PIA Press Release
Tuesday, January 10, 2012Art exhibit features Cebuano contemporary artistsCEBU CITY, Jan. 10 (PIA) -- Contemporary artists in Cebu showcase their works in an art exhibit at the Cebu City Museum at Osmena Boulevard on January 4-31, 2012. The works on display include paintings and sculptures of Palmy Pe-Tudtud, Marvin Natural, Kidlat of the Junks Collective, Karl Roque, Sio Montera, Ritchie Quijano, Vidal Alcoseba, and Tito Cuevas. Russ Ligtas will give Butoh performances on Jan. 12 and 13. During the opening ceremonies, Cebu City Mayor Micheal Rama lauded this initiative saying it is a way to recognize Cebuano talents in visual arts as well as to promote the Cebu City Museum. RAFI-Culture and Heritage executive director Dr. Jocelyn Gerra said, “Contemporary Cebu is a good opportunity for introducing the Cebuano audience to contemporary arts and for them to be familiar who the Cebuano contemporary visual artists are." Exhibition and programs curator JV Castro said that this annual event is designed to bring national attention to contemporary Cebuano artists and their works. Castro added this exhibition features some of the finest artists we have in Cebu . All the works are done by Cebuano artists who specialize in contemporary works. "Meaning the portrayal of subjects are different. In a way, we want to promote Cebu in a different light,” Castro said. Dennis “Sio” Montera, one of the featured artists shared the inspiration and stories behind his paintings. “My art is more on expression of the things that have been relevant in my life—happiness, sadness, loss of loved one, any life experience," Montera said. For him, the best way to communicate or deal with his emotions is to paint. It is more likely the reflection of a current situation of his life. "It's like a diary, mirroring what is happening around me,” he noted. Contemporary Cebu is realized in its second year now through the collaboration of The Alternative Contemporary Art Studio, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), and The Grove by Rockwell. Alternative Contemporary Art Studio and RAFI have been partners since Contemporary Cebu’s inception in 2011. This year, they took in The Grove by Rockwell as a major partner. The first exhibit was held in June 2011 in Manila at the Ateneo de Manila University and Picasso Boutique Hotel. Other sponsors of the exhibit are the Cebu City Government, Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission of Cebu City, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Blue Shield Risk Management, Gothong Southern, Michelangelo Pizzeria, and Hola España. (mbcn/PIA-7 & CTU/Maryknoll B. Lague) | 
