LAST April, I shared that one of the three ways I employ to manage my anxiety in this pandemic is art. The first quarter of the year had just ended and I was planning for a more hopeful latter half especially at work. Then, in just a few months, the cases started to go up again. I have experienced from people close to me how much heavier this has affected them, especially on an emotional level.
Starting in June, I delved into art a bit deeper. I wrote deeper poetry and produced my own version of more “cath-art-ic” art. I even started a personal art blog, which is public, but which I have shared to only less than five people. One of the first works I finished is called “Un-infinity,” which has a corresponding poem written about it found at www.mycsart.com. I cannot explain it, but as much as there is more to worry about and work on, I feel the time I spend in art to be at its most effective is when I pour out the heaviness in my heart and the worries over this unknown horizon of a recovery. I can say that it continuously and positively pushes me to produce better output in the different facets of my life.
This is why I am so happy that various organizations have been positively helping the community through art.
The J. Amado Araneta Foundation (JAAF), the social development arm of the Araneta Group, is conducting a series of online art therapy sessions to select youth participants and medical frontliners in response to ill effects of the pandemic.
Titled “I am Visible: Mental Wellness Through Art Therapy,” the project—which was organized via a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts—started with its first online session via Zoom on August 7. More online art therapy sessions will be held on September 11 and 18.
“I am Visible” aims to acknowledge the mental health crisis happening in the country today, which is being exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic. Among those affected are students who deal with stress and depression given the current online learning set-up, and doctors and community health workers who deal with burnout and anxiety from longer working hours and various work hazards.
“This is one of the bold and major undertakings of JAAF for 2021. We have taken steps to help address a growing issue of the society—mental health. We have targeted vulnerable groups, which happen to be within our circle of influence and even beyond,” said JAAF executive director Diane Romero.
JAAF partners with the Makati Medical Center Foundation for “I am Visible,” with the latter providing facilitators and identified doctor-participants. Joining the program as art coaches are artists Rene Canlas and Julius Legaspi, who will introduce the medium of drawing and painting in pencil, pastel, watercolor and acrylic paints.
The program will end with an online exhibit to be launched on October 10, which is designated as World Mental Health Day.
It will be curated by art teacher Jonah Mari Valenzuela, who has 15 years of art teaching experience with Xavier School Manila.
The virtual exhibit will be hosted on the web site of Araneta City’s art museum, Gateway Gallery, which spearheads the “I am Visible” project. It will open with a Curator’s Talk to be livestreamed on the JAAF and Gateway Gallery Facebook pages. The exhibit will be up until January 10, 2022.
Another organization has utilized art to help a very worthy cause. Fundacion Sansó, in partnership with Museo Pambata, launched a fund-raising event in aid of the temporary closure of the popular children’s museum in Manila.
To ensure the continuation of the museum’s service to the Filipino children, the nonprofit organization preserving the artistic legacy of Juvenal Sansó sold two limited-edition giclee’s made by Sansó, titled Golden Bloom and Wandering Dream, to raise funds for Museo Pambata. In these trying times, museums aiding other museums become a beacon of hope that shines through this period of crisis and great change.
“Since last year, children have been studying within the safety of their homes. Museo Pambata has been highly affected without their usual support from busloads of children who normally visit the museum to experience their educational exhibitions and programs. Acting in this current community, Fundacion Sansó reached out for the continuation of Museo Pambata’s programs as they cling on to the new normal.” Fundacion Sansó director Ricky Francisco said. The fundraiser, Flowers for the Children, started last November. Then in June, Fundacion Sansó officially turned the proceeds over to Museo Pambata in an event streamed live on their Facebook page.
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