What's Up for CANVAS in 2010?!!

More Kids Books!!!

Our mission to encourage and provide new opportunities for our talented artists and writers through the publication of original children’s books continues:

• January 4, 2010: Launch of the 5th Romeo Forbes Children’s Story Writing Competition. Doing the honors this time around is 2009 Thirteen Artists Awardee Don Salubayba. We have the contest piece, and, as usual, it’s a great one! We hope to get even more entries this year. The winner gets P35,000.00 and we plan to publish his/her new tale in mid-2011.

• February 25, 2010: Ayala Museum exhibition of Joy Mallari’s artworks for our 10th children’s book, Doll Eyes by Eline Santos. Set in mystical and mysterious Quiapo, it’s about this witch who takes little kids to turn them into porcelain dolls, and a young heroine who tries to rescue her captured friend. We may do a separate launch for the actual book in March or April, hopefully with a walking tour of Quiapo.

• July 23, 2010: Book launch and art exhibition for Mga Huni sa Loob ng Kawayan by Fernando Gonzalez, with artworks by Juanito Torres. The winner of our storywriting competition last year, this is a fictionalized take on the origins of the famed Bamboo Organ of Las Pinas.

A Role for Art in the May Elections...

The coming historic elections also provides an opportunity for relevant art-inspired messages intended to get people to think closely and carefully about their votes:

• April 2010: One of Apolinario Mabini's greatest works was his draft of a constitution for the Philippine Republic. It was accompanied by what he called "The True Decalogue," so framed as to meet the needs of Filipino patriotism for all time. Reading it now, it still seems so prescient and applicable. So we’ve tapped 10 Salingpusa artists (Elmer Borlongan, Karen Flores, Manny Garibay, Neil Manalo, Ferdie Montemayor, Jim Orencio, Anthony Palomo, John Santos III, Tammy Tan and Cris Villanueva) to interpret each commandment as a 5’x4’ painting to be showcased in a major group show, Decalogo. We’ll then turn those paintings into downloadable posters (free of course), for an art-inspired “Vote Wisely” campaign, just in time for the historic May elections.

• May 1-31, 2010: Everyday Filipino Heroes, our follow-up to our Looking for Juan Outdoor Banner Exhibit last year. We’ll have even more artists, writers and photographers this year. The project was so well-received by the artists and the public last time around that we just had to do it again. Together with Decalogo, this is our second (nonpartisan, we must emphasize) contribution to the dream of meaningful and relevant elections. The idea behind Everyday Filipino Heroes is to send a collective message that the elections should not be about finding heroes because heroes are already all around us. Indeed, ordinary Filipinos - parents, teachers, policemen, farmers, fisherfolk, OFWs and many more - perform quiet acts of heroism everyday. What should the elections be about, then? This is another question for which there can be many answers, and one that we hope the banners will also explore and express.

Rakenrol!!!

• In the first week of February 2010, our Looking for Juan in Art and Rock & Roll finally, FINALLY, gets moving (maybe, hopefully - keep your fingers crossed!). If you will recall, the recording of the CD of this Rakenrol project has been so long delayed - a minor casualty of the recession last year. Well, we’ve finally ironed out the kinks and obtained sole ownership over the rights to the project, and to facilitate things, we’re thinking of holding the concert and recording it live. We’re talking with an ideal venue (a nice bar equipped with even nicer recording equipment). It’ll be a nice pre-Valentine event IF we’re able to pull it off. We’ll keep you all posted.

A Brand New Website!

With all those high profile events, we hope to solidify and develop our Looking for Juan Program, which, in addition to exploring the use of art and culture to better understand what it means to be Filipino, is premised on a belief that Philippine art is and can be a potent tool for meaningful change.

Because this is so important to us, we’re developing and will launch a brand new website dedicated to Looking for Juan which will complement our CANVAS website. Watch out for it!


And more!!!

• February 27, 2010: Visit our booth at Art in the Park, an affordable art fair where artworks including paintings, photographs, prints and sculptures are sold at prices that can’t go above P20,000. Held at the Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati City, right next to the Salcedo Saturday Market, a portion of the proceeds from all sales will benefit the Museum Foundation of the Philippines.

• We’re turning five on June 13, 2010! How best to celebrate?

• October 2010: We’re still conceptualizing and the idea’s percolating… but it’s about icons and pop art and T-shirts and really young artists… we’ll see how it develops…

• And of course, we’re set to have more mini-exhibits at our 1/of Gallery in Serendra, and increasingly, at the CANVAS Gallery and Garden in Quezon City, all to showcase the works of some of the most exciting young artists around. Farley del Rosario, Buen Calubayan, Plet Bolipata, Roel Obemio, Anton Balao and more are booked throughout the year.