Open Call: Open to all

MANILA, Philippines - Art and democracy were in the headlines in recent weeks amidst a very public controversy over an exhibit that included a work that offended a lot of people in the Catholic community. The very lively exchange of views in the front pages of local newspapers and in a public hearing at the Senate brought art issues to people from all walks of life and beyond just the usual so-called art literati.

The public's art education now continues as Manila's top museums work together to share the beauty, versatility and wonder of Filipino art to a broad range of Filipinos. Open Call is an art festival opening on Sept. 15 at the SM Mall of Asia atrium and it will showcase a well-rounded collection of art in its different forms – visual arts, culinary arts, film and fashion, sound, and dance.??The art experience promised by Open Call features lively and festive activities including dance and sound performances, a cosplay parade, gaming demonstrations, and the unveiling of a freedom wall. Open Call is the 10th anniversary offering of Zero In, the annual collaboration of five of Manila’s most highly-regarded private museums – the Lopez Memorial Museum, Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Bahay Tsinoy and Museo Pambata.?This year's Zero In collaboration is intended to break barriers by literally bringing art closer to the public through a mall exhibit, and showing art in its different forms. To set off the festival, the five museums each had an open call for concepts from artists last year (hence the name) within the genres of cuisine (Ateneo), manga and cosplay (Ayala Museum), visual arts (Bahay Tsinoy), sound (Lopez Museum), and dance (Museo Pambata) – all to be included in the SM Mall of Asia show.

The Lopez Memorial Museum, famous for its premier collections of paintings by National Artists, rare books and manuscripts, artifacts, and wide Filipiniana library, takes on the challenge of acquainting the public with the fascinating world of sound in sound/media art installations making up its exhibition called “Reverb.”

Using traditional and contemporary music instruments, found objects and state-of-the art software, invited artists create a fusion of beats, melodies and effects that convey different emotions and moods such as euphoric, mellow, dramatic, and even hypnotic.

The works of media artist and filmmaker Tad Ermitaño, sound artist Lirio Salvador’s multidisciplinary art collective ELEMENTO, artist and musician Jon Romero aka Aurora Borealis, and artist and multi-instrumentalist Stanley Castelo will be featured in the MOA show as well as in the Lopez art galleries at the ground floor of the Benpres building in Ortigas Center, Pasig City until April 3, 2012. This latter exhibit will also include works from Eric Ambata, IC Jaucian, Ronald Tomas, Christine Muyco, Kawayan de Guia, and several other artists associate with E.X.I.S.T.

The Ateneo Art Gallery, located at the Ateneo University campus in Quezon City, meanwhile, will have an interactive food themed-game called “Crafty Critters Munch Up” until Dec. 22.??The Ayala Museum in Makati City will continue its exposition on Japanese Manga with the exhibit “World of Manga in Manga Realities: Exploring the Art of Japanese Manga Today,” which will run until Oct. 2.

?Bahay Tsinoy, on the other hand, will feature an installation entitled “Kasama” by mixed media artist Con Cabrera in its galleries in Intramuros, Manila until Oct. 10.

Live performances are also lined up, alongside an exhibition of National Artist for Dance Ramon Obusan’s memorabilia, at the Museo Pambata in South Drive, Manila until Oct. 6.??Inspired by art movements abroad such as Gallery Go, the Zero-In consortium was established in the hope of expanding and deepening the people's appreciation of our art and rich cultural heritage. While the Philippines is the home of many renowned old masters as well as a vibrant contemporary scene, public reception seems not as loud and bustling as it should be.

With the success this partnership has already attained and with the promise that Open Call brings to boost the local art scene, Filipinos will have proven once again that nothing is impossible if there's bayanihan or unity. Hopefully, the public will do its share and support Zero-In’s crusade to trigger if not reawaken the nation’s passion for the arts.??

Here is an open call to everyone to make art relevant. So that when people think about art, they don’t think of static displays in stodgy white-cube spaces. Instead, they remember that feeling of amazement when they look at, watch, feel, hear or taste different forms of art.