TAGUIG, PHILIPPINES — Known to be a city with a soul, Bonifacio Global City, or fondly called BGC, is set to put more art in the heart of the business center. Through ArtBGC, BGC’s Public Art program has recently added more murals throughout the area as part of its recovery program to improve open spaces with parks and art installations.
Under ArtBGC, numerous art installations and murals have punctuated spaces around the area. There are currently 36 murals, 22 art installations, and 110 street furniture in and around BGC that the public can enjoy and experience daily.
To set the tone for the collective mood for 2022 and beyond, BGC, through the help of the Bonifacio Art Foundation, has commissioned artists to create seven additional murals on the walls of the city. With the theme “Rolling Out a Better World,” these murals depict a society where everyone is interconnected through empathy and compassion. These new murals were painted by Glendford Lumbao, Kankan Ramos, Patmai, Zoe Rosal, Deafeye Studio, Elie Quial, and Woman Create. These were all finished by the end of 2021.
BGC continued to roll out “better world” murals in collaboration with partners who believe in the power of public art to elevate community life. Last year, the first-ever mural, “What’s Your Culture?” by Glendford Lumbao, was made possible with the support of Yamaha Motor Philippines. It utilized the concept of “weaving” to highlight how different narratives are intertwined together making it all part of a bigger picture. In line with the theme of moving forward for a better tomorrow, the mural shows a subtle hint of the Pinoy concept of “kapit-bisig” to visualize how everyone in the community, despite their different culture, could be of service to one another.
Apart from the first mural supported by Yamaha Motors, Globe Telecom supported other murals namely “Atin ang Love for All” by Patmai, “Atin ang Araw” by Zoe Rosal, and “Atin ang Bawat Sandali” by Deafeye Studio as “Rolling out a Better World” which also joyfully coincided with Globe Telecom’s ongoing campaign, “Atin ang Mundo” (“The World is Ours”).
On the other hand, “The Land We Walk On” by Elie Quial and “Nurturing Ubuntu” by Woman Create were sponsored by Boysen, the official paint partner for ArtBGC. Boysen provided all the paints used for all the new murals, and even held a seminar for the artists and BAFI staff on proper paints and products to use for different surfaces. Boysen has always strongly supported BAFI even when The Mind Museum was created.
Everyone visiting, living, and working in BGC will see these “old” spaces in new light because of the new murals with various art works, designs, and animations in mobile devices via augmented reality. To get to know more about BGC’s public art, a virtual art tour is also accessible via https://www.bgcartscenter.org/artsatbgc which encourages people to reflect and discover new aspects about themselves and the world through art.
Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. is also accepting donations to help sustain their programs that champion the arts in the community. Interested donors can visit https://www.bgcartscenter.org/support or you can email them through programs@artsatbgc.org. For more updates, check out the Facebook pages of Bonifacio Global City and Bonifacio High Street!
