DEC13_SUPERDUPERFINAL

Bacolod VIVA ExCon did when it was their turn to host was to
ensure through fund raising the totally free attendance of one artist
/representative for each of the eight participating island provinces.
In the course of its over two decade-long evolution, VIVA ExCon
has gone beyond what its original conceptualizer, Peewee Roldan
conceived of by taking on dimensions it originally did not have. For
instance, although not an award giving body, it has instituted the
Garbo sa Bisaya, a bi-annual award conferred on “artists and cultural
workers in the Visayas who have demonstrated remarkable practice
in their respective fields…to sharply profile the contributions of
colleagues in the field so that they could inspire both peers and
the succeeding generation” (Flores 2014). Furthermore, expanding
Garbo’s scope of coverage, it has awarded not just visual artists but”
other agents in the field of culture and humanities who sustain the
ecology of art.” Thus, in 2012 the awardees included in addition
to visual artists Antipas Delotavo, Mark Justiniani and Raymund
Fernandez, film and theater director Maurice “Peque” Gallaga, art
administrator and cultural documentor Victorino Manalo as well as
publisher and book designer Florentina Colayco. Continuing this
innovation, the organizers of the 2014 VIVA ExCon in Bacolod
awarded not only painter/sculptor Rafael Paderna and painters Jose
Yap and Raul Agner, but also filmmaker Nic Deocampo and art
historian and critic Patrick Flores.
VIVA ExCon 2014 Bacolod
157
On the other, hand, although at one point in its history VIVA
ExCon closed its doors to non-Visayan participants from both local
and foreign parts in 1994, true to Roldan’s original suggestion “to
link up beyond Black Artists of Asia (BAA),” VIVA ExCon 2014
showcased not only the best of cutting-edge Visayan art in an exhibit
entitled LIFEFORCE at the Orange Gallery, but brought in strong
foreign participation in three collaborative exhibits. These were
KATALISTA at Museo Negrense de la Salle, a joint effort between
Ilonggo artists who were graduates of the University of St. La Salle
ranging from hobbyist Dino Cajili to award-winning theater and
film director Peque Gallaga to square off with a powerhouse cast
of Korean artists with their multiple degrees and crowded resumes
and two shows that showcased the works of local artists and SAGE
(South East Asia Assistance Art Group Exchange) participants. These
were: IMPARTIAL ORIGINS at the newly-opened House of Frida
Gallery and another show at the new Bacolod Government Center.
The result was a much richer canvass of experiences that “reiterates
the shared geography of participating countries, Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines.” Among the participating artists was Raoul
Ignacio Mallilin Rodriguez, Philippine 13 Artists awardee for 2009.