Hiraya: Kape, Sining, Kultura is Belmont Hotel Manila’s third lobby art exhibit that highlights Filipino artistry and culture. The exhibit is ongoing until July 24 and features two of the country’s most brilliant coffee artists: Rens E. Tuzon and Esang Ocampo.
Rens E. Tuzon is the pioneer of coffee arts in the Philippines. He first discovered that coffee could be a medium for painting as a Fine Arts student when he accidentally spilled coffee on one of his projects. Prior to becoming a full-time coffee painter, he ventured into other professions such as radio DJ and music columnist.
In 2010, his interest in coffee art was revived when he noticed that plenty of coffee shops were opening in Manila. One of his first works was the image of Yoda from Star Wars that immediately went viral on social media. What followed was an invitation to exhibit his works abroad, starting with the 2017 International Coffee Exposition and Art Exhibition in Paris, France.
In 2018, Tuzon placed First Runner Up in the New York Coffee Festival for his entry Golden Happiness Coffee Brings and reaped the same award in the 2019 London Coffee Festival. The Philippines was very much behind in this art form, which is why Tuzon’s works received international recognition first.
Esang Ocampo, an equally brilliant coffee artist, is the first Coffee Upcycling Artist in the Philippines. She goes beyond just using coffee as her medium. Her works showcase the combined use of coffee beans, coffee grounds, and upcycled materials such as old jewelry, scraps of cloth, and other broken materials to form images. Her unique approach has already caught the attention of both local and foreign art collectors and newsrooms.
Ocampo is the founder of Sining, Kape, at Kultura, an organization of Filipino Coffee Artists in the Philippines established in 2020 with 800 members. Their advocacy is to raise awareness of coffee art while also promoting Filipino culture and supporting coffee farmers. Part of the proceeds from their sold artworks benefits coffee farmers to purchase coffee seedlings. The organization also believes in the power of the youth. They visit different provinces to teach both children and adults to paint.
A special opening day was recently held with the presence of friends from media and valued clients. Present to welcome guests were Belmont Hotel Manila Director of Operations Mayann Malapote and Cluster General Manager Socrates Alvaro, to name a few. Also in attendance to showcase their artful talents were Asia’s only Mud Art Performer, Percy Denolo, and Fastest Coffee Art Portrait Artist, George Melante.
Hiraya is Belmont Hotel Manila’s series of lobby art exhibits that aims to help preserve Filipino culture and promote Filipino artists. This is the third time that the hotel is serving as a venue for artists to showcase their works and they look forward to more collaborations in the future.
All artworks are for sale with part of the proceeds going to chosen coffee farmer groups.
For more information, please call 5318 8888 or email info@belmontmanila.com.
