LOPEZ ART COLLECTION SPOTLIGHTS STORIES OF WOMEN AND MIGRATION

FOR the Lopez family, bringing a portion of their renowned art collection to Iloilo is not merely a logistical feat of transport and curation—it is an act of returning home.

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Fontainebleau, Saguil

Exploring the poignant intersections of gender, movement, and identity, the Lopez Group Foundation, Inc. (LGFI) has opened its newest exhibition, “Sown by the Traveler: Women and Migrants in Philippine Art,” at the University of the Philippines Visayas Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage (UPV MACH).

Running until June 6, 2026, the exhibit features paintings from the Lopez Museum and Library, curated to tell the often-overlooked stories of the Filipino diaspora.

Mercedes “Cedie” Lopez-Vargas, Executive Director of Lopez Museum and Library, described the opening as a celebration of narratives that usually exist on the margins of national history.

“The exhibit is a cultural event, or more aptly, a celebration of the stories that are very Filipino, but often absent or overlooked in national narratives—stories of women and stories of migrants,” Lopez-Vargas said during the launch. “In this exhibition, history and culture intersect with art and the modern realities of the Filipino.”

The exhibition draws a thematic line between the artists, many of whom were travelers themselves, and the millions of Filipinos who have left home in pursuit of opportunity.