"Baro't Saya Tuwa At Ligaya"- the first solo art exhibit of Edgar San Diego, all set to open on Oct. 9

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SM Megamall proudly presents the first solo art exhibit of noted fashion designer EDGAR SAN DIEGO titled ‘BARO’T SAYA TUWA AT LIGAYA’

from October 9 - 15, 2021

Ground Level, Mega Fashion Hall at SM Megamall.

The theme of the exhibit is a ‘Tribute of Joy to the Filipina and her Traditional Dress amidst the Pandemic.’

Edgar’s love for the beautiful Filipina, traditions, costumes and production design is evident on his paintings, keeping in mind that the colors are bright and the subjects are happy in creating positive vibes which we need most in this pandemic. He chose to deal with beautiful characters in their colorful costumes and nostalgic scenarios.

Why this crossover from fashion design to visual arts ?

“I turned 60 last March 13, 2020. And then after 2 days, the lockdown was imposed. I thought that it was only going to last for a month or two. So to keep me away from boredom, I cleaned the house, reorganized my cabinets and do things that I neglected when I was busy with my dress shop. However, when I ran out of things to fix, I decided to pick up my brushes and called my canvas supplier. Luckily, she was open all the time to accept my orders. What I did was to order an extra 4 to 6 canvases which eventually gave me no excuse to stop.”

“I shared posted some of my early works on Facebook while daughter Abby posted them on her Instagram account. The favorable remarks and thousands of likes were heartwarming and encouraged me to create more. The choices for the artworks included in this exhibit is also based on how much people reacted to them.”

Just like in fashion, Edgar always takes inspiration from classic masters like Christian Dior, Balenciaga, YSL, Inno Sotto, and Joe Salazar. In the visual arts, he admires Gustav Klimt, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Diego Rivera, Claude Monet, Fernando Amorsolo, and Carlos Botong Francisco.

For his women of style and substance, Edgar’s inspiration comes from Frida Kahlo, Tamara de Lempicka, Betsty Westerndorp, among others.

Before Edgar San Diego became a fashion designer, he used to hand-paint on formal clothes for established designers during his UST Fine Arts days. He was also a display-window artist at the Plaza Fashion Mart where he had a chance to meet fashion directors, models and more designers whom he we will eventually work with after college.

In 1981, he was invited and became the youngest pioneer of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines where he eventually served as president for 4 terms.

Edgar’s citations and awards include: “Haute Couture Designer of the Year” in the Manila Fashion Designers Awards in 1989.

“Grand Prix Best Costume Award” in Carnival in Rio in Manila, which brought him to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 19905-time winner in the Annual Flores de Mayo at The Manila Hotel.

Philippine representative to the 1989 Asean Fashion Connections in Singapore

Awarded as one of the Outstanding Alumni of UST College of Fine Arts and Don Bosco Technical Institue

As a costume designer, Edgar’s credits include Repertory Philippines’ “The Wizard of Oz”, “The Man of La Mancha”, “M Butterfly”, “Aladdin”, “The Sound of Music”, etc. ;Trumpets’ “The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe” , and “Little Mermaid” and New Port theater’s “ Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”.

He also made cinematic costumes for Star Cinema’s “ Sarah ang Munting Princesa” and “Ceddie”.

Edgar has also successfully promoted fashion and culture through fashion shows with Filipino communities in New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, Atlanta, Missouri, Chicago, Guam, Honolulu, and London. His solo gala fashion shows were also presented in Manila, Honolulu, Jakarta an Melbourne.

Baro't Saya Tuwa At Ligaya is co-presented by SM Appliance Center, TCL, Amelia's Garden, Artistshop, BERINGER Wines, Doltz Pilar, Flyace Corporation, Gari P. Palmani.

The production team of the exhibit are as follows: Dan Pablo (videographer), Jun Lopez (curator), Willie de Vera (photographer), Toots Tolentino (publicist) and Barbara San Diego (muse).

A percentage of the sales will be donated to Special Services of Jose Reyes Medical Center through Mr. Rheez Chua.

For further details, please check Facebook: Edgar San Diego Fashion & Arts.

With Visual Art Ambassadors, WWF Ph Opens Exhibit - "Art, Heart, Earth"

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Five top visual artists join World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines as art ambassadors to support its biodiversity conservation efforts.

For their very first project, BenCab, Elmer Borlongan, Geraldine Javier, Mark O. Justiniani, and José Santos III created limited-edition sculptures, inspired by the organization’s iconic panda logo. Done in collaboration with Tin-aw Art Management Inc. and Secret Fresh, the show is the initial project of “Art, Heart, Earth,” a WWF-Philippines campaign to work with the cultural sector.

