Updates, updates and more updates!

Sorry, it's been a while since our last post. It's just so much easier to update using Facebook, but a lot of the details are often lost in the flurry of feeds.

So here goes...

The BIG news is that we will be hosting TEDxDiliman here in the Philippines this coming October. It's a half-day event where speakers will share their BIG ideas on "How Art and Culture Can Change Our World."

We have a great line-up of speakers and performers already confirmed: Glecy Atienza (theater), Noel Cabangon (music), Gloc9 (music), Lourd de Veyra (new media), Rico Gutierrez (TV), Fernando Sena (visual arts), John Silva (visual arts/museums), Aureus Solito (film) and Nina Yuson (children's advocacy/museums). Kenneth Cobonpue (design) has expressed strong interest but still has to work out his very busy schedule, and we're also talking with Patricia Evangelista (media/TV). And we have a few surprises up our sleeve that we know (hope) will blow you away.

TEDxDiliman happens on October 8, 2011 at the UP College of Law from 1:30-7pm. Seating, unfortunately, is very limited (our license from TED is capped at 100 guests). To apply for a ticket, please click here.

We expect interest to far exceed the number of people we can accommodate, so our apologies in advance to those who won't be able to get in. But we are working on doing a live streaming of all the talks and performances so people can still join us on the web.

Then, there's this small Coloring Book Project that we're working on. We invited a few artists to submit pen and ink drawings that we will sell, and proceeds used to produce a children's coloring book based on the sketches. CANVAS will then publish (we're thinking of an initial print run of 5,000 copies) and donate these coloring books to children's hospitals and public schools.

To ensure full accessibility and affordability, the drawings will also be made freely downloadable on a webpage that we will create, in the hope that OFWs and teachers will find them useful as they teach their children/students about the Philippines.

So who's participating? Ahem, two National Artists (Bencab - that's his sketch on top, and Abdulmari Imao) to start. And a few other notables and emerging artists - Leonard Aguinaldo, Daniel Aligaen, Angel Antonio, Mark Arcamo, Norma Belleza, Plet Bolipata, Elmer Borlongan, Serj Bumatay, Marika Constantino, Farley del Rosario, Ferdinand Doctolero, Liza Flores, Manny Garibay, Mark Justiniani, Raymond Legaspi, John Lock, Joy Mallari, J. Pacena, Beth Parocha, Iggy Rodriguez, John Santos, Pam Yan Santos, and Palma Tayona. Puede na. :-)



Meanwhile, in case you missed it, we did get into Global Giving (thanks to and for your support!), and we're nearly set to publish an anthology of our first three stories: Elias and His Trees, The Rocking Horse, and Sol - A Legend About the Sun.

Just like the coloring book, we will publish the first volume of CANVAS Collection and work with partners to donate them to children, public schools and hospitals all over the Philippines. You can still help by clicking here, and donating through Global Giving.

Both books will launch in October, hopefully getting distributed in time for Christmas.


Those aren't the only books we're publishing in the coming months.
At the end of September, our next original children's book, Tahan Na, Tahanan by Issa Alarilla-Arellano, with artworks by Don Salubayba, will be on deck. The new book will launch simultaneously with a solo exhibition by Don at the Ayala Museum.


Following that, and again in October, we will launch RIZALPABETO, a unique (in many ways) alphabet book born from the collaboration of poet Vim Nadera and artist Elmer Borlongan who will use iPad sketches to bring Vim's poetry to life.

As a preview, above is Elmer's iPad sketch for the letter G - for Gomburza, and below is an excerpt of Vim's poetry for it.

... Kaya nang may nag-aklas sa arsenal sa Kabite
Sina Padre Gomez, Burgos, at Zamora ay huli.
Tatlong martir silang sa Bagumbayan ginarote
Ang sa mitsa ng pagkamakabayan ko ang nagsindi.

The sketches and poetry will be on display in a multimedia exhibition curated by J. Pacena that we will host at our Manilart booth this August. We're very excited (and anxious) to see how it will be received. :-)


And there's more...

"Untitled" by Issay Rodriguez. Oil on canvas (2011).

At the Looking for Juan Art Space in Serendra, we have Mamihlapinatapai, a group show by UP Fine Arts students Alee Garibay, Clara Herrera and Issay Rodriguez opening this Monday (July 18, 2011).

Exhibitions by Lina Ciani, Buddy Ching, Anton Balao and Jim Orencio, among others are also scheduled for the rest of the year.

We're going to have a lot of fun in this second half of 2011. We're also going to need your help... there will be lots of opportunities for you to be involved. We will keep you posted. :-)