Category: CFA Highlights
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On March 5, 2025, UPD College of Fine Arts hosted a breakfast meet-up MA Art History students from LASALLE University Singapore, headed by Dr. Jeffrey Say, joined by Ms. Joleen Loh, curator from National Gallery Singapore. They were received by Dean Marc San Valentin, MFA students, and some faculty members of the CFA’s Graduate Studies Program. It was followed by a short campus tour, visiting the UP Center for Ethnomusicology, OICA’s KaLikhasan: outdoor art projects on campus ecology, and Vargas Museum.
LASALLE and UP have MOU. The two graduate programs are exploring possibilities of more dialogue and exchanges in the future.
Parties interested form linkage with UPD CFA may contact the Committee on Linkages, Scholarships and Grants through cfaclsg.upd@up.edu.ph
On March 4, 2025 the UP College of Fine Arts formally recognized the generous support Santiago Bose’s heir and Frederick M. Masangkay, by contributing to the students development fund and scholarship funds. Both Bose and Masangkay are alumni of UPD CFA.
Dean Marc J. San Valentin presented the donors certificate of appreciation and a digital print made by Asst. Prof. Sandra Dans.
Application for grants from these donations will be announced as soon as processing of documents have been completed.
Parties interested to donate to UPD CFA may contact the Committee on Linkages, Scholarships and Grants through cfaclsg.upd@up.edu.ph
Last May 31, 2024 the UP Board of Regents appointed the three batches of UP Artists from 2020-2022, 2021-2023, and 2022-2024. 15 of the 80 awardees are from the UP College of Fine Arts. We extend our congratulations to our
Dean
Marc J. San Valentin, Artist I
College Secretary
Jose Manuel L. Sicat, Artist I
Faculty Members :
Ma. Victoria R. Abaño, Artist I
Romanlito S. Austria, Artist I
Nina Elisa B. Constantino, Artist I
Ruben Fortunato M. de Jesus †, Artist I
Fortunato B. Dela Peña Jr., Artist I
Rita B. Gudiño, Artist I
Abdulmari “Toym” de Leon Imao, Jr., Artist I
Lisa Ito-Tapang, Artist I
Wilson A. Lumbao, Jr., Artist II
Marco Ruben T. Malto, Artist I
Jamel Joseph A. Obnamia, Artist I
Annie Dennise Pacaña, Artist I
Riza A. Romero, Artist I
“The UP Arts Productivity System is aimed at encouraging outstanding productivity in the creative arts or in arts scholarship for national development.”
(UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs)
Warmest congratulations to our professors!
#Padayon #UPArtsProductivitySystem #UPArtists
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐜 𝐃!
The UP Fine Arts Gallery congratulates Dr. Dayang Magdalena Nirvana T. Yraola for being awarded the Gawad Tsanselor 2024 para sa Natatanging Guro!
Doc D, as she prefers to be called, is currently an associate professor at the Department of Theory of the UP College of Fine Arts. She also served as the first female curator of the UP Fine Arts Gallery from 2020-2023. Parola’s humble yet spirited beginnings are owed to Doc D’s leadership—from its official relaunch in September 2022 to the undertaking of the College of Fine Arts Permanent Collection. Parola has witnessed and hosted notable exhibitions and projects under her direction, such as The Listening Biennial 2023: Inter-Asia Plus and the UP SANAG Art Prize 2023.
Gawad Tsanselor is UP Diliman’s highest accolade awarded annually to the most outstanding members of the UP Diliman community.
Congratulations, Doc D!
#UPFineArtsGallery #GawadTsanselor2024
In Loving Memory of Araceli Limcaco-Dans
(December 9, 1929-May 18, 2024)
May 19, 2024
The UP College of Fine Arts deeply condoles with the family and friends of Araceli Limcaco-Dans: an exemplary visual artist, pioneering arts educator, and beloved mentor to generations of artists.
Mentored by Fernando Amorsolo, Dans finished her degree in Painting from the UP College of Fine Arts in 1950. She dedicated nearly eight decades of her life to teaching and painting, sharing her art through more than a hundred group and solo exhibitions.
A trailblazer in the field of art education, she spent the first two decades of her merging painting and pedagogy while raising a family of 10 with Engr. Jose P. Dans. After graduating from UP, she founded the Department of Fine Arts of the Philippine Women’s University in 1950 and reorganized the art program of the Ateneo Grade School department in 1963. She introduced innovations to the teaching of art through her work as a studio teacher with the Ateneo Educational Television in 1964-1968 and co-founded with Brenda Fajardo the Philippine Art Educators Association in 1968.
An artist who worked across different media, from oil to watercolor, she is most celebrated for realistic still life paintings produced since the 1980s. Her series of works re-configuring calado (intricate and heavy embroidery) and local flora arrangements now has its place in the remarkable history of Philippine modern painting.