WWF-Philippines President and CEO Joel Palma says, “The Philippines is one of the 17 mega-diverse countries in the world, home to more than half of the world’s species. We are very excited to have five of the nation’s top artists join our battle to conserve nature in the face of climate change. We hope that through art, we continue to raise awareness on the urgent need to step up environmental action to protect earth’s biodiversity.”

Living in harmony with nature, man’s role in conservation and the concept of sustainability and home were just some of the themes explored in the pieces created for the collection.

BenCab

BenCab’s “Kapit-Bisig” and Borlongan’s “Wildlife Rehabilitator” highlight the importance of man living in consonance with nature. Justiniani’s “Kugos” (Carry) presents a caretaker donning a suit in the panda’s likeness to care for and protect the orphans of the species. Santos’ idea of saving and salvaging materials through his art is reflected in his piece titled “Natural Selection” while Javier’s work entitled “Home” is inspired by her community in the province, stressing the importance of a sustainable environment.

Though they had different approaches in creating their pieces for the collection, WWF’s Art Ambassadors are united in their call for people to save the environment.

Elmer Borlongan

Borlongan shared that his particular concern is the destruction of our oceans. Living 10 minutes away from the West Philippine Sea, he has been a witness to how acts like dynamite fishing can harmboth the environment and fisherfolk who have lost limbs due to this practice; and hasalready created art pieces tackling this issue. 

Both BenCab and Javier shared that plastic waste is among their most urgent concerns.They stressed the importance of setting a good example when it comes to conservation.

“We have to have discipline in cleaning up our surroundings and planting trees,” said BenCab. He shared that among one of his contributions is in his museum in Baguio, where he has planted many indigenous trees in the area. 

Geraldine Javier

Meanwhile, Javier has started planting vegetables in her home to help provide food and additional income for the community living near her. She also tries to instill practices in her household that will lessen plastic consumption such as bringing reusable containers,baskets or eco-bags when she goes shopping or does her groceries at the market. 

José Santos III

Santos shared that he sees parallels in his work and that of WWF-Philippines. He makes his pieces from discarded materials turning them into something that is meaningful. 

“I view this process as saving and salvaging these materials from their eventual death or uselessness. And this is where I see a certain parallel with the concerns of WWF in saving nature, saving wildlife, and saving the world as a more general concern,” he shared.

Mark O. Justiniani

Justiniani posed, “If you think about the world, it will survive… so the environmental issue is actually a human issue. If we don't take care of it, we will lose ourselves. We know we need to take care of the environment because that is our future, the future of human beings."

At the end of it all, WWF-Philippines’ Art Ambassadors hope that their pieces provoke questions and discourse among viewers on environmental issues.

The WWF-Philippines Art Ambassadors’ exhibition opens to the public on April 24 and runs until May 6, at Ronac Lifestyle Center, Magallanes.

To know more about WWF-Philippines and the “Art, Heart, Earth” project, you may visit https://www.facebook.com/WWF.Philippines/.

Center for Possibilities Promotes Inclusion Through The Arts

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By Samantha Kaspar 

On January 28, the Center for Possibilities Foundation (CFP) will be staging a back-to-back event at the RCBC Plaza in Makati. At 5:30 in the afternoon, the self-titled exhibit of 19-year-old Samantha Kaspar will open to the public. At 7:00 pm, the Manila Symphony Orchestra will take center stage. 

Samantha Kaspar 

Art Auction

“Samantha” will consist of around 40 artworks, some on fabric to be used as fashion accessories and others on canvas for wall hangings. 

“Samantha uses a wide variety of media for her work and we wanted to show the gamut of her abilities. She works primarily on piña silk using silk paints. She also uses acrylic paint on canvas sometimes,” explains Samantha’s mother, Mitzi. 

By Samantha Kaspar 

By Samantha Kaspar 

By Samantha Kaspar 

“She has a consistent style with a lot of edges and lines, her artworks can be very linear. She also has this certain way of giving shapes to her images which aren’t necessarily realistic but are more cartoonish,” describes Samantha’s father, Martin.

Samantha Kaspar w parents Mitzi and Martin

While half-Swiss, Samantha always tries to tap into her Filipino roots, coming up with Filipino-themed artworks. She will be promoting some of that local culture when she heads to the Philippine Center in New York for the Fashion Arts Autism Benefit (FAAB) on April 7.

Samantha Kaspar with art coach Kenn Sioson

FAAB is meant to showcase the artistic talents of children with special needs. Samantha, diagnosed with Autism when she was one and a half years old, is one of eight artists chosen to present their paintings on piña silk to be translated into clothing by featured designers for the fashion show, Patis Tesoro and Anthony Legarda. Master weaver India Legaspi is credited for teaching the artists the technique of piña silk painting. 

Samantha hopes to fund her trip with the proceeds of her auction. 

