Foundation News

MFPI Lecture Series “POLITICS: PINOY STYLE”
“The Crisis of Leadership and the Challenge of Modernity”

In his lecture, Prof. Randy David proposes a way of looking at the governance problems of our society by linking these to the challenge of modernity.  He will try to show that many, if not all, of these problems are normal manifestations of the difficult and often confusing transition to modernity that every society has to confront at one time or another – rather than the symptoms of an accursed condition for which there is no other cure but to find a messiah in our midst.

This lecture of Prof. Randy David, the last in the MFPI’s lecture series on “Politics: Pinoy Style”, will be held at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at the Silverlens Gallery located at 2320 Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati City. MFPI Fellowship will follow right after the lecture.

Fees
MFPI Members – P100.00
Non-members – P200.00
Students – P50.00

Please download and fill out reply form. Fax to 404-2685 / 722-9073/ 810-6912.
Email to inquiry@museumfoundationph.org
You may also text/call 0928-5039392 (Elvie) or 0927-8484680 (Mae) to reserve slots.

Art in the Park 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
2:00 to 10:00 pm
Jaime Velasquez Park
Salcedo Village, Makati City

Art In The Park Feb 2010 will exhibit pieces from:

Art groups and individual artists: CANVAS, Zone 5 Camera Club, Kulay, SC Tan, TutoK, Art Wednesday, Invisible, Putik, Joey Cobcobo, Ryan Rubio, Allain Hablo, Lester Almacio, Mac Valdezco, Philippine Association of Printmakers, Ral Arrogante, Sheer Joy, Ang INK, Provenance Fine Arts Brokers, and Tara Soriano.

Students, teachers, and established artists from art schools: L’Arc En Ciel, TUP, FEATI, and FEU.

Art groups and art spaces from outside Metro Manila: The Mighty Bhutens and their mosaics from Baguio, Nineveh Art Space of Laguna, Amarela Gallery of Bohol, Hugis Sining from Bulacan, Parokyano ng Malabon, Neo-Angono Artists Collective.

Established galleries: Blanc, Tin-Aw, Tala Art Gallery, Galerie Astra, Nova Gallery, Galeria de las Islas, Metro Gallery, Art Verite, Ricco Renzo, West Gallery, Artis Corpus, Avellana Art Gallery, Art Cabinet, and Gallery Genesis.

AIP 2010 will also showcase two extraordinary pieces: LEEROY NEW reprises pieces from his Odeon Universal Galaxy Show, and LEA LIM creates Silence, her site specific installation of 100 swings.

A special screening of Moccolo, a video by Romina Diaz starts in the playground area at 6:00 pm sponsored by Galleria Duemila.

Food and drinks will be provided by La Cuisine Francaise, Straits Wines, Pizza di Grazia, Rafik Shawarma, Windows Cafe, and Nic’s Bakeshop. A jazz quartet will serenade us throughout the day.

Art in the Park 2010 is organized by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines with the help of Bgy. Bel Air, Security Bank MasterCard, and Radio U92 for the benefit of the National Museum and its network.

No admission fee. See you all there!

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Malikmata by Mark Orozco Justiniani
February 19, Friday
6-9pm

Celebrated painter, Mark Orozco Justiniani, veers his latest work away from the medium he has long been associated with and instead takes it to the world of sculpture where corners and frames cannot bind. This world, entitled Malikmata, is one where night and day converge, and folklore and reality abandon their distinction.

Justiniani’s keen interest in Filipino society and tradition takes the sculptural route to present Filipino folklore in a form that is multidimensional, concrete and tangible. Not only do the eyes find the splendor of the earth as the sun sets and shadows creep in; this inbetween too awakens the other four senses, and at the same time stirs the imagination. Meant to heighten every sensation, Malikmata, Justiniani explains, involves a lot of ‘ “looking through” with peepholes and lenses with several angles and different vantage points’. With viewers’ participation, the world Justiniani creates is sculptural commentary infused with physical interaction.

Malikmata reveals the creatures of the night, from the fireflies and spiders that lurk in our backyards to those monsters that haunt our dreams. Taking us into the world where what is real and unreal coexist, Justiniani presents a tikbalang who no longer tricks people into getting lost in the forest it guards; a manananggal who discovers the worlds her two halves occupy are one and the same; and an Agtayabun, the man-bird that arbitrates between the realms of the divine and the bestial, who has sided with the latter and allowed chaos to reign. Thought to be lost in modern consciousness, these creatures of folklore defiantly linger and taunt us to surrender to our darkest nightmares.

