Ribbon cutting ceremony to open Patrimony of All: Former Sen. Frank Drilon, Iloilo City First Lady Rosalie Sarabia-Treñas, UPV Chancellor Dr. Clement Castigador-Camposano and Mercedes Lopez Vargas
“The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” — Aristotle
It was truly a milestone for the University of the Philippines in Visayas (UPV) as it inaugurated The Patrimony of All (or Ang Panublion Sang Tanan in Hiligaynon).
Held at the at the UP Visayas Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage at the UPV Main Building (that used to host the Old Iloilo City Hall, circa 1935), it was an exhibition featuring artworks of four Filipino masters from the late 19th Century to the early 20th Century, namely, JUAN LUNA, FELIX RESURRECION HIDALGO, FERNANDO AMORSOLO, and JUAN ARELLANO.
Curated by Dr. PATRICK FLORES of the National Gallery of Singapore, the artistic endeavor was made possible through the generosity of the LOPEZ family (which owns the collection through the Lopez Museum and Library), the support of political leaders – Sen. LOREN LEGARDA, former Sen. FRANK DRILON, and the Iloilo City Government led by Mayor JERRY P. TREÑAS – and advocates of culture and the arts – former Tourism Secretary NARZALINA LIM and Prof. MARTIN GENODEPA of the UPV Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts.
In attendance were lovers of arts and champions of culture and heritage who hobnobbed with society figures, business honchos, political namedroppables and members of the academe!
MERCEDES LOPEZ-VARGAS, president of the Lopez Group Foundation, Inc. and executive director of the Lopez Museum and Library, said in her speech, “Through their works, we hope to show that these artists painted not just what they saw and felt around them but also conversed with what was imagined elsewhere in the world.” She brought the 16 masterpieces for the exhibition.
Mercedes Lopez-Vargas
Former Sen. Frank Drilon
University of the Philippines in Visayas Chancellor Dr. Clement Castigador Camposano
To sum up the event, here’s an excerpt from the Welcome Remarks of UPV Chancellor Dr. CLEMENT CASTIGADOR CAMPOSANO:
“Dr. FLORES had occasion to remind me that the theme of this exhibition — “the patrimony of all” — was inspired by Jose Rizal who intoned that “genius knows no country…”. I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Flores, even as I also wish to point out that the exemplary works in this exhibition are born of an aesthetic agency that cannot be disentangled from the process of our nation’s historical becoming. What are they, then, but the best that the Filipino nation has to offer?”
Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. Chair Rito Carlos “Judgee” Lopez Peña, the grandson of former vice President Fernando H. Lopez, who, when he was the post war Mayor of Iloilo City, made it possible for the transfer of the Old City Hall to the Univeristy of the Philippines Iloilo.
Miss Iloilo Committee Co-Chair Sarah Opolencia-Peña
Sarah Opolencia-Peña, Marivic Madrigal Vazquez and Atty. Joemarie Treñas
“The works of these Filipino masters… clearly invite such reflections. However, one wishes to frame them, one thing is certain — they inspire with their brilliance and edify with the sheer weight of their historical significance.”
Part of the celebration of the 77th Year of the UP Presence in Iloilo, The Patrimony of All is open to public viewing until April, 2025.
Historian Ambeth Ocampo and UPV Chancellor Dr. Clement Castigador Camposano
Drs. Karen and Paul Francia
Jose Roy and Siciliene Paniza (née Kabayao)
Raisa Treñas-Chu, Iloilo City First Lady Rosalie Sarabia-Treñas, Sandra Sarabia-Gomez and Dr. Ida Siason
Pia Uygongco, architect/painter Oscar Peñasales and Terence Uygongco