ILOMOCA pays tribute to women artists with ‘7.23%’ Virtual Exhibit

In celebration of the 11^th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9170), the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) in Megaworld’s Iloilo Business Park township puts the spotlight on women artists and their contribution to the Philippine art landscape with an online art exhibit entitled 7.23%.

The event is aimed at spurring discussions on women’s representation and gender inequities that exist in art and cultural institutions. The concept of the exhibit is inspired by the proportion of works attributed to women artists (only 7.23%) that compose ILOMOCA’s entire collection.

Curated by Marika Constantino, 7.23% will feature artworks by 44 artists to be featured on ILOMOCA’s Facebook page from August 14 to October 19, 2020. Featured artworks are part of ILOMOCA’s Edwin Valencia collection.

Beyond acknowledging an imbalance in art and cultural institutions, the figure also represents the disproportionate realities faced by women, as manifested in pay gaps and domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence. 7.23% also poses a challenge for ILOMOCA to attain a higher ratio of art made by women and generates a call to action to address such inequality.

“I wholeheartedly support the need to push for and support more programs to encourage and embolden women artists and women in general. I am excited with this project because hopefully it will generate the right discussion and for my part, a call to action on how to address the inequality,” said Ilonggo art collector and ILOMOCA art patron Edwin Valencia.

The signing of the Magna Carta on Women in 2009 further empowered Filipino women by allowing them to exercise their rights without discrimination.

“We are bringing our museums closer to more people, including the international community, through this virtual art exhibit in the time of a global pandemic. The digital realm has allowed us to engage more people real-time while still promoting the safety of everyone. More importantly, this also helps us promote art as an interactive platform for ideas that supports and celebrates women’s role in the art community,” says Tefel Pesigan-Valentino, vice president and head of marketing and business development, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls.

ILOMOCA will kick off the 7.23% exhibit launch with a Facebook livestream on August 14 at 7:23 p.m. On the same day, the museum will be holding an online conversation with Moreen Austria, Lyra Garcellano, Alee Garibay, Michelle Lua-Hollanes, selected artists featured in the collection, together with curator Marika Constantino.

Located at Casa Emperador in Iloilo Business Park, ILOMOCA is the first art institution in Visayas and Mindanao exclusively dedicated to showcasing the works of mostly Filipino and Ilonggo artists within the realm of modern and contemporary art. For more information on the latest happenings in ILOMOCA, visit ilomoca.org. or iloilomuseumofcontemporaryart@gmail.com.