With sculptural representations manifest of a society that often combines rationality and mysticism, religion and folklore, fact and faith, Justiniani’s Malikmata is indeed a journey that goes back and forth between realms that are supposed to be distinct. More than confusing our senses, Malikmata questions how we construct reality and define illusion.

Malikmata is in collaboration with Tin-aw Art Management.

Malikmata will be shown alongside STRIP 2010 with Tammy David, Jake Verzosa, Veejay Villafranca at Silverlens Gallery and Saucerful of Secrets by Mariano Ching with Haraya Ching at 20SQUARE, SLab. Mark Orozco Justiniani will have his Artist Talk on March 06, 2010, Saturday, 3-5 pm.

For inquiries, contact Silverlens Gallery at 2/F YMC Bldg. II, 2320 Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati, 816-0044, 0917-5874011, or manage@silverlensphoto.com. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 10am-7pm and Saturdays 1–6pm. www.silverlensphoto.com / slab.silverlensphoto.com.

Words: Bea Davila
Image: Studies for Malikmata by Mark Orozco Justiniani

The Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati will be bustling with life, both terrestrial and extra terrestrial, on Saturday, 27 February, 2010, from two in the afternoon to ten in the evening. The Museum Foundation of the Philippines ups the ante on its annual affordable art fair with exhibits by 2009 Ateneo Art Award Winner Jan Leeroy New and an extraordinary installation by Lea Lim.

New, best known for his fiberglass aliens that seemingly landed on the Singapore City Hall during that city’s Biennale in 2008, will be reprising the attention-grabbing, brightly-hued creatures of his imagination from his recent show, Odeon Galaxy Universal, at Blanc Compound in Mandaluyong. Lim’s work is a slightly more subdued, monochromatic intervention into a space.  A swarm of swings hangs from the tree nearest the walkway, making it impossible for pedestrians to pass unhindered.  The beautiful, white forms pique curiosity and ask the passerby to pause for a moment, and maybe play a bit.   The works of New and Lim set the tone for the art fair, making even strange and conceptual works of art less daunting and more approachable. The affordable art fair has evolved from a Saturday morning event designed make art buying less intimidating for the art newbie, to a showcase of some of the best contemporary Philippine art. And in keeping with its goal of making art accessible to all, prices of pieces for sale are still at P20,000.00 and below.

Since Art In The Park first started four years ago, the art scene in the Philippines has exploded with activity.  New galleries have opened. Established galleries have expanded and improved their spaces to accommodate a flurry of artistic production. Amidst all this, Art In the Park is one of the most awaited events in the art calendar. It brings together, in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere, about 30 galleries and art groups from all parts of the metro and beyond. For seasoned buyers and regular exhibition goers, it is a treat to spend the day going from booth to booth catching up with artist and gallerist friends. The relaxed and friendly atmosphere encourages first time buyers and ordinary park-goers to take the time to look through each booth and strike up a conversation with the artists and gallery owners hanging out.

Blanc, Tala, Tin-aw, Art Cabinet, Galerie Astra, Metro Gallery – all at the forefront of the contemporary art scene – will be joined this year by the pioneers – West Gallery and Gallery Genesis. The newest kid on the block, Charlie Cojuangco’s Nova Gallery, will make its Art In The Park debut. INK, Sheer Joy, and Canvas also return this year to continue amusing, introducing art to the young ones. Galeria de las Islas will be there, as always, for people who look for art and artifacts of a more historical and anthropological nature. The Putik booth showcases pottery – sculptural, decorative and utilitarian. The regulars, L’arc En Ciel, Kulay Art Group, and Ral Arrogante, will also be returning. The TUP Fine Arts Alumni and Students booth will be the perfect place to pick up well-priced artworks by fresh new artists.  The displays of The Mighty Bhutens (a group of artists from Baguio doing mosaic art), Nineveh Art Space and the Malabon artists give gallery goers the chance to see the art being produced outside Metro Manila.  Sherwin Tan and Tara Soriano, with her sculptural jewelry, will also be participating. Photography will be available from the Zone Five Camera Club. The diversity of styles, media, and concerns of this year’s art fair makes for a very interesting and dynamic show.

