Exhibits
African Art
Galerie Astra, LRI Design Plaza, Makati City
Ongoing until February 16
A former European diplomat stationed in West Africa in the ‘80s exhibits 34 pieces of African art from his collection. On display are famous pieces like Dan Masks, Nomoli Stone Sculptures, and women Sande Society’s Helmet Masks which are known for their artistic, intrinsic and material value.
These masks and figures are valuable to Africans as they are used in rituals. But many Europeans have become interested in their aesthetic value, thus many artists and art enthusiasts started collecting them.
For inquiries on this ongoing exhibit, contact the art gallery at (02) 890-3988.
Afflictions of Glory
Leon Gallery, Corinthian Plaza, Makati City
Ongoing until February 21
In celebration of the 100th birth year of Alfonso Ossorio, a selection of his works are exhibited here in the Philippines for the first time.
The works on display curated by Liliane Rejante Manahan and Lisa Guerrero Nakpil represent Ossorio’s colorful, prolific and imaginative years as an artist who emerged from the Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1950s. The museum-goers will see how the modern artist birthed new techniques and form of expression while he was working on the mural for the Chapel of Saint Joseph the Worker in Negros Occidental and struggling with his own conflicts.
Call (02) 856-2781 or email [email protected] for more information on the exhibit.
Stagnant Energies
Tall Gallery, Finale Art File, Makati City
Ongoing until February 27
Filipina-Italian Romina Diaz presents a series of black and white photographs featuring abandoned spaces and corners to show that life once revolved, and still lies, around these forgotten places.
Spending nearly half of her life in Florence, Italy, Diaz witnessed how the European nation valued its history by protecting the places that hold the memories of their origins as a nation; and in contrast, she saw how Filipinos had such little sensibility towards these kinds of places, so much so that new development immediately rises in place of these neglected spaces.
Through the images, the balikbayan artist captures the memory and possibility of these asylums – that replacing and forgetting about them entirely is not the only option.
For more details, visit www.finaleartfile.com.
The Journey of Mankind: First Humans Out of Africa
Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City
February 9 to March 4
To share the stories of how the first men – our ancestors – were able to survive and became the men that we know now, the Ateneo Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Rizal Library, in collaboration with Crania Heritage Sciences, Inc., present a series of exhibits about the journey of the Homo erectus in Africa.
The exhibit will showcase fossils from animals, such as the skull of a saber-tooth cat, the skull of an extinct wolf, Canis etruscus, an elephant molar, and five stone tools dating back to 1.77 million years ago. But the stars of the show are three well-preserved human skulls found in Dmanisi, Georgia, a few kilometers away from East Africa where the Homo erectus is believed to have evolved.
The exhibition will focus on the discovery of these skulls and on analyzing how the first humans adapted after leaving Africa.
The traveling exhibition will be launched at the Ateneo de Manila University today, and will go to seven other schools in Manila. For more information, contact (02) 376-9422 or email [email protected].
Concerts
Kundiman, Atbp.
Ground Floor Lobby, Ayala Museum, Makati City
February 11; 6:30 p.m.
Treat yourself to an evening of original Filipino music as Ayala Museum’s Concert Series presents the first show of GuitarNights that will bring four talented classical guitarists to showcase their rendition of our popular folk songs, ballads and contemporary love songs.
Aaron Aguila, Ramoncito Carpio, Jordan Amaca and Lester Demetillo will serenade the audience, together with special guests Stefanie Quintin (soprano), Astarte Abraham (mezzo soprano) and Nicole Tejedor (clarinet).
Ticket prices range from P300 to P700, and are now available for sale at the Ayala Museum ticket counter, open during museum hours. For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 759-8288 loc. 31 or email [email protected].
Workshops
Short Fiction Writing
Ayala Museum, Makati City
February 14, 21 and 28
Believing that a writing career need not begin with a doorstopper of a novel, author and publisher of romance fiction Mina Esguerra will help aspiring fiction writers craft and finish their first short story that might just be the stepping stone for them to become successful fictionists.
With digital publishing and e-books, writers now have numerous options to be working, earning authors of short fiction, writing romance, suspense, science fiction, or fantasy.
Learn how to create a compelling and effective story in three sessions for P4,000. Contact (02) 759-8288 for more details on this workshop.