Unveiled sculpture symbolizes banks’ importance
THE unveiled last monumental sculpture of Abdulmari Imao by CBS China Bank Savings Inc. last Tuesday is being offered by the lender as a representation of banks’ support to Filipino entrepreneurs and economic development.
“The original intent of the sculpture was the images of people supporting each other: people shoring up other people,” Rizalee Ibarra-imao, daughter-in-law of the first Moro National Artist for Visual Arts, told the Businessmirror.
According to Ibarra-imao, the artwork was originally commissioned by another lender to show “how banks and other economic institutions help our entrepreneurs and also be successful in their endeavors.”
According to a statement by Imao’s family, the artist of Tausug heritage sculpts images of the Sarimanok (a legendary bird that has become an ubiquitous symbol of Maranao art). His family, however, considers the hammered brass sculpture reinstalled at the CBS’S headquarters as exceptional. They said the artwork honors Filipinos who enter business and contribute to the country’s economic growth.
Cultural heritage
CBS APDLG head Niel C. Jumawan said the installation of the sculpture titled “Mga Maninikap” (Hard-working Filipinos) is just the first of many exceptional artworks the bank plans
to share with the general public after the lender’s initiative was “wellaccepted” by the Makati City local government unit.
“Cultural heritage is essential to sustainable business practices, as stewards, especially as a bank with close ties to the public sector,” Jumawan said during the rededication ceremony on the 14 t h of February, considered “Art Month” in the Philippines. “We seek to maintain the physical and cultural assets. If you want an emotional and physically healthy world, we must care for the things that value, like the sculpture of Dr. Imao.”
He added that “if we value our heritage, we value our history; we now have that anchor.”
“If you have that memory of
where you come from, you’ll not be lost and that’s the essence of valuing the culture and the arts,” Jumawan added emphasizing the installation of Imao’s art work shows how CBS values public landscapes and its support of the arts.
Shared to public
CBS Officer-in-charge of Marketing and Advertising Josephine F. Fernandez, meanwhile, believes that art works like Imao’s “are not supposed to be kept but shared.”
Fernandez added that CBS allows community access to important cultural property under the aegis of the lender’s “Build & Rise Initiative.” The latter is a nationwide advocacy and community engagement campaign of CBS.
“We have a lot of good material and very good art pieces. We’re about to start re-framing [some of them] and I think we’re going to share it to the public,” Fernandez said. “And we’re hoping with these artworks, [we could] start increasing the consciousness of people, especially young people, [on arts].”
She said after the reinstallation of Imao’s work, the CBS plans to feature and display artworks and masterpieces at the more than 200 branches of the bank located throughout the country. Fernandez said this initiative aims to raise public awareness and appreciation for the arts and to spark continuous efforts for conservation of the Filipino cultural heritage.