How Filipino art survives through the ages

BSP highlights Filipino contemporary art in new National Museum exhibit

- WALA LANG DR. JAIME C. LAYA

Contemporary works long unseen are on show in the National Museum of Fine Arts. Drawn from the collection of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the exhibit consists of paintings and sculptures dating from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

In the exhibit, dubbed “Kultura, Kapital, Kasalukuyan,” are works of National Artist BenCab; Negros artists Charlie Co and Nunelucio Alvarado; social realists Pablo Baens Santos, Edgar Talusan Fernandez, Antipas Delotavo, and Renato Habulan; Salingpusa artist Emmanuel Garibay; Laguna expressionist Danilo Dalena; abstract artist Lee Aguinaldo; conceptual artist Roberto Chabet; installation artist Junyee. Many works are by women artists, Ofelia Gelveson-Tequi, Geraldine Javier, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, Patricia Eustaquio, and other stars of the Philippine artistic firmament.

National government revenues are never enough to cover current and infrastructure needs. Understandably, Congress is unable to appropriate sufficient funds to add to the National Museum collection. On the other hand, Government Owned or Controlled Corporations (GOCC) have greater leeway. They earn operating income, their boards decide on operating budgets, and once in a while, they set something aside for art and culture. The BSP has led the way, starting from Gov. Gregorio Licaros, who built the present BSP complex along Roxas Boulevard, to his successors Amando Tetangco and your columnist.