Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) opened the “Icons MADE” exhibit and lecture series “HIRAYA” on May 15, in Pasilyo Victorio Edades (4F Hallway Gallery), CCP Main Theater Building. The exhibit served as a cultural heritage celebration, in line with this year’s National Heritage Month.
Icons MADE opened with the HIRAYA lecture series (Heritage Initiative on Raising Awareness and Yielding Advocacy), the Culture and Heritage Education Program (CHEP) of MBFI. The lectures featured ICOMOS president Ma. Cristina Paterno discussing heritage preservation, art historian and critic Cid Reyes on the narrative of the Icons MADE exhibit, and the League of Corporate Foundations Art & Culture committee representatives from MBFI, Felicidad T. Sy Foundation, and BPI Foundation with their lecture on CSR in the Arts.
Following the lecture series was the exhibit reception showcasing winning works of selected Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) awardees. The opening of the Icons MADE exhibit was led by CCP board of trustee chairperson Margie Moran-Floirendo and MBFI president Aniceto Sobrepeña.
In her welcome remarks, Margie Moran-Floirendo acknowledged the common vision of CCP and the Foundation’s arts program during the exhibit reception. “We are always on the lookout for passionate and persistent creative visionaries who are fresh, sometimes thought-provoking, especially during contentious times and relevant ideas that can help in national development.”
On heritage, MBFI president Aniceto Sobrepeña left a message to ponder on for the art community. “Think of our country as a puzzle. When all the other puzzle pieces are stripped away – the puzzle piece of all the successes and struggles of our economy, the puzzle piece securing the stability of the government, and the puzzle piece of the issues of our humanity—and focus on our country as it is, we are left with just one thing—the main basis for everything—which is our heritage. It can never be taken away from us, because our heritage is us.”
Icons MADE exhibit features award-winning paintings of 1988 & 1992 2nd prize winner Elmer Borlongan, 2007 grand winner Mark Andy Garcia, 1992 honorable mention Manny Garibay, 2001 Metrobank Young Painters’ Annual 3rd prize winner Guerrero Z. Habulan, 1990 grand winner Mark Justiniani, 2008 grand winner Raffy Napay, and 2007 grand winner Lynyrd Paras. The award-winning sculptures of 2005 grand winner Leeroy New and 2006 special citation recipient Mervy Pueblo are also showcased in the exhibit. All the featured MADE awardees are also recipients of the CCP Thirteen Artists Awardee.
The Icons MADE exhibit runs from May 9 until May 26, 2019./PN
