“Kabanay” Art Exhibit
Since its initial formation in 2014, ArtPortal Cebu has helped various upand-coming artists make a name for themselves in the local creative arts sphere.
The brainchild of Cebuano painter Celso Pepito, the artist association and mentorship program continues to do so now as Cebu slowly shuffles into the “now normal” phase by regularly hosting hybrid in-venue and online-accessible art shows and events. “Kabanay,” an exhibit that features artworks by artists who hail from the municipality of Samboan, is the artist incubator program’s most recent creative fete.
On display at the ArtPortal Cebu Gallery at the First Philippines Partners Bank in Consolacion, Cebu, the exhibit features lifescapes and landscapes that depict just how picturesque the municipality of Samboan is.
Top-billed by paintings of the town’s landmarks and depictions of life in the countryside, it takes a direct approach in bringing attention to Samboan’s beauty through works that are meant to be appreciated as they are – works that are not meant to be taken as visual metaphors that are subject to a viewer’s interpretation.
More than a show of the sights-and-sounds of Samboan, the exhibit is distinct in the sense that its exhibiting talents hail from one familial clan, one “creative kabanay,” so to speak.
Most of the show’s exhibiting artists found their love for artmaking through an outreach activity that was initiated by the Cebu Artists Inc. organization a couple of years back. The organization, which Pepito is a founding member of, is one of Cebu’s longest-running artist associations.
Ongoing for the duration of the month, “Kabanay” can be viewed in-venue at the ArtPortal Cebu Gallery in Consolacion or online through the portal’s official Facebook page.