We are grateful for her leadership and love for the art community, remembering her years serving as a very dedicated President of the UP College of Fine Arts Alumni Association. For her achievements as both a painter and art educator, she was recognized with the Cultural Center of the Philippines Centennial Honors for the Arts, the UP Alumni Association Award, and many more distinctions.
Farewell, Cheloy Dans. Your lifelong commitment to art and your remarkable example of strength, care, and love continues to inspire and comfort us all.
𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫
March 27, 2024
As a university-based gallery dedicated to creative pedagogy and practice, the UP Fine Arts Gallery (Parola) affirms how art, learning, and emancipatory practice are interconnected. We ended the First Semester of the Academic Year (AY) 2023-2024 last January with 45 projects, consisting of 18 art exhibitions, 16 talks and/or workshops, and 11 events. We warmly welcomed the Second Semester of AY 2023-2024 last February with continuous programming centered on the celebration of the arts, gender, and their vital role in asserting development and rights.
We opened National Arts Month with eight exhibitions and daily workshops, artist talks, discussions, drawing and art production sessions. These exhibits are Empires of Memory, The Aesthetics of Engagement, Warm Bodies: Defending the Right to Dissent, Bawal ang Malungkot: Retrospective Series of Jose Alberto Tañedo (1953-2021), Dito at Doon: UPCFA Annual Students’ Show, Walk in her Shoes, Maglingkod at Magpahinungod, and Bisita Planeta. These highlighted the innovative and interdisciplinary works of our undergraduate and MFA students and faculty and the creative practice of social movements across Philippine history.
We put the spotlight on the importance of National Women’s Month with the group exhibitions Lulan, Ulila, Liham, Alaga, Naman, organized by the ILCP Art Space based in Negros Oriental, Matereality, group exhibit on the diverse visual languages of women artists, and Reflections on Visibility, featuring selections from the Permanent Collection of the UP College of Fine Arts. This was complemented with weekend and Monday activities organized by the artists and gender advocates.
We express gratitude for the strong support of our partner institutions, organizations, and individuals, the untiring efforts of the FA Gallery staff, interns and student assistants, and the guidance of Dean Marc San Valentin and College Secretary Manolo Sicat, the department chairs, preventive conservation expert June Poticar-Dalisay, and Gallery Committee members Prof. Mitzi Marie Aguilar-Reyes, Assoc. Prof. Jamel Obnamia, Assoc. Prof. Dayang Yraola, Asst. Prof. Sandra Dans, Mr. Rommel Joson, Mr. Ian Carlo Jaucian, and Assoc. Prof. Fortunato Dela Peña. As we prepare for the Lenten and Reading Breaks, we invite you all to continue participating in Parola’s programs when we resume with new events and exhibits in April.
———
𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐈𝐭𝐨–𝐓𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐠 (Lisa Ito) is a cultural worker, writer, and curator. Since August 2023, she has been serving as the curator of the UP Fine Arts Gallery (Parola), the official exhibition site and creative compound of the UP College of Fine Arts, UP Diliman.
She is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Theory, where she has been teaching art history, theory, and criticism since 2012. She also heads the CFA Gender and Development (GAD) Committee, which received the Gawad Kasarian 2023 recognition from the UP Diliman Gender Office. She received her B Fine Arts (Art History) from the UPCFA and her Master of Arts in Art Studies (Art History) from the UP College of Arts and Letters.
She was the Chairperson of the Young Critics Circle Film Desk in 2017-2018. Since 2019, she has been serving as the Secretary-General of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP), an organization of progressive artists founded in 1983. She served as a panelist for the recently concluded 12th KRITIKA La Salle National Workshop on Art and Cultural Criticism in Iloilo.
📷 :Viggo Sarmago, Intern
Categories
National Arts Month at UPCFA
In celebration of National Arts Month 2024 and UP Fine Arts Month 2024, with the theme of Pagtanaw, we offer a full lineup of art exhibitions and daily events.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Feb. 12 (Mon)
𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚
Atrium, 9:30: AM – 12:00 NN
Feb. 13 (Tues)
𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐳
Closing event for The Aesthetics of Engagement
Multipurpose Hall, 2:30 – 4:00 PM
Feb. 14 (Wed)
Exhibit Opening
𝐁𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐭: 𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐧̃𝐞𝐝𝐨 (𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟑-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏)
Gallery One
Feb. 15 (Thurs)
𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝟏𝟖: 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞, 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚, & 𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤
Warm Bodies (with CAP)
Plenary Hall, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Feb. 16 (Fri)
Exhibit Opening
𝐃𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐧: 𝐔𝐏𝐂𝐅𝐀 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭
Atrium
Feb. 17 (Sat)
𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐳 𝐟𝐨𝐫 “𝐔𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝: 𝐀 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧”
Multipurpose Hall
Feb. 18 (Sun)
𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐀
Plenary Hall
Feb. 20 (Tues)
𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐨𝐧
Closing Event, Warm Bodies: Defending the Right to Dissent
Plenary Hall, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Feb. 21 (Wed)
𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲
Conference Room, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞
Plenary Hall, 1:00 p.m.
