By Kelly Ramos

The fifth installment of Mindanao’s long-lived contemporary art platform Panit Bukog ( “…a platform and a movement” according to lead curator Tessa Maria Guazon in her exhibition text), opened with an art exhibition on 8 September at the Xavier Ateneo’s Fr Francisco Demetrio Gallery in Museo de Oro, and on 9 September at the newly established artist-run community space Carmen Art District, both in Cagayan de Oro City in northern Mindanao. The Panit Bukog 5 (PB5) artworks are scheduled to travel to Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte with an exhibition opening on 10 November 2023 at the Museo Dipolog.

From the start, in collaborative meetings with artist groups Oro Art Guild from Cagayan de Oro and the Mixed Media Artists of Iligan for its first ever exhibition (circa 2000), this platform was conceptualized as a traveling exhibition. After 23 years and five exhibitions that brought Mindanao art to cities like Iligan, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and now Dipolog; it has developed into a peer-critiqued, curatorially-grounded, practice-led movement for art in Mindanao. Guazon further elaborates: “Panit Bukog’s defining attributes are its adaptation of the traveling exhibition format, the gathering of artists from different parts of Mindanao, and the simultaneous mounting of exhibitions in several venues.”

For PB5, the curatorial team are UP Vargas Museum curator and UP Diliman Department of Art Studies Associate Professor Tessa Maria Guazon; visual artist and coordinator Errol Balcos; Griffith University-educated art worker Abraham Garcia; and co-founder of the Panit Bukog series of exhibitions, Cris Rollo, who was previously national chairman of the NCCA-CVA (2000-2006).

Carmen Art District, Davao-based co-curator Abraham Ambo Garcia reminisced about the original spirit of the exhibition way back in 2000 to 2003 “when the idea germinated in the minds of the artist community” as an artist-run project in alternative spaces.

“Being in an alternative space reminds us that art has a lot of possibilities. Hopefully, Panit Bukog 5 will build on the trajectory that has spawned the four editions for the past 20 years. Let us all enjoy the viewing of the works, let us also remember what we have seen in Museo de Oro last night, and see how the works talk about Mindanao karon panahuna which Tessa [Guazon, lead curator] has written in her notes on the exhibition. Unsa man ang Mindanao karon panahuna? Unsa ang atong mga insights or reflection that we could get from looking at the work of this generation of artists? These colleagues of ours? I welcome you again to Panit Bukog 5.”

36 Mindanao contemporary artist and their work

The call for proposals was made in July of this year (2023). Artists from all over Mindanao heeded the call, from host cities Cagayan de Oro and Dipolog to Manila-based Mindanaoans, from Iligan and Butuan to Davao, North Cotabato, Zamboanga City, and Sarangani province.

The featured artists from northern Mindanao are Nic Aca, Michael Bacol, Joe Bacus, Fr Jason Dy, Oscar Floirendo, Jacinto Geronimo, Jayson Labtan, Donnie Obina, Jeffrey Ouano, Bea Pascubillo, Maila Secuban, Ninianne Sojor, Albert Vamenta, Jericho Vamenta, Cling Vega. From western Mindanao, the artists are Francis Ramir Acevedo, Isagani Calio, Mark Guimbao, Jose Jerry Gumanad, Kevin Grapa, Jerome Icao, Romy Jones Mata, Chester Mato, Leo Jesus Marquiala, Emma Prima, Ruby Sabanal, and Jose Armin Virata. The lone artist from eastern Mindanao is Manila-based Carlito Amalla. From southern Mindanao, the artists are Rogelito “Jun” Cayas, Elenita Dumlao, Carzen Esprela, Joel Geolamen, Raymund Malicay, Norman Narciso, Arjay Fritz Poncardas, and Rodney Yap.

Panit Bukog 5 is an open-themed exhibition, thus the unusual range of medium and material: molave hardwood, burnt objects, materials with rust, brass sheets, mother of pearl, algae paint, cloth, non-biodegradable materials, digital video, Howitzer cannon shells, as well as the usual oil and acrylic. The artistic concerns of this batch of Panit Bukog artists encompassed traditional farming life, preservation of culture, the nature of time, Subanen culture, cultural change, the exploitation of sugarcane farmers, the abundance of fish in the Sulu seas, the sense of self and search for Mindanao identity, soul and memory, AI and the metaverse, consumerism, colonialism, geopolitics, climate change, and the ills of a capitalist society.       

In a feature article for Gold Star Daily News, Jasper Marie Rucat, Philippine Information Agency (PIA) regional editor for Region 10, writes: “One of the objectives of Panit Bukog is to go beyond art as aesthetic expression and make art a powerful tool, a powerful way of making a change in the world.”

Art Talks

Mark Guimbao, featured artist from Misamis Occidental whose 3x4 ft acrylic painting at the Museo de Oro spoke of human nature and art’s function of reminding people of better things, said of the art talks:

“It was an insightful and inspiring series of art talks kicked off by a panel discussion of the PB5 curatorial team: Prof Tessa Maria Guazon, Cris Rollo, Errol Balcos, and Dr Abraham Garcia, Jr with Kelly Ramos as moderator. Artists from different groups and platforms across Mindanao also shared their challenges and milestones in their organizations: Jeffrey Ouanno from Tinta Artists of Iligan, Oscar Floirendo from CdeO Arts Guild, Kelly Ramos from Carmen Art District, Marigold Garrido from Artsada, Marissa Abuga-a from Arkadia and Art Tents, and Chris Gomez from Chris Gomez Design Studio.  Thanks to Dr Hobart Savior and the rest of the team for this wonderful experience.”

Dr Savior along with RIMCU, Infinite Lotus Productions, and Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts, is managing the PB5 project this year. Moreover, on 11 November, there will be a roundtable discussion on Mindanao Contemporary Art in Dipolog City.

Soul of the region

As a seeming testament to this spirit of camaraderie and cooperation in Mindanao art, participating artist Arjay Fritz Hambala Poncardas from Sarangani province, whose impressive installation work at Carmen Art District spoke of false resilience or shared helplessness, had this parting message: “Salamat sa opportunity to be part of this event. To the curatorial team to whom I learned a lot from, to the fellow participating artists it is an honor to be exhibiting alongside with you.”

In an interview with PTV News Mindanao, co-curator and founder of this series of exhibitions Cris Rollo explains: “In terms of the substantive message of the works, why is it Panit Bukog? Of course, you know panit is skin and bone is bukog, but at the same time it asks the question, when man is reduced to skin and bone, what is left of him? And what is left of him is his soul. And that is what art is all about.”   

PB5 is a partnership project between the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and its National Committee on Visual Arts (NCVA) and the Research Institute for Mindanao Culture (RIMCU), with fellow presenters Infinite Lotus Productions, Xavier University, Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts, Museo de Oro, Carmen Art District, Dipolog City LGU, and Museo Dipolog. The sponsors for the Cagayan de Oro leg are Congressman Rufus Rodriguez, Cagayan de Oro City Vice Mayor Jocelyn B Rodriguez, De Luxe Hotel, Missy Bonbon, Chris Gomez, Karumata, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Cagayan de Oro City LGU.

Photo By: TJ Gallardo & Xavier Ateneo Film Society
Layout By: Marlowe M Chan