Botong Francisco: A Nation Imagined

In celebration of the centennial of National artist for visual Arts, Carlos "Botong" Francisco, a traveling exhibit entitled "Botong Francisco: A Nation Imagined" opened on May 10 at The Gallery of Ayala Center Cebu.

The traveling exhibition brought by the Ayala Museum in collaboration with Ayala Foundation, Inc., featured scaled reproductions of select paintings by Botong Francisco from several public and private collections.

Among the artworks on display are the "Bayanihan," "Harana," "Maria Makiling" and his unfinished work called the "Camote Diggers," which visualizes the iconic images of Philippine history and culture.

To tell the tale of the life and vision of Botong Francisco, a short documentary by Peque Gallaga was shown during the opening of the exhibit which brought to life the large-scale works and murals by the celebrated artist.

"Botong Francisco: A Nation Imagined" is also one of the events in the year-long Carlos "Botong" Francisco Centennial Celebration. It is part of the program that was originally launched on December 31, 2012 at the Ayala Museum that pays tribute to the National Artist by exemplifying his well-entrenched iconic images of history and cherished customs to audiences outside Manila.

The exhibition was also brought to Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Davao and Negros Occidental.

Kenneth Esguerra, senior curator of Ayala Museum said the traveling exhibition aims to reintroduce Botong Francisco's life story and the value of his contributions to Philippine arts and culture.

"This way, hundreds of Filipinos visiting the mall will be able to view the images of our country's cherished customs and get the chance to read and learn more about Botong Francisco, a pioneer of Filipino art," Esguerra said.

The exhibit ran at The Gallery of Ayala Center Cebu until May 17.