Mabuhay magazine wins prestigious journalism prize in Hong Kong

In-flight publication of Philippine Airlines competed with Reuters and Economist

Mabuhay’s feature story on Japan’s new generation of ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) artists won Honorable Mention for Excellence in Arts & Culture Reporting at the Society of Publishers in Asia’s (Sopa) 2018 Awards, competing with Reuters and The Economist. Awards night was held on June 13 in Hong Kong,

Mabuhay is the in-flight magazine of four-star flag carrier Philippine Airlines, published by Ink, a leading travel media agency.

In “Flower Power,” Mabuhay deep-dived into the dreamy, living laboratories of Japan’s new wave of botanical artists, where a group of punk musicians and modern architects are revisiting and expanding the ever-relevant philosophy behind Ikebana, considered a dying art.

One of them is Makoto Azuma, founder of avante-garde collective AMKK, who once built a 13-foot tall bouquet of Heliconia flowers and banana flowers in the Negros Island region of the Philippines in 2015.

Flowers are big business in Japan—its floriculture industry was worth an estimated US$8 billion six years ago, Mabuhay reports.

“The ancient imperial art of ikebana originated, like bonsai, in the sixth or seventh century as a form of altar worship, but gained in popularity once the Japanese tea ceremony took off in the 16th century,” according to the magazine.

Azuma and the other ikebana artists featured in Mabuhay’s feature story are part of a new breed of experimental Tokyo creatives breathing fresh life into this ancient art—one that even the old guard of ikebana practitioners worry is in danger of fading into obscurity. While it has more recently gained popularity abroad, back in Japan apprenticeships with the aging ikebana masters are dwindling.

“I’m very pleased with this Sopa award and grateful for the opportunity to create long-form, journalistic pieces for Philippine Airlines about the destinations we fly to,” Mabuhay editor in chief James P. Ong said.

In October 2017, Mabuhay was nominated in the 2017 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards, held in New York City. Mabuhay was a finalist in the Series of Articles category for “Going Global,” its signature section where outstanding Filipinos living in PAL destinations are profiled with their two-day itinerary to their city.

Founded in 1994 in London, Ink provides content for airlines, railways, travel companies and their passengers, producing 27 magazines in 10 languages. Partners include American Airlines, Amtrak, easyJet, Etihad Airways, Hong Kong Airlines, Norwegian, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.