#ARTBGC2016’s new wall murals walking tour

Out of spontaneity, I dragged Paul to this BGC Free Art Tour Facebook event I just saw that morning. I knew that BGC is having this Art Festival (I’m trying to summon my artistic side these days you know). I instantly clicked interested and just saw myself on my way to BGC that afternoon. Breaking news, this happened 3 months ago. (Sorry for late blogging)

#ArtBGC2016

So let’s start with the Art Festival named ArtBGC2016. It is a 10-day event launched by the Bonifacio Arts Foundation (BAFI), along with LeBasse Projects & HoneycombArts. The festival features murals from both international and local artists on different empty walls of BGC making it a city-wide mural museum. It is already done last year and those murals are not washed out but only added.

“The Festival hopes to create both a unique sense of place and build an experiential atmosphere for both local residents and international visitors to BGC. The aim is to showcase the inclusive nature of public art by creating murals that can be enjoyed by the entire city of Manila as well as an international audience.” – ArtBGC

ALVEO FREE WALK TOUR

The free walk tour is hosted by Alveo. We went to Alveo Showroom in Bonifacio High Street (#7 in the map) with the idea that maybe it was a scam. (my mind works like that I’m sorry!) There are around 20 people waiting to participate in this event. (YES! Not a scam!) We were given a fan, a map like the one above and 2 volunteer tour guides that discussed all the new murals for this year. It turned out to be a long walk we’re not prepared for but we’ve definitely enjoyed ourselves. So here it goes:

2016 MURALS

1. by Dog & Pony Bonifacio StopOver

This one is facing 32nd Street in a Shell Station. It is a simple mural saying Lets Roll from the international artist Dog & Pony that are said to be striving to create work that helps reconnect community engagement. They are actually successful because Paul and I engage in a fight because I first read it as Let’s Stroll. haha!

3. The Heart of God’s Country by Andrew Schoultz 5th Ave

This is the biggest mural for 2016, finished in 7 days by international artist Andrew Schoultz. This mural confused me at first because I don’t know what to feel about a chaos – cut trees and erupting volcanoes, beautifully drawn. But the volunteer told us that is all about our Mother Nature ALWAYS finding her way to be beautiful again (regeneration) after whatever natural and man made disaster came. Hats off, Andrew!

4. Hamsa Hand by Bunnie Reiss Mango Tree Bistro

If ever I can choose who among the mural artist I can be in the parallel universe, it will definitely be Bunnie Reiss. I love how creative and magical her works are, making me feel that she has a lot of travel stories and cultures to share. She uses the Hamsa symbols in all her works.

6. Calamansi and Sampaguita by Francisco Diaz BGC Corporate Center

“Francisco’s works typically feature colorful flora inspired by his current location and are symbolic, historical narratives of man’s deep-rooted relationship with nature.”

7. Novels by Hot Tea Bonifacio High Street

Who would have thought that a simple thing, like yarn, put together can make a gorgeous art? It aims to create an experience that will make the people who see it question the surroundings it’s in and connect with part of their memory bank they may have forgotten. Deep right?

8. by Trip63 B2 Lane O

Trip63 is an artist based here in the Philippines. He is part of an artist collective Pilipinas Street Plan, focusing on pushing the boundaries of street art. It is not yet done when we visited. I found the eyeballs in the middle of the flowers intriguing but it turned out to be his symbols in all his works.

9. by KFK B1 Lane O

This mural is done by KFK Collective, a group of 3 Filipino artists. When asked why “May you find comfort here”, One of the artists simply answered, “It’s because its the back of the comfort rooms.” It may be the real meaning behind this mural nevertheless, it’s my favorite.

9. by Bunnie Reiss B1 Lane O

Just across the KFK’s mural is another Bunnie’s masterpiece. Still, with the Hamsa symbolism, BGC now has a mystical owl.

10. by Kris Abrigo Net One Center

This mural is a dedication to all the hardworking construction workers. Local artist Kris Abrigo uses pastel colors and geometric design to depict a deep contradiction around culturally held notions of poverty and social order.

Magsasaka by Archie & Aleili Burgos Eats

Not on the map though, we walked all the way to Burgos Eats for Magsasaka by Archie and Aleili. It is another nature-themed mural dedicated to the farmers of this country. And that’s our volunteer telling us what oil is used to make this mural.

So there are your new additional murals to see and have your artsy shot at. It warms my heart to see these artists’ works beautifying dead and boring walls. I look forward to seeing this event again next year with more local artists and also outside the walls of BGC. So, when are you heading to see these beauties? 🙂

Some photos from our spontaneous art date:

All photos were taken by Fufi (Fujifilm X-A2 kit lens 16-50mm)