Feb. 23 (Fri)
𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐤-𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐤 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐏 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜
Plenary Hall
Feb. 27 (Tues)
𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐝, 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐩𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐝!
Gallery Two, 4:00 p.m.
Join us in a colorful month and celebrate art with us!
#Parola #UPFineArtsGallery #NationalArtsMonth2024 #ArtPh
On 19 August 2023, 6:00 PM, the UPAA held the Awarding Ceremonies of the 2023 UPAA Alumni Awardees at Ang Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman, Quezon City.
The UPAA Awardees are outstanding individuals recognized for their leadership, achievements, service, and contributions to create positive change in the country and in the world. This year’s awards for Most Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus are given to Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo (AB’86) and Arsenio M. Balisacan (MS’82).
The UPAA grants the Distinguished Alumni Awards to individuals with outstanding achievements in their fields of endeavour. This year’s awardees include UPCFA Alumnus Roberto A. Alejandro in Art as Advocacy. The UPCFA family congratulates “Kuya Robert” for being the inspiring artist and designer that he is, employing his talent to serve his fellow Filipinos.
Read more about the UPAA Alumni Awardees 2023.
About the UPAA Alumni Awards:
The annual UPAA Alumni Awards is an independent award program that gives recognition to UP graduates with exceptional achievements in their fields, careers, or vocations. The works of these outstanding alumni bring substantial benefit to society and give distinction to the University. The UPAA recognizes the achievements and contributions of individuals and organizations whose efforts impact the community at the local, national, or international level.
*Images courtesy of the artist through Kuya Robert’s Healing Journey Facebook account.
MET PRESIDENT TINA COLAYCO RECEIVES THE CHEVALIER DE L’ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES FROM THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT
In recognition of her significant contributions to culture and the arts, Florentina P Colayco, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (The M), was awarded the one of France’s most prestigious civilian distinctions, the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the National Order for Arts and Letters), during a ceremony held on June 22, 2023.
Presenting the honour on behalf of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication was the Ambassador of France to the Philippines, Her Excellency Michele Boccoz cited Ms. Colayco’s “dedication to the development of the visual arts as an active part of society, the education of the public as key in the socio-cultural development of the community, and for being a partner of the Embassy of France in its objective to promote cultural diversity in the cultural environment. The years of lockdown due to the pandemic proved the importance of art in the wellbeing of man.”
As an educator, professor and former dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Fine Arts, Ms. Colayco was “instrumental in establishing and implementing the Cooperation Agreement between UP and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts de Paris (ENSBA) which allowed an exchange program between Filipino and French students.”
Moreover, Ms. Colayco, as a publisher, worked with the editorial and production team of “Bon Vivant”, a book authored by Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo, based on a 2008 symposium on the role and influence of France in Philippine History, Culture, Education and the Arts. The award is fitting, as the Philippines and France mark 75 years of continuing robust, dynamic and diverse diplomatic relations this year (2023).
Under her leadership, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila has organized several important exhibitions, including “Brave New World,” which brought together twenty Filipino and four French artists, as well as FITE: RENAISSANCE (Festival International des Textiles Extra Ordinaires), a memorable collaboration between the French Embassy, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, the Musée de Bargoin, the city of Claremont-Ferrand, and Filipino designer Patis Tesoro that showcased textile and woven materials all over the world, linking heritage, the tradition of weaving, and contemporary art.
Colayco said she felt “deeply honored and humbled,” to receive the award, adding that she would like to share it, “in gratitude, the distinction – with peers and esteemed colleagues at the French embassy, the museum, the academe, the publishing company, with dear friends and most specially – family”.
The French Ministry of Culture and Communication recognizes personalities in the world who contribute to the brightness of the beams of the cultural action of France in the world and those who work follows the same principles of Cultural Diplomacy.
Dean Florentina Colayco receives the award of the National Order of Arts and Letters from the French Government last June 22, 2023. French Ambassador Michèle Boccoz congratulated former dean of the UP College of Fine Arts, Prof. Florentina Colayco in the prestigous event. The UPCFA congratulates Dean Colayco with the presence of colleagues Dean Nestor Vinluan, Prof. Romanlito Austria, and Prof. Dakila Fernando at the awarding ceremonies at the residence of the French Ambassador. Congratulations Dean Tina! UPCFA is proud of your achievements!
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