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Concert

The Manila Symphony Orchestra’s “Soundtracks and Symphonies” will be conducted by Prof. Arturo Molina and annotated by Jeffrey Solares. Included in their repertoire is a John Williams tribute as well as pieces from greats such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach.

The concert is for the benefit of Special Education (SPED) Centers that have been the focus of the Center for Possibilities’ recent efforts. To act as a venue for learning of indigent persons with special needs, each SPED Center is operated by a teacher trained in the SPED division of Reach International School.

Samantha w art coach Kenn, parents Martin & Mitzi and members of the CFP 

The Sagada SPED Center has been up and running and will be enhanced with a series of livelihood and vocational programs that will be teaching skills for income-generating activities. “Caring for special kids is very taxing because it’s usually just a one-income household so we also need to help the parents improve their finances,” explains CFP founder, Dolores Cheng.

In Norzagaray, what they have right now is just the building itself. A fence, a water tank, and a playground are still needed. “We are also in the process of doing our due diligence by determining the number of special children in all the barangays relevant to Norzagaray. Next will be an orientation for all the parents within the community. We are subsequently planning for the provision of testing, diagnosis, and analysis for the children with special needs,” Cheng adds. 

Enrolment in the SPED Centers is free so it helps alleviate the family’s cost of taking care of special children. If you would like to extend assistance, you may reach CFP at http://centerforpossibilities.asia/ or (02) 723-1242 / (0918) 888-1759.

“Samantha” and “Soundtracks and Symphonies” will be on January 28, 2016, 5:30pm at the Carlos P. Auditorium of the RCBC Plaza, Makati.

ANATHOMISM : A Synthesis of Anatomy, Thomism and Animism

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 PATRON OF HOPE, 3X4FT OIL ON PAPER 2016 (MIKE GARCIA)

 In his search for the sacred, Mike Garcia deconstructs spirituality, rituals and age-old beliefs in his first one-man show in Manila entitled ANATHOMISM.

This exhibit, which opens on September 7 at the Kulay-Diwa Gallery of Philippine Contemporary Art in Sucat, Parañaque, is a window into Garcia’s personal faith journey, with animism and Thomism emerging as core concepts.

GEOMANCER, 3X4FT OIL ON PAPER 2016 (MIKE GARCIA)

Animism, the world’s most primitive belief, has shaped countless religions to varying degrees. Derived from the Latin word anima, which means “breath” or “soul,” it attributes a spiritual essence to animals, plants and inanimate objects—non-human entities that affect human interests and affairs, and whose spirits may be malevolent, benevolent or neutral. In most religions, powerful supernatural beings in the forms of nature deities, or gods or goddesses, are worshipped as well and are called on in times of need.

EMANCIPATOR-VISUAL LIBERATOR, 3X4FT OIL ON PAPER 2016 (MIKE GARCIA)

Thomism, a school of thought inspired by St. Thomas Aquinas, influenced Garcia’s spirituality to a great extent. Garcia hailed from University of Santo Tomas, where he was introduced to and started following the teachings of Aquinas, such as the doctrine of the Trinity, in which the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit according to Aquinas represent relationships that occur within God.  

Garcia ties in both animism and Thomism with anatomy by building his creations around human and animal forms. This flesh-and-bones style reflects the careful study that goes into the rendering of every principle (and its internal structure) depicted in the collection.

The exhibit features graphite and oil on paper artworks. It dissects spiritual beliefs and principles of local and universal communities in a bold and insightful approach.

Garcia hails from Palawan, and is one of the first Palaweño artists to have won as a regional winner for Luzon in the recent Philippine Art Awards.

For more information:

Contact Person: Roberto San Agustin Nolasco

Email: bobbit@kulay-diwa.com

Landline/Fax: PLDT (632)8260574

Landline (mobile Globe Duo): (632)6244344

Kulay-Diwa Gallery 25 Lopez Avenue, Lopez Village, Sucat, Paranaque City

ABS-CBN presents "Dirty Watercolor" at Rockwell Center May 24-26, 2016

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ABS - CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Inc. presents an art exhibit - "Dirty Watercolor," on May 24-26, 2016. The opening reception of Dirty Watercolor on May 24, 2016, 6:00 pm, at the Kirov Showroom, Rockwell Center.

Toti Cerda, JC Vargas, Kean Barrameda, Fred Failano, Allan Clerigo, Van Isunza, Luigi Almuena, Renee Ysabelle Jose, and John Ed De Vera help raise awareness on Manila’s polluted rivers and tributaries in “Dirty Watercolor.” 

These paintings were created using pigments from Manila's most polluted rivers and tributaries. The sample water was decontaminated and then concentrated in order to come up with the dirty watercolor they used to paint such beautiful art pieces.

A project of TBWA/SMP and presented by ABS-CBN, the show is for the benefit of the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, leading the cleaning up of our polluted rivers.