The ArtPHL Project

Here we document and gather various artworks by the contemporary artists and visionaries from the Philippines in hopes of making these works more accessible (and visible) through the internet. Here we share the unique experience that is Filipino contemporary art.

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BEYOND MYSELF: Filipino Migrants' Investments in Philippine Futures 

Located at the third floor of the J.P Vargas Museum, UP Diliman, Beyond Myself explores Filipino migrants’ aspirations for and investments in their own and others’ futures in the Philippines. Specifically it draws on and curates art works and visual images produced mainly through a series of participatory workshops with Filipino migrants living and working in London and Hong Kong. The arts based workshops enabled participants, mainly Filipino care and domestic workers, to reflect on the different meanings of development and their contributions to that.

The Jorge P. Vargas Museum

It aims to preserve its collection donated by Jorge B. Vargas and conducts research, exhibitions, publications, and educational programs. The Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center houses a museum, archives, and library devoted to the Philippine history, art, and culture from the late 19th century until the post-war era. Its main beneficiaries are students, faculty, researchers and scholars of the Philippines and Asia.

Presented by: Kara Feliciano, Julienne Napili, Martina Naredo

Location of J.P Vargas Museum: Roxas Ave, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila

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The West Gallery

West Avenue

The West Gallery, despite its small space, showcases three to four contemporary artworks. The exhibitions were shown from February 22- March 24, 2018. The following exhibitions are: 

1. Belongingness by Atsuko Yamagata

The artist presented a very strong sensitivity towards the things around her and her bond with different existing cultures is what makes her work unique.

2. Traces by Which We Remember by Jel Suarez

Transitional -- a collage of sculptures taken from books that was transform into landscapes of books and machines. 

3. Pamumuhunan: Ganansiya ng Pagkawasak by Frances Abrigo,

 It showcased the aftermath of the crisis that happened in Mindanao, specifically in Marawi. It contained works of burnt cloth that formed figures which depicted the loss in the said tragedy. 

4. Home Making by Isha Naguiat, Nicole Tee, and Pin Calacal

These artists reconsider the notions of home in Home Making; house figures made from canvass filled a part of the space and these included the thoughts at home or away from home. 

After visiting the West Gallery, we walked around the area and then we came to realize the most beautiful art we encounter daily which we forget to appreciate -- our everyday encounters. May it be commuting, interacting with family/friends/pets, or just having a sight of the sky. It's the kind of beauty people take for granted. 

Here's to becoming better artists everyday. 

Submitted by: Gangat & Guerzon of 11 Peace

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"I call it World War III." Kidlat Tahimik exclaims to the group slowly of people gathering to listen to his rationale. From March 1-4, the installation could be viewed at the 6th floor of The Link, Ayala Center, Makati during Art Fair. The piece depicts a battle of superiority between Western and local culture to the filipino indie film maker. 

Upon viewing the installation, one is immediately greeted with a sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in her iconic flying skirt pose. Opposite to her is Inhabian, the Ifugao goddess of the wind, weaving a back-strap loom to control the winds brought by the Gods as a trial. Both are representations of 2 cultures, Western and local culture. Capturing their battle is the Filipino indie film maker with a camera, who was given the option to choose which to focus on.

From this, these two women were chosen as representations of one's culture. While Inhabian is known for her courage, bravery, and determination, Marilyn Monroe is known to be a sex icon during the time of the 50s. Underlying Westernized ideals such as the male gaze and white beauty is already observed, with Filipinos experiencing this dilemma through personal experience. This leaves the story of Inhabian hidden, leaving our own stories untold. 

The piece now presents a question to the film maker and the Filipinos: "Which side of the story are we actually supposed to tell?" 

  -Jaramillo, Tongco (PEACE)

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The picture above comes from a piece from the exhibit "ART LAB" by Atelier Cesare and Jean Marie Syjuco at the Art Fair 2018 held at The Link, Ayala Center, Makati. This was only one of the many unique and thought-provoking art pieces we saw there that easily caught our attention. It is a statement on transparent glass on the wall. This piece generates the idea of how lies shape our own perspectives and thoughts. 

