MCAD, Leon Gallery team up for fund-raising event

THE College of St. Benilde-School of Design and Art’s Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) is partnering with Leon Gallery for an auction-exhibition that aims to raise funds for the museum’s endeavours over the next three years.
Called “Funding the Future,” the MCAD’s fund-raising sale presents 35 lots for auction on Sept. 8 at 2-6 p.m. at Leon Gallery, Eurovilla 1, Rufino cor. Legazpi Sts., Makati.
The 35 art works are part of Leon Gallery’s Magnificent September Auction, which has 143 lots of its own. Leon’s lots include Fernando Amorsolo’s Dalagang Bukid, Vicente Manansala’s Pila sa Bigas, and Carlos V. Francisco’s The Nose Flute.
MCAD’s 35 artworks are from artists Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, Gary-Ross Pastrana, Jose Tence Ruiz, Kawayan de Guia, Manuel Ocampo, Maria Taniguchi, Mark Justiniani, Martha Atienza, Pacita Abad, Pio Abad, Poklong Anading, Romina Diaz, and Yason Banal, among others.
MCAD deputy director Chris Green told BusinessWorld during the auction’s launch on Aug. 28 that all 35 works were donated directly to the museum by the participating artists, all of whom have exhibited at least once at MCAD.
“Typically, in an auction, you see [that] the art for sale is either owned by collectors or galleries and has been passed on from three, four, five hands. But for this auction, all the works are donated directly by the artists,” said Mr. Green.
The works for sale are paintings, prints, and small installations. The works can be viewed at www.leon-gallery.com/auctions.
The starting bids for the 35 lots range from P40,000 to P1.3 million, which is Paul Pfeiffer’s Live Evil (Gothenburg), a digital video loop on LCD monitor with a DVD player and cast armature.
Mr. Green said the majority of the prices of the “Funding for the Future” were set by the artists themselves or the galleries that represent them.
The museum teamed up with Leon Gallery through MCAD’s board of advisors. And with the booming local auction scene, Mr. Green said, “I hope they respond as well to this because the difference is that the profit is for the museum space, a good cause.”
All proceeds from the sale of the 35 pieces will go to MCAD and will fund the museum’s research, publication, and residencies, among others.
SOCIAL RELEVANCE
MCAD has been holding exhibitions and education programs for the last 10 years. The museum’s education program targets young children (7-11 years old) through its family day programs; supports the curriculum taught in high school targeting older children (12-16 years old); and CSB and De La Salle University students, alumni, young professionals, and people who have never stepped inside the museum.
The goal of MCAD, said Mr. Green, is to bridge the gap between art and people.
A British national, Mr. Green has been working in the Philippines for two years and says that he is aware of and excited about the art scene in the Philippines.
While commercial art is rising, and he has nothing against it (“it’s not the sector I’m working in”), he said people should also be unafraid to visit museums and galleries whose aim is public exhibition and education.
“Art has the ability to shape people. But when I see street kids in our museum doing our art coloring sheets in workshops, and the next day they’re there again, I genuinely feel humbled. We’ve reached out to somebody who has never been to a museum before. Museums should never be boring,” he said.
“Museums have a social responsibility to allow anyone to come in. And be socially relevant while doing it,” he added. — Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman