ORMOC City artists have found a place and a patron for their masterpieces under actor-artist turned Mayor Richard Gomez.
Through the mayor's support, the Busikad Teacher-Artists group of the Ormoc City Visual Artists Association (Ocvaa) has launched an exhibit at the New Ormoc City Hall in celebration of this year's city charter day from October 8 to 20.
"The arts are having a renaissance in Ormoc having an artist for a mayor. The mural around the city hall fence is a testament to that, and volunteers who joined the painting say it was 'unifying,'" said Lalaine Marcos, publisher of Ormoc-based newspaper Eastern Visayas Mail.
Marcos, who has been at the forefront in documenting the ebbs and flows of the art scene in the city, said the event "gave a sense of community and satisfaction that somewhere in that 300-meter long mural is one's imprint and contribution."
Ma. Patria Quilantang, Ocvaa adviser since 2005 and head teacher of Cabintan National High School in Ormoc, said their 32-member group is "very thankful" to the mayor.
"Mayor Gomez feels us being an artist and he is very willing to support our group," she said.
Quilantang, who organized the Busikad Teacher-Artists Group of the Department of Education in Ormoc City Division, said the mayor never failed to attend their art exhibits.
"He would buy our paintings as part of his collections," the 53-year-old artist told Sunstar Philippines.
Joining this year's "Buswak" art exhibit are Ma. Teresa Ablen, Theresa Salas, Eden Laurente, Malyn Pogosa, Cherry Mie Florentino, Melisa Cua, Erdenan Labrador, Maria Rona Nacional, Ma. Joy Olanday, Crisanto Ignacio, Jenny Seledio, Kenny Abella, Carlito Mantua, Arthur Arcayan, and Elgendy Romina, among others.
Quilantang said that in 2016, Gomez invited Ocvaa members to his home and see for themselves his collection of paintings from famous national and local artists and this inspired them a lot.
For their new project, Quilantang said Gomez called their group last June and presented the mural project on the perimeter fence around Ormoc City Hall.
"He supported us with all the materials needed for the mural. I made the budget proposal. We also invited private schools, private companies, organizations who are willing to paint to join us. And indeed it was done within the target period," Quilantang said.
Hareol Tero, multi-talented teacher-artist and president of Ocvaa, presented the design and it was approved by Gomez.
The mural was done from September 1 to October 1 with the support from the Ormoc City division through Schools Division Superintendent Manuel Albaño and MAPEH-Education Program Supervisor Noel Labaniego, and local officials.
Meanwhile, Quilantang recalled how Gomez helped them in improving their skills since the start of their partnership.
Last February, the Ormoc teacher-artists received training on different techniques in painting from known Manila-based artists.
"Gomez really wanted that our talents will be discovered," Quilantang said.
In 2017, Gomez also initiated cultural mapping to document the history, culture, and traditions of Ormoc City and its people, and these have been used as learning resources for division contextualized curriculum materials in the city schools.
"The mayor is now asking us to make a 'Book of Arts' to document all art related workshop and exhibits that we conducted," said Quilantang.
A museum to house all the artworks of the city is also being constructed under the Gomez administration. (SunStar Philippines)