Art group to donate painting proceeds to AFP orphans

FILE: FOR SOLDIERS’ ORPHANS. The Dynamic Art Group will stage a painting exhibit at the Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, depicting heroism of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The proceeds from the sale of the paintings will be donated to the educational fund of the bereaved children of soldiers. (‘For peace’ by Joemarie Chua, painting with oil on canvas via PNA)

FILE: Members of the art group meet with AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo. In the photo are (from left) Esther Garcia, Arevalo, Danilo Garcia, and Darryl Ajero. (PNA photo)

MANILA — A group of artists will stage an exhibit in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City from December 17 to 20, displaying paintings that depict heroism of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The Dynamic Art Group will organize the Sining at Kagitingan Art Exhibit at the Dimalupig Hall, Commissioned Officers Club in line with the AFP’s 84th anniversary on December 21.

“It is a milestone exhibit both for the men of AFP as defenders of the land and the Filipino artists whose paintings portray and document the patriotic acts of the Filipino Soldiers,” Dynamic Art Group’s spokesperson Esther Garcia said in an interview on Tuesday.

The proceeds from the sale of the paintings will be donated to the educational fund of the bereaved children of the fallen soldiers.

Garcia said the group has initiated to give back to acknowledge the sacrifices of the soldiers whose lives were lost in protecting and securing the land.

“Our soldiers are the unsung heroes. They are disciplined, have a strong desire to serve and protect the country from invaders and insurgencies. They also support humanitarian operations,” she said.

“As fellow Filipinos, we feel the compassion to help the orphans of men of AFP in our simple ways.. by portraying their heroism and by giving monetary considerations for the education of the orphans,” she added.

The artists participating in the exhibit are composed of pre-selected visual artists who have been painting for 20-50 years.

Aside from Garcia’s paintings, works of Fernando B. Sena, Bing Siochi, Ely Tablizo, Maxi Ramos, Darryl Ajero, Emmanuel Salva, Joemarie Sanclaria Chua, Harry Torres, Wendy Rondaris, Armida Francisco, and Abelardo Lovendino will also be featured and sold during the exhibit.

The group, whose members identify as with a “deep sense of nationalism”, had its first “big” exhibit in Solaire from June to July 2019 titled “Art for Manila Bay Rehab”.

The paintings were the artists’ observations after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) led a clean-up of the Manila Bay.

“We wanted to record the Manila Bay sunset, sunrise, boats at the bay, children playing, or simply enjoying the views around Manila Bay,” Garcia said.

“Ang reason naming mga artists, dapat ma record or ma document through paintings ang tunay na anyo nito dahil sa clean-up drive at maibalik ang lost glory ng Manila Bay (Our reason for doing so is to record or document these sceneries through paintings. To capture its true beauty after the clean-up drive efforts in Manila Bay),” she added.

The group also donated some of its paintings to the DENR.

The second tilt of the group was from August to September which aimed to give hope to the victims of human trafficking in the Philippines.

The exhibit at the AFP is their third this year and the group envisions there could be more in the coming months to further give back to the fallen heroes of the country.

Meanwhile, AFP Educational Benefit System Office (AFPEBSO) chief and general manager, Capt. Joy Dave Gabuelo said there are a total of 3,514 grantees or children of fallen soldiers that the AFP is supporting as of November 2019.

“We put priority to the education of the soldiers’ orphans because we believe that this is the long-term solution for them to improve the quality of their life once they finish their course and get a job,” Gabuelo said.

“Our commitment is ‘leaving no soldiers’ orphans behind’,” he added.

AFPEBSO also said the AFP is allocating at least PHP75 million yearly to finance the education of the children, who are also priority candidates if they apply to become a soldier and are given endorsement letters if they wish to be part of private companies.