With wide open arms

Please read on this article about a gallery for democracy by Mara Andres:


It was, perhaps, the most intimate gallery closing I’ve ever witnessed. At most 20 people nestled within the humble walls of the Sigwada Gallery, celebrating democracy in the most solemn way.

The exhibit, Yellow Democracy, was Sigwada’s tribute to the late President Corazon Aquino and also a celebration of the gallery’s first anniversary. Yellow Democracy opened on the 9th of September, aptly on President Aquino’s 40th day. Upon entering Sigwada, you will immediately see that many artists have taken the message and essence of democracy to heart as there were more than 20 artworks which filled the walls of Sigwada. From paintings to photographs and other types of mixed media, the spirit of democracy continues to overflow.

The night was accompanied by the music of Tribung Kayaw, a small group composed of five men with a passion for music and innovation, which shows with the kind of instruments they use: Water gallons, a guitar with some add-ons like Sony playstation buttons which play sound effects among others, and other ethnic instruments.

As Sigwada bids goodbye to Yellow Democracy, it once again opens its arms to another artist whose advocacies include women’s rights and child welfare among others. From Oct. 9, Alma Quinto, a graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman, has been holding an exhibit entitled Arms at the Sigwada Gallery.

Alma Quinto is a visual artist and art educator known to have collaborations with marginalized children and women. She has been affiliated with CRIBS Philippines since 1995, Bantay Bata 163, the Philippine Association for Citizens with Developmental and Learning Disabilities (PACDLD) and Project: Brave Kids, a group composed of children afflicted with cancer. Quinto is also an advocate of Greenpeace.

Various organizations have taken recognition of Ms. Alma’s advocacy such as the National Commission for Culture and Arts, where she is a trainer for their Crisis Program, the Department of Education and the United Nations Development Program.

By collecting narratives on opposites such as love and terror, war and peace, she aims to show the contradictions of war and violence and man’s capacity to tame it. In war, we see arms. In peace, we seek the comfort of the arms’ embrace.

What makes this exhibit different and remarkable is how Alma has chosen to reach out her arms to chidren as to empower them that they are capable of expressing their voices, their advocacies through art.

Besides Arms, Alma also held Art Workshops with 15 children from the Kaibigan Ermita Outreach Foundation. She aims to help children in unblocking the creative block, developing their sense of awareness regarding various social and environmental issues surrounding society today. With these workshops, she hopes to empower these children to exercise their rights. Arms lets a child reach for a crayon or a colored pencil so he or she can draw also lets him or her reach out even further.

The Sigwada Gallery reaches out its arms to Ms. Alma and the children as it joins the nation in celebrating the Global March for World Peace.

The Sigwada Gallery is located at 1921 Oroquieta Street, Sta. Cruz Manila. Visit http://www.sigwadagallery.multiply.com

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