Last month, my sister and I joined the Downtown Iloilo Food Crawl organized by the Google Business Group, a meetup of Local Guides to map out restaurants around the downtown area. This time around, we went to different art galleries within the city, again sponsored by GBG, and Foton / Chevrolet Iloilo.
We met at the Chevrolet showroom. There were fewer participants than in the food crawl but now, there were kids. Introductions were made and we were briefed about the tour.
Speaking of facts and trivias, just to let you know, this post is just about my experience and some things you need to know about these art galleries. I’m not really the attentive art tourist. I haven’t retained a fact about General Delgado. I’m so sorry, Miss Thea.
Also, no complicated art jargons and art references. We just love art and my sister and I just discussed between the two of us our simple thoughts about the artworks.
ILOMOCA has three levels and we’re only allowed to take photos on the ground floor. Also, backpacks should be deposited at the reception.
Artworks there were not for sale. However, you may want to buy souvenirs from their shop.
I’ll leave the second and third level for you to explore. What I can say is that my sister and I think the one hour or so allotted for ILOMOCA wasn’t enough. We don’t speak art but we like discussing about the art that we see. We found ourselves in a playground where I exclaim, “Kikies! Dya pagid nami ho!” (Kikies, There’s another great piece! – translation provided by my sister). Yeah, I call her Kikies, long before the Kiki-do-you-love-me song, in case you’re wondering who is Kikies.
There are three things I’ve realized (and proved) after visiting the museum. First, there were a number of established Ilonggo artists. Second, the quality of the art they made are comparable to international artists, or maybe even better. I’ll save the last thing at the end of this post.
After ILOMOCA, we proceeded to Cafe Panay, Festive Walk branch, just next to the museum.
We were supposed to go to Museo Iloilo, but since we don’t have enough time and because most of us have visited the museum before, we headed to Gallery i.
I’ve heard about Gallery i from a friend’s Facebook post but I didn’t realize it was just at the second floor of the Eusebio Villanueva Building along Calle Real. Some of the artworks here by up-and-coming Ilonggo artists were for sale. No entrance fee.
For our last destination, we went to the Molo Mansion for the opening of a new exhibit.
The Molo Mansion is more of a souvenir shop but they open their second floor for events like art exhibits.
I think this was my first time to attend an art exhibit opening/launching. You get to see the artists in person. I was too shy to talk to them though.
So back to my last realization…
Before, I used to think that being an artist in the province is hopeless. I thought it takes a bigger city, or a bigger country, with more openness to the art world, for artists to begin a career. Seeing this level of Ilonggo creativity, I proved that passion can grow even in environments that don’t nurture it. Passion is within each person, within these artists who nurture their talents despite the odds, not only improving themselves, but also aiming for others to see the world like they do.
These artists work together to flourish further the local art scene. Now that we have, aside from Museo Iloilo, art galleries like ILOMOCA and Gallery i, and frequent art exhibits featuring local artists, the efforts made to showcase this passion for art had indeed been fruitful.