No doubt the Philippines is a country rich with artists, but in a developing nation like ours, the less mainstream arts are usually regarded as an elite activity. Books lose out to TV, theater loses out to movies, and classical music is rarely preferred over pop.
The wholehearted pursuit of the arts is also impossible without a day job (what would you eat?), and support for the arts? Perhaps that’s the most elusive of all.
Which is why it’s gratifying to learn about people who believe in the redemptive qualities of painting, literature and music enough to nurture it financially.
One such family is the Lopezes. Entrepreneurs who run multiple businesses in power generation, construction, manufacturing and real estate, among others, they are also consummate art patrons who’ve proven their devotion and created a legacy for other Filipinos through The Lopez Museum and their two orchestras, the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth.
Through the Lopezes’ premium property development arm Rockwell Land, they’re providing a venue for world-class stage performances at The Proscenium, which launched in 2012. Designed by internationally renowned “starchitect†Carlos Ott, The Proscenium will feature a 600-seater performing arts theater, and will soon house the Lopez Museum. Just think: under one roof you can view the paintings of Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo, read original texts by Jose Rizal, and listen to orchestral music composed by the likes of John Williams.