The obvious lie going on with the statement is unrecognized when you read it aloud. Whether or not you notice it, will not change how it looks to you. For the viewer then it will be only put unto thought but no action will be taken because no change can be done to it to make it right. There is that certain denial and rejection that is being overlooked by reading the statement as it is.

- Fernandez, Racelis (Peace)

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Yuchengco Museum, located at RCBC Plaza at Makati City, is a museum with various themes. These themes are Sino-Filipino Legacy: The ATY Art Collections, Art and Technology, Bridging Cultures, Design as Art, Art as Design and Buhay Rizal. Yuchengco Museum was created be the art collection of Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco, and highlight his distinguished career as a businessman, diplomat, collector, philanthropist, patron of the arts, and advocate for education in the Philippines and beyond.

Going there we got to to see the Pumapel: Art in Paper Exhibit which will only be displayed until November 2018. Yuchengco's very own collection of Jose Rizal's belongings and the awards he got when he was still alive can also be seen in the museum. Also, there is a gallery of the national paintings made by the national artists.

Submitted by: Ang, Esrellas, Tan (Faith 2017)

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Wagging tails is a dog cafe that lets you interact with your favorite pet (dogs) while enjoying your drinks and preferred sweets with it. Its interior makes you feel like you are at home playing and bonding with your pet. It has a homey feel in it because the design of the cafe is so much like a house.

With our experience, we realized that certain issues such as animal cruelty is timely and relevant today. These animals that we had a chance to with are victims of animal cruelty. You might think that it is just a cafe but it has a purpose why they thought of this idea. We hope that people will be open minded and aware of this occurring issue.

Wagging tails in Maginhawa

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The bottom left and upper right pictures are graffiti found along Katipunan on the walls of UP Diliman, while the upper left is the Lumad inspired street art is found when you turn right from Commonwealth to Katipunan. For these, the medium the artists used was spray paint. Sadly we can't find who and when these artworks were made. 

As stated in our paper, "We consider these graffiti’s art because they either give awareness or enlightenment to those who see them. We can see in the first and last picture that they are trying to reach the audience by painting real problems in the society, real events that happened to them that made an impact to a lot of people." 

Submitted by : Sabina De Veyra , Nathalie Naval (11-Peace)

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Pagbalot sa Kaunting Liwanag 1-9 by Frances Abrigo (Medium: Acrylic, gold leaf, silver leaf and cloth on canvas) 2018

West Gallery is located in West Avenue wherein we get to see 4 themes of art galleries by different artists. One of the artworks that were seen is the "Pagbalot sa Kaunting Liwanag" by Frances Abrigo. He made 9 different styles but has the same meaning. What we see in this artwork is that it raises an awareness on what is happening in our country like war on drugs in which civilians were illegally executed by gunshots from policemen, Maute group, and the corruption happening in the government. 

Submitted by: Clarisse Escoto and Mary Laquindanum of Grade 11 Faith

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As art enthusiasts, our group found it necessary to go to more than one place for our fieldwork. Honestly, after multiple meetings of discussing what art is and what it isn’t, we didn’t find it hard to look for places that displayed a form of art that we wanted to admire and see for ourselves. With that, the following pieces are just a chosen few of what we loved and enjoyed during our endeavor in Ateneo de Manila, MO_Space, the pop-up art exhibition in SM Aura, and the art galleries in Serendra that did not allow pictures to be taken:

  Chachatown

  In general, Chachatown definitely made use of mixed media to its advantage. Through the many pieces, we saw that each one was made with different and unique techniques as well that were able to highlight human life and experiences.

  De Guia and Cordero, coming from different roots, both had different thoughts and messages that they wanted to convey. With that, each of them had no predictions on what the final output would look like and the entire exhibition was heavily built on trust and belief for one another.

