A poet once told me, the conviction to create art must always persist regardless of how difficult the circumstance and how cruel a society an artist finds himself in.
Despite the general notion that the production of western oriented art is mainly a solitary pursuit, society and the individual artist are indivisible. Even if reasons for being or creative purpose may not directly involve or concern his immediate community, by position and circumstance an artist will always be compelled to deal with the locale.
Drawing his physical sustenance from it and on occasion requiring and even exchanging services with it, an artist by termination has to interact with his community. The relationship that runs between the artist and his society is a two-way point of perceptual reciprocity, and this is evident in the creative process itself.
The end result of any creative work, though predominantly an introspecting individual exercise in art or applied design, unquestioningly will mirror and even at times, controversially cater to external or societal requirements.
This aspect of creative work can also be viewed from two angles. It can be seen as a visual projection of the artist’s conscious or subconscious personal perception of the world, or it may be taken as the creative consequence of the organic pressures of society that impinges upon the artist’s psyche.
This creative work, once public and unveiled, may also in turn possibly affect the collective perception of the community.
It is this dynamic relationship that dictates the synthesis of form and belief of both entities over time, eventually shaping popular culture and structures, and opening up spaces upon which perceptual and visual collective identities may be constructed.
Outlooke Point Foundation Inc., a non-government organization, believes in the transformative powers of the arts and the critical role that it plays in nation building. Founded in 2007, OPF has launched and organized several cultural events in music and the visual arts aimed at rekindling the Filipino’s consciousness and helping the Filipino artist hone their artistic vision and performance to a level of significant distinction and regional excellence.
OPF in its current project is supporting the Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibit & Conference (VIVA ExCon) which will be hosted in Dumaguete City by Foundation University’s Department of Architecture & Fine Arts on Nov. 8 to 11, 2012.
Two events in preparation for the VIVA ExCon have been organized. Last June 1 to 2, OPF sponsored a residency program called the Dumaguete Artist Summit at the Sta Monica Beach Resort. Seven student artists from Foundation and Silliman University were selected through a short list process. The selected artist for the Dumaguete Artist Summit were Onna Rhea Quizo, Adonis Catacutan, Bernardino “Argo” Patigas, Edlyn Abrio, George Pette Aranas, Iris Tirambulo-Armogenia, and Stephen Abanto.
Nine artworks were made at the end of the residency, seven individual works and two collaborative works.
Last July 1, 2012, Dr. Patrick Flores of the University of the Philippines Diliman was also invited to conduct a concept proposal workshop for the local artist of Dumaguete. About 50 local artists participated in the workshop that was held at the FU Audio Visual Room. The objective of the workshop was to provide a self-reflective critical approach in the creative process and to agree on a concept proposal template for the VIVA ExCon.
Artist residency programs are many all over the world. There are those that are sponsored or run by commercial art galleries, and others through foundations and schools. Admission to a residency is normally through a competitive application process with a required submission of an artist’s portfolio or a researched selection process.
Commercial residency programs, on the other hand, are by invitation with the end objective of selling the outputs. Most residencies cater to young and mid-career practicing artist who want to learn something different from their usual disciplines and run from a week to even a year or more. An exhibition of the works is held at program’s end, and depending on the agreement, may require the artist to donate a work or two to the programs collection or share a commission of the proceeds of any work sold.
Artist residencies are akin to exchange programs on a smaller and rather intimate setting where tutelage is more personal and the student to instructor ratio is narrow. There are also those that are experiential and immersive in nature, where the artist is relocated and exposed to a different environment and his visual consciousness and creative process is challenged.
Yet, for whatever purpose or objective, terminally, a residency interaction should be enriching for both the individual and hopefully in time his society.
Outlooke Pointe Foundation is looking at another residency program for the month of October that will focus on public art and another long-term project on ceramics and terra-cotta. These programs will be conducted in cooperation with the FU Department of Architecture & Fine Arts. Final details of the residency program that will be held again in Sta Monica will be announced soon. (Antonio Mario Wenceslao)
