CELEBRATING ART, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
A novel gathering that banded visual art with music took place in the metro last month – one which served as the abre-gana event of a Toledo Citybased creative arts center.
Billed “Expose” and held last February 22 at Handuraw Pizza in Subangdaku, Mandaue, the event was mainlined by a charcoal drawing workshop helmed by Artemio Anga of the Vios Center of the Arts (VCA).
The workshop largely covered the basic techniques that’re entailed in the making of charcoal drawings (hatching, cross-hatching, shading and blending) and charged its participants to render charcoal illustrations of a live model.
Serving as the second half of the gathering was a vinyl and music event that featured performances by local recording artists under Viva Records – Iping Amores, DaivJstn, Ryle Jhon, and Kidz These Days.
Primed as a nurturing space for artistic exploration, VCA, under the guidance of Ma. Rowena Vios, was founded to honor the creative legacy of Ramon Vios Sr.
Keen on connecting local artists with opportunities that go beyond the margins of their canvases, creative daubers affiliated with the center took part in different exhibits in and outside of Cebu last month, like The Hearts Of Gold Foundation, Inc’s showcase at Chong Hua Hospital Mandaue, which ran from February 8-20.
Artists affiliated with the center also headlined a collaborative art exhibit with the Asian Hospital and Medical Center’s Department of Surgery, which ran from February 12-29, and they also top-billed the ManilaMed Medical Department of Surgery and ManilaMed Medical Staff Organization art exhibition on February 14.
This particular show was staged in collaboration with VCA’s affiliate artist organization, the Toledo Neo Artists Group.
Outside of art exhibits, VCA aims to be a platform where various forms of creative expression are given due focus – from celebrating the delicate strokes of a painting to the rhythm of music, the movement of dance to the poetic words of literature, the storytelling prowess inherent in film to the dramatic expressions of acting, the vibrant energy of theater to the disciplined forms and stances of martial arts.
The well-received run of “Expose” emboldens the center’s dedication to serve as an incubator program-cumorganization for Toledo’s diverse and growing creative community.