Local artists conduct free art workshops for kids

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By John Noel E. Herrera

To allow children to exercise their creative thinking and transform their free-flowing ideas into visuals, local artists from Iloilo conduct a free art workshop on Nov 19 to 20, 2022 at Puluy-an Art Gallery, Barangay Bita Sur, Oton, Iloilo.

Around 20 kids aged five years old and above were able to showcase their skills in art during the two-day event as they were taught by the artists from “Puluy-an” about the basics of drawing, sketching, patterns, color matching, and even how to process their creative ideas, as shown in their own artworks.

Gwyneth Tallodar, a 10-year-old child from Oton, Iloilo, said that she felt happy while participating in the workshop as she was able to enhance her skills in the arts and interact and make friends with other children.

Artist John Paul Castillo also said that the workshop served as a way for them not just to teach the kids different types of arts, but also to divert their attention from gadgets and mobile games.

“Hindi man namon sila pag-ipush nga mga 100 percent visual artists, though more kami sa therapy side, sa kalingawan, daw liesure time. Kumbaga i-divert bala ang mga bata sa mga gadgets. Isa na sa mga advocacy namon,” Castillo said.

Castillo added that there is no formal structure yet for the workshop “as it is just a dry-run” for them to also discover young and budding artists who they can mentor to further enhance their skills.

“Ang workshop so far is daw patilaw sa community, kung ano ang reponse nila kay bag-o ni sa ila. Actually wala kami sang structure and by the time siguro nga mag-okay na ang response, kay plano namon every week lain-lain nga tao ang mga workshop, dira na kami ma-ubra draft sang formal structure. Sa subong ang process namon is gapang-eye kami bala sang mga may potential,” he said.

Meanwhile, “Puluy-an” (Home) is an art gallery curated by Melvin Guirhem that gathers together contemporary Ilonggo artists in an exhibition “that marks the creation of an alternative space to mainstream museums, galleries, and malls.”

“Daw na bala nga makahatag siya remedy or haven, refuge place sa mga tao nga burn out ang ulo nila kay kumbaga, puluy-an siya, so ang comfort bala,” Castillo added.

The group also launched its first inaugural show on Nov 5 until Dec 5, 2022 which showcases their different artworks such as impressionism, expressionism, pop art, surrealism, and acrylic paintings and sculptures.

The exhibit also presents the idea of home not just as a space but as a congregation, as “artworks borne of different styles, isms, and ideologies found their space on the gallery walls, like brothers and sisters at home discussing in voices soft and loud, oftentimes subtle, sometimes shocking, but have the openness that welcomes diverse opinion.”