came together to celebrate and get first dibs on Mr. Barrera’s first NFT collection.