This year, getting an art bargain no longer means having to get up at the crack of dawn.  Art In The Park, which has traditionally started at 7am to coincide with the Salcedo Market, will now start at 2 pm and stretch till 10 pm. Visitors can leisurely stroll around the park exploring the different installations and art presentations, while having merienda, cocktails, and dinner at the booths of La Cuisine Francaise, Pizza di Grazia, Windows Café, The Straits Wine Company, and Nic’s Bakeshop.

Art In The Park is on Saturday, 27 February 2010, at the Jaime Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village Makati City. It is organized by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines with the help of Bgy. Bel Air, Security Bank Mastercard, and Radio U92.  Part of the proceeds will go to the foundation’s programs that raise awareness and appreciation for the National Museum and its network.

Abel Iloko, also called inabel, has a long tradition and history, and is justly famous for its quality and durability.  Its patterns and colors are derived from the natural environment of Ilocos – the whirlpools in the water, the whirlwinds that bring much destruction, the leaves and flowers of local flora, the stars, indeed the Milky Way itself.

Checks and stripes in a variety of colors are a constant feature of this native weave, although the drab browns, and dramatic black and whites are best remembered. The stripes are perhaps an adaptation of the patterns common among the upland tribes.

During colonial times, abel fabrics were used as sailcloth for ships and boats – yet another proof of the high quality of Ilocos weaving.  Blankets that are used by generations, handed down from mother to daughter, are likewise famous. So are the gossamer open weave mosquito netting that are also used for women’s kimonas and men’s shirts.

Records show that inabel was one of the major exports of colonial Philippines. In recent years, however, with the importation of cheap, machine woven fabrics and clothing, inabel was relegated to the background as a minor, perhaps quaint tradition.

Join the Habi: The Philippine Textile Council, an affiliate of the Museum Foundation, on a visit from February 18 to 21, 2010 to the remaining abel weaving centers in Paoay and Sarrat in Ilocos Norte; and Vigan, Santa and Santiago in Ilocos Sur. Observe first-hand the tedious and time consuming processes required to make the beautiful and unique patterns of this native weave.

HABI founding board member and Ilocos Norte tourism consultant Rene Guatlo will serve as guide on this familiarization tour. Participants will stay for three nights at the Sitio Remedios Heritage Village in Currimao, Ilocos Norte – a private get-away created by Dr. Joven R. Cuanang, Medical Director of St. Luke’s Medical Center, and proud son of Ilocos Norte.

The group will also visit the Sta. Maria Church on the way to the weavers of Santiago. After a walkabout at the Vigan Heritage Village, a private tour of the Syquia Mansion will be conducted by Mr. Eddie Quirino, grandson of President Elpidio Quirino, followed by a merienda featuring the local specialty, the Vigan empanada. For Ilocos Norte, the tour will include visits to the Museo Ilocos Norte, the Laoag public Market, San Agustin and Sta. Monica churches in Paoay and Sarrat, respectively.

Abel Tour Itinerary

Package A: Our package, inclusive of airfare on Cebu Pacific, transfers between airport, hotel and tours, 3 day-3 night accommodations at Sitio Remedios (single-occupancy), all meals and tours, is P24,000. (Airport terminal fees are to be taken care of participants)

Package B: Our package, inclusive of airfare on Cebu Pacific, transfers between airport, hotel and tours, 3 day-3 night accommodations at Sitio Remedios (double-occupancy, sharing), all meals and tours, is P20,000. (Airport terminal fees are to be taken care of participants)

Package C: Our package, inclusive of airfare on Cebu Pacific, transfers between airport, hotel and tours, 3 day-3 night accommodations at Sitio Remedios (dormitory, sharing), all meals and tours, is P16,000. (Airport terminal fees are to be taken care of participants)

Limited slots only. To reserve a space immediately, please download and fill-out the reply form and fax to 404-2685 or email to inquiry@museumfoundationph.org. You also have the option of downloading the tour details. To inquire further, please call Elvie or Mae at 404-2685, or on mobile number 0928-5039392 (Elvie) or 0927-8484680 (Mae).