  With the different images created, we can say that these pieces can be directly connected to our daily lives because as we see, all the pieces made could’ve been different from what it is since most of the time, we are not solely the ones making our own masterpieces.

  Sanctum

  In contrast with Chachatown, Rocky Cajigan presents Sanctum with a very immersive approach and as a viewer, it was quite hard to find your place in such a complex work that is interconnected to a culture you are a foreigner of. The materials that was used in the work felt very organic and environmental, thus it urges you to consider the cultural contexts that it has. Sanctum also evokes the viewers to contemplate the way we relate to objects and how and why we impose greater meanings upon them.

  After two weekends of immersing ourselves into different forms of art, it is only fair for us to admit that each piece showed a sense of not just creativity but also courage. As young Filipinos who desire to grow as better artists, we saw that art isn’t just having the materials and skills to create what we wanted to see and what we wanted to convey, it’s also having the bravery to face any type of unfamiliar or familiar medium and believing that we can add something to it.

  - Aureen Quiapon, Wylie Valerio, and Thea Viernes

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Mahal Kong Maginhawa, Sayo'y Hindi Mawawalay

Have you ever craved Filipino food at an affordable price? Then Gerry's Jeepney is the solution to your foodie dilemma!

Located at 7 Maginhawa, Diliman, Lungsod Quezon, 1101 Kalakhang Maynila, Gerry's Jeepney has got you covered for all your delicious homemade Filipino dishes from main courses like Sinigang to desserts such as Saging con Yelo and Halo-Halo. Featuring the bright and vibrant colors on artwork or design on the jeepneys, it shows It shows the culture and how we express our creativity in our culture today. The design of the jeepneys may differ from before and now, that's what it makes it "art today".

Link to Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1e6uxWtHKekhPX7Q3rAwFqbEky8kNMyu2

By: Georgette S. Kojima, Lara Ysabelle S. Obispo, and Christine A. Toledo of 11- Joy

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February 23 was the start of a month-long celebration named The Ortigas Art Festival located in Estancia Bridgeway, Capitol Commons, Pasig City wherein it showcased different forms of artworks of various Filipino artists- from paintings to rooms to sculptures to metal works.

Most of the works there tackled political, religious, and humanistic aspects of life. Some of which had dark and creepy themes to them but some had bright and colorful themes. Some showed beauty but some are unpleasant. It is unusual seeing two contradicting subjects found in one area and yet this event diversifies the two.

The Artist Avoiding Angst by Helen Furlong Mirasol is one of many artworks found in this event. It’s a mirrored room filled with many pictures and post-its. She allows her viewers to leave comments and reactions via post-it papers around the pictures. She wants to show her viewers that beauty can be found everywhere; in sunsets, in food, in people, in plants, and in objects. Even the littlest of things are considered beautiful. The title itself says that, as creators, we shouldn’t worry about what other people think. Avoid the angst, be positive. Look towards the bright side of life and move forward.

Submitted by:

Pajarillo, Janae

Pascual, Nerisse

Tupaz, Tyra

email: [email protected]

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The Dessert Museum

The Dessert Museum is located in Conrad Hotel in Pasay City. It is an interactive museum that exhibit all kinds of desserts. From donuts, marshmallows, ice creams, you name it! The museum is takes you back to your childhood where you get to taste everything sweet in life which makes it perfect for kids and also for the kids at heart to visit. 

​The museum consists of 8 dessert-themed rooms:

Donut Room

Marshmallow Room

Candy Cane Room

Ice cream Room

Gum Ball Room

Gummy Bear Room

Cotton Candy Room

Cake Pop Room

It's also perfect for those who want to keep up a nice feed for their social media. The museum has dessert-themed rooms which will make your photos stand out! 

​The museum also gives out free food that will surely satisfy that sweet tooth of yours. Our visit surely took us away from reality and made us feel like we were children again. It was definitely worth going to the art installation and we suggest that you do too!

