APRIL to JUNE 2024
Dear Bukal Sining Members,
It’s hard to believe that just like that, half of 2024 is already over and done! As we close another quarter, I am happy to again share the strides and successes CANVAS has achieved, thanks to your unwavering support.
Here's a look back at some of the highlights from April to June 2024.
CANVAS Wins Severino Reyes Medal (Best Storybook of 2024)
April began on a high note with a significant accolade. "I Like Wearing Rainbows" by Agay Llanera, and illustrated by Lui Manaig, has been awarded the Severino Reyes Medal for Best Storybook of 2024. Another of our storybooks, "Moon Rising" by Phoebe de Leon, illustrated by Iggy Rodriguez, also earned a spot on the honors list. These achievements underscore the exceptional talent and the dedication of everyone involved, from the talented authors and illustrators that we are privileged to work with, to our in-house editing and design teams.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to IBBY PH International Board on Books for Young People Philippines and the Severino Reyes Medal Selection Committee for this prestigious recognition.
Ano Na Ngayon: The Sequel Exhibition
Art can forge connections that stand the test of time. This is especially true for those who were mentored by Fernando Sena, the Father of Philippine Art Workshops. Decades after his classes were held in the first wooden building at East Avenue, the first home of the Children’s Museum and Library, Incorporated (CMLI), his students have come together for this tribute and reunion show.
Ano Na Ngayon, held at CANVAS Gallery and Garden last May, was a sequel to the group’s 2019 reunion show entitled Noon at Ngayon. The 2019 exhibit presented works by Fernando Sena and his students in pairs – an early work showing their humble beginnings and a current work depicting their journey as fully realized artists. Ano Na Ngayon revisited the artists five years later, through their professional and personal developments, not the least, surviving a pandemic. This exhibition served as a prompt to continue growing as an artist while recognizing their artistic roots from their workshops with Mr. Sena.
Bookgiving Updates
Since its launch last February, If Trees Could Talk has warmly welcomed kids and families from around Batangas, Metro Manila, and beyond. Tours and art workshops brought more life to the open-air museum as new stories formed from the visitors' experiences. Last June 15, the museum site was again filled with kids, parents, teachers, and community members of Ibaan, as we hosted a bookgiving event sponsored by Bukal Sining donor Karina Moreno, a long-time supporter of CANVAS’ efforts.
100 young readers from Sto. Niño Elementary School, Ibaan District were given books, and guided by CANVAS docents around the Museum and Biennale features, curiously exploring the details of artworks made from recycled materials and happily hugging the colorful bagras trees. They each took home a copy of Ang Punla ng Aratiles, a book written by Eugene Evasco and illustrated by RV Basco.
For this quarter, CANVAS was able to give away 1,510 books in various communities and schools. And overall, we are now at 495,915 books given away since we started on our One Million Books for One Million Filipino children journey, just inches away from the halfway mark. :)
Museum Development Updates
Phase 1 is practically complete. This is where we are. We have three permanent installations already in place: Elmer Borlongan and Lito Mondejar’s “The Tree Huggers”; John and Pam Santos’ “Not a Mirage”, and Cian Dayrit’s “The Weight of Words” (in progress).
Aside from those, we are also doing the finishing touches for Leeroy New’s “I Am An Explorer”, which is our first permanent gallery and exhibition space for Tumba-Tumba.
And finally, “Tawag”, our artistic public restroom facilities, and “Kulandong”, a temporary multi-purpose facility for workshops, food staging, and as a preliminary library and activity center, are both already partially operational and in use, and are expected to be fully completed in the next few months.
No new major construction is planned or anticipated between now and June next year. The focus, for now, will shift to three main areas:
Fundraising: We are trying to raise at least P30,000,000.00 to build “I Am the Storyteller”. This will be our main and most important hall as it will house around 200 pieces of narrative artworks curated to spark the imagination of visitors. For a preview of some of these pieces, you can click here. :)
The building of this main exhibition space will also enable us to sell entrance tickets for visitors, hopefully providing us with cashflow as we then build all the other anticipated offerings in a few subsequent years.
The challenge is to secure the commitments from corporations and interested donors to raise this amount by June 2025, so that we can then break ground in time for CANVAS’ 20th Anniversary. As previously mentioned, we are not starting from zero - we already have a $200,000.00 matching grant from the Panta Rhea Foundation to jumpstart the effort. Please do let me know if you wish to learn more about or to explore how you can be involved in this effort. :)
Still, we are moving forward, and have now formally engaged the services of an architectural firm, Arkisens, to make the complete architectural designs and plans.
Landscaping and Maintenance: In the meantime, we are also going to invest in landscaping and creating new seating areas all around the land. The site will remain open for free to visitors by appointment, and the idea is to make the whole land more walkable, and presentable.
Community Engagement: Finally, we are also preparing programmatic activities to engage the surrounding communities as well as interested supporters. We intend to organize bookgiving and guided tour events, as well as special art, drawing and pottery workshops continuously in the coming months.
Other News and Updates
We are pleased to announce the extension of the "Battle of Mactan" loan to the National Museum until December 2024. This monumental masterpiece is presently on display at the Regional Museum of the National Museum in Cebu.
Relatedly, as we approach our 20th Anniversary in 2025, preparations are in full swing. We are excited to share that the National Museum of the Philippines has agreed to host a major retrospective for CANVAS. They are alloting two galleries to house our exhibition, which will run for one full year, and feature 80-120 significant works from our collection to set the stage for the Tumba-Tumba Children's Museum of Philippine Art's grand opening in 2026-2027. You can have a preview of some of these pieces by clicking here.
The retrospective will open on June 13, 2025, and we hope to celebrate with all our supporters in Manila, so please mark the date! Additional activities that are planned for the celebration include the groundbreaking of "I Am the Storyteller" hall at the Tumba-Tumba Museum, and a book launch for "Tala: The Star Who Could Not Sleep", a counting book for very young readers written by Augie Rivera, with artworks by Liza Flores.