Now on its 20th year, the Visayan Islands Visual Artists Exhibition Convention (VIVA ExCon) is a coming together of visual artists from all over the Visayas for three days of exhibitions, seminars, interactive projects, performances, workshops, and art congresses to help develop the Visayan artist to be the best of their respective area of expertise. Sponsored by the National Commission for Culture of the Arts, this year’s 10th holding of VIVA ExCon will be held on Cebu city on November 27-29, 2008, and is organized and managed by Pusod, the Open Organization of Cebu Visual Artists, Inc. Additional sponsors include: SM City Cebu, Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort, the University of the Philippines Cebu College, the University of San Carlos – College of Architecture and Fine Arts, Pow! Designs, and the City Government of Cebu.
The last major program of the 10th VIVA ExCon will be the exhibition titled “Garbo sa Bisaya”. To be held at the Bluewaters Gallery of the exlcusive Maribago Bluewaters Beach Resort, “Garbo sa Bisaya”was conceived by the organizers of the 10th VIVA ExCon specifically to address the legacy of these senior artists, by presenting their work to new generations of practitioners in a professionally curated and presented manner similar to a short retrospective of remembrance of those who have gone before. Such a project identifies and includes those senior Visayan artists participating in the exhibition as those who have made a name for themselves internationally and nationally through constant citations and presence in articles, essays, and reports from internationally-respected art publications, art catalogues and monographs, and official histories of art, and whose artworks grace the collections of major national art institutions, art galleries, and are held in high esteem among major art collectors, museum curators, and the art community in general. The project would also wish to prioritize first the living Visayan artists who have achieved this rarified stature, so that they may be honored and celebrated during their lifetimes, and their contributions engaged with by the community not only as a historical fact, but as a living presence.
For this year, the selected artists for “Garbo sa Bisaya” includes: Ceramic artist Nelfa Querubin (originally from Iloilo, and now working in Colorado, USA); master printmaker and painter Ofelia Gelvezon Tequi (originally from Iloilo, and now working in Provence, France); painter Charlie Co of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; painter Nunelucio Alvarado, of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental; Father of Philippine Printmaking and painter Manuel Rodrguez, Senior (originally from Cebu, and now working in New York, USA); Romulo Galicano (originally from Cebu, and now working in Quezon City); National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon V. Abueva (originally from Bohol, and now working in Quezon City); Raul Isidro (originally from Western Samar, and now working in Parañaque City); and Raul Lebajo (originally from Leyte, and now working in Muntinlupa City). The exhibition will honor these artists with an exhibition of their works, biographies of the artists, and critical commentaries on their works by the curator of the 10th VIVA ExCon, Dr. Reuben Ramas Cañete.
“Garbo sa Bisaya” will open on November 29, 2008, 6PM, at the Bluewaters Gallery, Maribago Bluewaters Beach Resort, Mactan. For more details, please contact: Dr. Reuben Ramas Cañete at reubencanete@yahoo.com; Mr. Yayo Yambao at yayoo_com@yahoo.com; Prof. Dennis Montera at dennismontera@hotmail.com; and Prof. Jose “Javy” Villacin at javy_villacin@yahoo.com.
