Bililhong kabilin

LOOKING back is just as important as looking forward. The past provides a glimpse of the mistakes that should be avoided, and most of all, it reminds people to value what their forbearers have left them.

In the Gabii sa Kabilin held on May 25, locals and tourists took a trip back in time by visiting museums and historical landmarks and participating in a variety of cultural activities.

One of the stops was the BPI Museum, which apart from showing the history of the banking sector, also had an exhibit by women visual artists of Cebu.

Bearing the name Bililhong Kabilin, it is an open-theme painting exhibit that began in time for the said event and will run until June 27.

The participating artists are Karby Beloy, Marivel Galan, Gigi Ocampo, Katherine Paler-Rivera, Palmy Pe-Tudtud, Fe Pepito, Minette Ramo and Sonia Yrastorza.

“This is our contribution to the activity,” said Palmy. “Scripted ra kaayo if we only group ourselves during Women’s Month or Pink October. If there is an opportunity for us women artists to group together, we should take it.”

She said: “As women, we have notable and distinctive characteristics in our creative expression, and we should show that to the public.”

Indeed, even with the open-theme agreement among them, there was a uniting factor that resonated in their works. Palmy said that the images display the different “concerns” felt by women. Women of varying ages and experiences too, as their group is a fusion of diverse personalities. They are a creative collision of mothers, wives, homemakers and independent professionals.

Some are already well-known, while others are gradually making a name for themselves in the art community. One who falls under the latter is Minette Ramo, whose life as an artist is quite remarkable.

Minette had been an educator for 22 years before finally deciding to pursue her love for the arts. She opted for an early retirement from her post as assistant principal, then found herself on the enrollment queue for University of the Philippines Cebu’s Fine Arts program, where others even mistook her for a parent.

“Perhaps this is an offshoot of midlife,” she shared. “But I don’t care how you call it because I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Minette dabbles with the idea of kabilin, translated as “inheritance” or “legacy,” in her artworks. In Dancing with the Star, she gives tribute to the movement of the Sinulog festival. She explained, “Our bililhong kabilin as a nation is our faith. Our faith lasts forever while material things eventually fade.”

Her second work Pagbubuho: Usa Ka Bililhong Kagawasan touches on a more personal side of her. According to Minette, it is in her freedom to follow her passion that she is able to leave a legacy to her family.

“I’m not an ideal housewife. My kids won’t remember me for my cooking,” she admitted. Instead, she believes that it will be through her creative works.

Palmy describes Bililhong Kabilin as an exhibit of varying standpoints bonded together by the feminine traits of “using intuition as a source of reason” and “alertness to the details of everyday life.” Moreover, it is through the sceneries and emotions they have immortalized on canvas that they leave behind a legacy for future generations to remember.