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Supporting local farmers through art: new exhibition at the airport hotel features coffee artists
Supporting local farmers through art: new exhibition at the airport hotel features coffee artists
“HOW can we promote Philippine culture and arts?” was the question posed by Rens E. Tuzon, the pioneer of coffee art in the Philippines, when he first started making paintings from coffee grounds in 2005.
“Kahit sobrang yaman natin sa pamana ng lahi, sobrang nawawala na ito ngayon (Even though we have an abundance of cultural heritage, it is disappearing over time),” he said.
This realization brought Mr. Tuzon to establish the Sining, Kape, at Kultura, an organization of artists whose coffee-based paintings and various artworks on pop culture and Philippine heritage go viral online and are sold nationwide – with proceeds going to local population goes. coffee farmers.
The group’s latest exhibition is “HIRAYA: Kape, Sining, Kultura”, launched on June 24 at the Megaworld property Belmont Hotel Manila.
“Coming from two successful shows in our “HIRAYA” Until now, we thought coffee art was something else to present,” said Socrates “Sonny” Alvaro, general manager of Belmont Hotel Manila, during the opening of the exhibition.
The exhibition features two of the country’s best-known coffee artists and the founders of Sining, Kape, at Kultura: Mr. Tuzon and Esang Ocampo. Their works can be seen in the hotel lobby.
Since the hotel is strategically connected to Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport via the Runway Manila walkway, the exhibition will be seen by both local and foreign travelers.
“The advocacy of these coffee artists aligns with our vision as a homegrown brand focused on local culture,” said Mr. Alvaro.
According to Ms. Ocampo, an upcycling artist, there is great joy in creating and seeing beautiful works that emerge from things that were meant to be thrown away: old jewelry, scraps of fabric, broken materials at home.
“I started during the pandemic, when we were all cooped up at home. I started reusing objects at home to paint my artwork,” she said Business. This then led her to go to a coffee shop to get some coffee grounds that they were about to throw away. “Pinatuyo ko e nilagay ko sa mga obra ko (I dried them and added them to my works).”
Mr. Tuzon and Ms. Ocampo founded their organization of Filipino Coffee Artists in the Philippines in 2020. The organization now has 800 members. By raising awareness about coffee art and upcycling, they also promote Philippine culture and support coffee farmers.
Their art often focuses on distinctly Filipino images – women in Filipino clothing, scenes of Igorots at their huts, children playing palo seboimages of the Virgin Mary.
With the proceeds from the sale of the artworks, farmers in Negros, Laguna and Cavite can purchase coffee seedlings. – Brontë H. Lacsamana
