A Legacy of Art and Progress

Many people think that art is a realm reserved for the wealthy.

It seems so. But aren't we all, in essence, wealthy by nature, being richly endowed with vast potentials by an Almighty God?

At first I thought it would be just another business briefing for members of the media, that invitation from the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation. But the gathering on Thursday, October 27th, at the newly opened BPI Museum at the corner of P. Burgos and Magallanes Streets, near the historic Magellan's Cross fronting the Cebu City Hall, had no discussion on trade and commerce. It was about wealth, all right, but wealth that no bank vault could contain.

Writer, art critic Cid Reyes and artist, art professor Brenda Fajardo spoke to the Cebu media on the great value of art for the human person. They hinted that we must open ourselves to art as a way of claiming that which is after all our birthright - the birthright to experience all things beautiful in our world and in our life.

While it may be true that it is mostly the rich who devote time in the arts, but the poor aren't forbidden to do the same. There's a lot of ways to choose from: art creation, art acquisition, art appreciation. Of these, perhaps only art acquisition might require certain material wealth to carry out.

In a practical sense, there's even more reason for the poor to seek beauty through art. The pursuit can be a good diversion from their material lack. The laborer at the docks is free to enjoy the beauty of the same sea that exalts the spirit of the lonely billionaire in his seaside mansion.

The pauper by the roadside can relish the sight of a rich man's beautiful car passing by. The poor guy may never get a chance to ride on the expensive vehicle, but neither does he have to worry about raising the big amount of money needed to pay for such pricey possession nor have to assume the huge responsibility of maintaining it. And yet the beauty of the thing is all there for him to see, for free.

The BPI Foundation, in collaboration with the Ayala Foundation, has embarked on a campaign of awakening the aesthetic sensibility and sensitivity of the nation. This is probably their way of paying back to the people whom they have been in good business with for more than 150 years now. Perhaps their way of ensuring their dear standing in the hearts of Filipinos, by teaching the people to appreciate the beauty of a relationship that has withstood the test of time. 

The BPI Museum is the second of the bank's historical firsts. In 1852, barely a year after it started its business operations, BPI issued the very first Philippine bank notes, called pesos fuertes, way before the establishment of the Central Bank of the Philippines. In 2008, the BPI Museum opened. It is at the bank's main offices in Makati, Metro Manila, making BPI the very first bank in the Philippines to put up its own museum. September this year, the BPI Museum in Cebu was inaugurated.

The BPI Foundation has also launched the Herencia Lectures, a series of sessions with art experts to address the lack of art education projects and training programs for teachers of art in the country. The endeavor is based on the coffee table book the Foundation published in 2008 entitled Herencia: A Legacy of Art and Progress, which contains in-depth reviews of nearly a thousand important works of art accumulated by BPI in the course of its mergers and acquisitions since the 1970s. The BPI art collection represents nearly all periods of Philippine visual art history.

Last October 27 and 28, the Herencia Lectures were held in Cebu. More than 30 teachers from the city's public schools attended the event, which included lectures and art-oriented lesson plan making. There was also a workshop in classroom activities that could make art interesting and exciting for students.

Art makes us see the many faces of beauty that surround us, everywhere. There's beauty in nature, of all kinds and forms. There's beauty, too, in the steel and concrete structures that define our modern cities, as well as in all the various contraptions that go with them.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." You don't really need to hold it in your hand or tuck it away in your treasure chest. But, first, the eyes must learn how to recognize beauty.

Towards the end of our roundtable discussion, one of us from the media asked: "What does BPI hope to get from the Herencia project?" Their answer: "A whole generation of culturally and aesthetically educated Filipinos." And, indeed, what big dreams can be made real on such solid ground!

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