Submitted by: 

Eryn Guenevere K. Chua and Sophia Mauricia A. Villanueva

visit our blog to know more about our adventure!

https://gxmadventures.wixsite.com/cpar/the-dessert-museum

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Street art along Katipunan Avenue
By: Sam Lazaro and Kaela Locsin 
11- Joy When we see street art or street vandalism, we think that these people that doing it has nothing to do with their lives so they just chose to paint on the walls and make unnecessary writings and drawings. But, little did we know that it has a message behind that. Those lines, those colors and those words that we are not capable of reading. These signifies our ignorance. We just see but we don’t understand. These drawings has a deep meaning why they should be seen and give attention to. These will help us open our minds by the things we don’t know that are occurring.

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Blanc Gallery is an art place located in Katipunan Avenue. It is a three-storey building wherein the second is for exhibits, while the third floor is for their showroom. The colors of the place revolve around monochromatic colors - especially black and white. Their goal is to contribute to the growth of contemporary art in the Philippines. Artists such as Manok Ventura, Francis Bejar, Kadin Tiu, Wipo and a lot more displayed their artworks there.

The very interesting works will leave you thinking all night about what they are about. The works inside the gallery will not just stay in the four corners of it, but they have something that will make you remember them. All the art, the space, the colour used have the possibility of having a specific purpose and you have to look. Yes, not just see but rather look to understand the artworks presented.

Miran, Palafox, Zuñiga

11 - Love

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Song used in the video: Pure Luck by Ninajirachi (CTTO)

Artwork: Ang Dalagita'y 'Sang Bagay Na Di Buo based on the book A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride; Filipino translation by Rody Vera; first adapted for the stage by Annie Ryan; directed by Jose Estrella

During the trip to UP, the fieldworkers were denied passage through gate one so they had to take the entrance in C.P. Garcia Ave, aware that they were late to the play. They frantically searched the images of the building, as they were unfamiliar of its location. Once they have confirmed that they arrived at the right building, they rushed inside and bought tickets worth Php 500 (after documenting). They missed the first ten minutes of the play, and were unable to understand the story. However, after some minutes, they were able to follow the flow of the story. They discovered that it was a one-man show, and it had mature content. The room was dark, and the actress wore all black. There was a single prop -- a chair -- and it was used for different purposes. The play was an anti-sexual harassment campaign with the theme centering around the connection of family to rape.

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Komiket is an event dedicated to showcasing various outputs from artists in order to give them a chance to be able to not only be recognized as artists/creators but to be able to get income from patrons who would like to support their work. for all art enthusiasts alike~

the artist credible for their works being featured in this video included are the ff:

*-EXHIBITOR NAME (opt) [ artists1, artist2 ...]*

-ARTISAAN [ rui , cisca , niquism ] 00:42

-SAD PIPES - 00:19 

-PHP Artists 00:58

-PROCRASTINATORS [munchkin, suoerheri, sporkqpine, macbicth ]- 01:01

-Panel:Horrors of Society [Si Kian by Weng Cahiles, Aldy Aguirre and Kimberly dela Cruz| Tabi Po 1 by Mervin Malonzo| Antigeros by James Bernardo, Geonard Yleana, Carlo Cruz- 00:56

-Panel: Herstory [Congratulations, You're a Girl by Jess Guanco| Kabuwanan by hulyen trizha ko, laraine gazmen, hannah puyat, lizette daluz, mich cervantes, pauline rana, kay aranzanso, emilana kampilan| Vivisect by Sachi Siquijor | Womenstruation and Cosmic Alexithyn by Elle Geronimo- 00:45

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Street art along Katipunan Avenue
By: Sam Lazaro and Kaela Locsin 
11- Joy When we see street art or street vandalism, we think that these people that doing it has nothing to do with their lives so they just chose to paint on the walls and make unnecessary writings and drawings. But, little did we know that it has a message behind that. Those lines, those colors and those words that we are not capable of reading. These signifies our ignorance. We just see but we don’t understand. These drawings has a deep meaning why they should be seen and give attention to. These will help us open our minds by the things we don’t know that are occurring.