"WE PAINT walls to break walls," muses Marrz Capanang one of the people behind the recently-concluded Artivism, a street art event that “seeks to raise awareness of social issues through art and to utilize social media as a platform for social impact”.
Coined by the British
Council – an international partner for the event – from the words “art” and
“activism”, the occasion saw a diverse array of Ilonggos and Ilonggas, all
equally passionate about their craft, transforming the walls of Robinsons Place
Iloilo’s Quezon Driveway Car Park into their blank canvas.
Bursts of inspiration saw
actor and illustrator Ron Matthews Espinosa of the University of San Agustin
Little Theater collaborating with Jun Ray Canonicato of t-shirt brand MATSING
ILIK, CineKasimanwa alumna direk Mia Reyes blotting walls with breastfeeding
advocate Adhara Sebuado, and teachers-by-profession Gil S. Montinola, Mae
Sheilou Lamzon Conserva, and Adelle Pacificar of Gugma Weaves spinning visual
poetry –among an assorted pool of other Ilonggo talents.
Artivism had in full display
Iloilo’s tight-knit cultural circle, in all its eclectic and manifold glory.
The local art community has finally broken out of the galleries and showrooms,
spilling onto the streets for everyone to see – more welcoming and open than
ever before.
CONQUERING CURRENTS, CROSSING SEAS
The growth of the Iloilo art
scene didn’t quite come in the form of small trickles but in a shift of the
tide.
Leading up to Iloilo’s first
time in 20 years to host the largest art biennial in the country, the Visayas
Islands Visual Arts Exhibit and Conference (Viva ExCon), a renewed cultural
interest hit the region with a slew of new art venues being established in the
city– the Casa Real Gallery, Cinematheque Iloilo, and Et Nos Gallery among
others.
With the theme “Hakos:
Embracing the Art of the Islands”, Viva ExCon set the stage, finally giving an
opportunity for a new generation of young Ilonggo artists to be given their
well-deserved due, a handful offered the chance to mount solo shows each month,
culminating in the successful November 2016 occasion.
From the complex and
conceptual honeycomb pieces of Bryan Liao in “Aggregate Abundances”, to the
youthful debuts of Cheska Sarmon and Claudine Dignadice in “Taym Pers” and “Hue
Are” respectively, and Jeanroll Ejar’s heartfelt and raw “Retazo” – emerging
talents were finally given their well-deserved time in the limelight, a number
of them now being booked for shows in Manila and in other parts of the country.
One of the first shows that
made people stand up and take notice was Kat Malazarte’s "Peaceful
Defiance" which opened in December 2015. The soft spoken Ilongga with her
immaculate portraits and signature play on light, sought to preserve the
virtues she treasured with eight subjects for her first solo show, all
seemingly caught in moments of deep thought and reflection, trapped in the
ambers that were her canvasses.
Malazarte has since
graduated as the first cum laude of the Bachelor of Fine Arts program of the
University of San Agustin, going on to be named one of the 2016 Ten Outstanding
Students of the Philippines at the Malacañang Palace earlier this year, adding
to her rich roster of achievements and accolades in art.
Just this March, the
21-year-old Malazarte, proved she had what it takes grow beyond her home city,
holding her first solo exhibit in Metro Manila at the Ysobel Art Gallery.
Entitled “Fiat Lux”, latin for “let there be light”, Malazarte bathed her
signature style with new brightness, melding high contrast with visions that
run heavy with spiritual and introspective undercurrents.
In October last year, she
also ventured on a joint pop-up exhibit with marble sculptor Harry Mark
Gonzales – a former apprentice of Ilonggo art veteran Ed Defensor – at the
_GALLERY, A Space in Makati. Entitled “Ang Maugdang nga Kusog sang Babaye” or
“The Quiet Strength of a Woman” the exhibit proved successful, even earning
Malazarte the respect of Palanca hall-of-famer Butch Dalisay and his wife, art
restorer June Poticar Dalisay.
LARGER AND LARGER RIPPLES
“Iloilo City is starting to
become a dynamic avenue for visual arts,” shares former Iloilo Visual Artists
Collective president Kristoffer Brasileño. “[We’re also seeing] a rise in
different art forms, from film, street art, poetry and many more.”
The growth of the city’s
“burgeoning” cultural movement shows no sign of slowing down, gradually
becoming more all-inclusive, yet still staying true to its Ilonggo roots. It’s
the ripple effect that has been set up by a large local community bent on
honing and expanding their passion and craft, and inviting more and more people
to gain interest.
“[The National Commission
for Culture and the Arts made] us aware that Iloilo is fast becoming the best
place for visual art to thrive and flourish outside of Metro Manila,” Brasileño
adds, also one of the muralists during Artivism.
“To all those who believe
that the local visual art community and scene is heading somewhere promising
and exciting, together, we'll create a thriving, progressive and sustainable
art community one little exhibition at a time.”
