KASIBULAN: Malakas at Maganda II Group Exhibit

Malakas at Maganda II: A Women’s Group Exhibit of Power and Beauty

KASIBULAN launches its second “Malakas at Maganda” exhibit at the St. Scholastica’s Museum on July 6 as a fundraiser for the St. Scholastica’s Mission Hospital in Pambujan, Northern Samar.

Manila, PH – KASIBULAN (Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibol na Kamalayan) will be launching its second “Malakas at Maganda” group exhibition series with the theme of woman being both strong and beautiful. The exhibit opens on July 6, Saturday, 4pm at the St. Scholastica’s Museum on Vito Cruz Street, Malate, Manila, with Guests of Honor Ceres Doyo, Tina Monzon-Palma, and Maan Hontiveros. The exhibit runs until August 3.

The exhibit project is for the benefit of St. Scholastica’s Hospital in Pambujan, Northern Samar.  Sister Mary John Mananzan, OSB, has spearheaded the building of the 25-bed hospital, which will serve the poorest in this community in critical need.

The exhibit is the second leg of the Malakas at Maganda series that showcases the Kasibulan artists’ definitions of women’s power, which includes the power to lead, govern, inspire, encourage, and effect change. In one legend of the creation of humans, the man was named “Malakas” (Strong), and the Woman “Maganda” (Beautiful), which perpetrates the stereotype that only man is capable of being strong, and woman should only strive to be beautiful. To claim the term “Malakas at Maganda” to describe a woman is thus to claim virtues that she naturally possesses: she is strong, and she is beautiful.

“Malakas at Maganda II” features artists Brenda V. Fajardo, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Anna Fer, Julie Lluch, Vivian Nocum Limpin, June Dalisay, Doris G. Rodriguez, Elaine Lopez-Clemente, Baidy Mendoza, Charito Bitanga, Susan Fetalvero Roces, Yasmin Almonte, Arlene Villaver, Lenore RS Lim, Athena Magcase-Lopez, Lea Lim, Aba Lluch Dalena, Fel R. Plata, Christine Sioco, Eden T. Ocampo, Amihan Jumalon, Lot Arboleda, Tinsley Garanchon, Bernadette R. Reyes, Anne Carmela Rosario, and Nicole Anne Asis.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a Kasibulan Arts Bazaar on July 6 from 10am until 7pm, and will feature book art pieces from Veronica Laurel, and other artist-made crafts from the other members. Kasibulan will also hold Artist Talks at St. Scholastica’s Museum. On July 12, Friday, 10am – 12nn, artist talk topic is “The Babaylan in the Modern Age”, with main speaker National Historical Commissioner Fe Mangahas and artist-speakers Imelda Cajipe Endaya and Archie Ligo, to be moderated by Vivian N. Limpin. On July 26, Friday, 10am – 12nn, artist talk topic is “Traditional Art in the Age of New Media”, with main speaker UP Department of Art Studies Professor Eileen Legaspi Ramirez and artist-speakers Vivian N. Limpin and Glenda Maye Abad, to be moderated by Bebang Siy. Both talks are open to the public. The exhibit closes on August 3 with an artist sketching session, with guest artist Lynette Villariba of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and other Kasibulan artists.

About Kasibulan

KASIBULAN (Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibol sa Kamalayan) is a sisterhood of women artists in the visual, literary, visual, performance, and new media arts, with the mission of providing members with opportunities for creativity, growth, and self-sufficiency, and work for the development of distinct women's expression.