2017

The UST Faculty of Civil Law celebrated its Christmas gathering at the Museum’s Main Gallery on the evening of December 19, 2017. It marked the first time an academic department held its holiday festivities inside the Museum, and with a panoply of handmade star-shaped Christmas lanterns known as “parol” twinkling overhead combined with luminaries from the legal and judicial world joining in the songs, games and merrymaking, it was truly a starry, starry night.

Prizes and a sumptuous dinner were courtesy of Civil Law Dean Nilo Divina, while the program was hosted by Civil Law Regent Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P., Judge Philip Aguinaldo, and Museum Collection Management and Documentation Assistant Maita Oebanda. A special performance was rendered by balladeer Bo Cerrudo.

Last December 1, 2017, Miss Earth 2017 Karen Ibasco, MSC, lectured on her environmental advocacy at the UST Museum. Her advocacy, encouraging people to conserve energy and explore the means of using renewable sources of energy, was formed during her participation in the international tilt.

She belonged to the Quadricentennial Class of 2011 and became an instructor teaching Applied Physics at the UST College of Science. (with thanks to the UST Office of Public Affairs)

Every year the University publishes its own calendar to be distributed to administrators, faculty, support staff, benefactors and friends. Again, this year UST Museum Director Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P. took charge of choice of pictures and artistic layout, featuring some newly-constructed places in the University, such as the lobbies of the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. (BGPOP) building, Quadricentennial Pavilion (QPAV) and Central Laboratory Building. Photographs were taken by DMD Photography and laid out by Mr. Robbie Villegas of the Office of the Secretary General.

The festive Christmas vibe was very much alive in the UST Museum this past holiday season. This year’s Christmas celebration was entitled “CHRISTMASEUM” featuring collaborative projects with the UST College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD) – Interior Design Department and the UST Junior High School (JHS) Glee Club.

CHRISTMASEUM featured 2 major activities:

“Kumukuti-kutitap, Bumubusi-busilak: A Christmas Exhibition” by the UST CFAD Interior Design Department showcasing the Filipino Christmas Lantern or “parol.” This marks the first time a high ceiling-mounted Christmas art installation was done inside the halls. The exhibit ran from November 28, 2017 to January 19, 2018.

“Joyful Carols: A Musical Presentation by the UST Junior High School Glee Club.” Last November 29, 2017, festive singing echoed inside the halls of the UST Museum as the UST JHS Glee Club under the baton of Prof. Emerson Hernandez masterfully interpreted popular songs of the season.

The exhibit opening was graced by UST administrators and faculty, namely: UST Secretary General Rev. Fr. Rev. Fr. Jesus M. Miranda, Jr., O.P., PhD; Museum Director and Faculty of Civil Law Regent Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P.; UST Graduate School Regent Rev. Fr. Jose Antonio Aureada, O.P.; Conservatory of Music Regent Rev. Fr. Jose Ma. B. Tinoko, O.P., JCD; Prefect of Libraries Rev. Fr. Angel A. Aparicio, O.P.; CFAD Regent Rev. Fr. Edgardo Alaurin, O.P.; Executive Secretary to the Rector Prof. Augusto Antonio A. Aguila, PhD; CFAD Dean Asst. Prof. Mary Christie D. Que, MS; Office of Alumni Relations Director Asst. Prof. Maria Cherry G. Tanodra, RN, MAN; Center for Campus Ministry Director Assoc. Prof. Richard G. Pazcoguin, MA; CFAD Assistant Dean Romeo D. Castro, MTE; and CFAD ID Program Chair Ma. Concordia Lucila S. Abella. The Liturgikon Vocal Ensemble serenaded the attendees during the opening.

The UST Museum was privileged to welcome Associate Professor Naraporn Chan-o-cha, Spouse of His Excellency General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, when she paid a courtesy call on Very Rev. Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, O.P. on November 13, 2017.

Also among her party was Madame Monthip Upatising, Spouse of His Excellency Thanatip Upatising, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Philippines. They were personally given a tour by UST Museum Director, Rev. Fr. Isidro C. Abaño, O.P. and Assistant Director Archt. Carlo Sayco, assisted by Collection Management and Documentation Assistant Maita Oebanda.

UST Museum Director Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P. proudly shared with the esteemed guests who were in Manila for the ASEAN Summit 2017 the original guest book bearing the autograph of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand during her 1991 visit to the University. Princess Sirindhorn came to the Philippines that year to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service.

An exhibit organized by the UST College of Education Pax Romana students on the lives of Dominican Saints ran at the UST Museum Main Gallery from October 17 to 24, 2017. Featured during the exhibit were religious images of the different saints, loaned by devotees and friends of the Pax Romana student organizers.

A Marian Exhibit was presented at the UST Museum Main Gallery from September 15 to October 13, 2017 featuring different images of Our Lady’s various canonical titles. The exhibit coincided with the 75^th founding anniversary of the UST Santisimo Rosario Parish and was organized in cooperation with the UST Marian Evangelization Community and the Young Thomasian Professional – Lay Dominican Fraternity.

The UST Museum is pleased to introduce our newly-appointed Assistant Director, Architect John Carlo L. Sayco.

Architect Sayco is a faculty member of the UST College of Architecture, and was the recipient of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) award for First Outstanding Young Architect in the Academe in 2016. He has been involved in numerous cultural heritage-related projects including the Archaeological Survey and Assessment Task Force for Bohol Churches affected by the 2013 earthquake, the planning and development of the Polilio Museum, and the visualization of the Boracay Cultural Mapping Project.

Darren Matias and Yasa Poletaeva are “Contrast Duo,” a critically-acclaimed violin and piano ensemble with an international career spanning four continents. They performed a mini-concert at the UST Museum Gallery last August 24, 2017.

Darren Matias is an award-winning graduate of the UST Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Ms. Erlinda Fule and is currently the Music Director of the Saint Michael Lutheran Church in Florida, USA. As a student, he won the Grand Prize at the Ultimate Pianist Competition and Piano Teacher’s Guild of the Philippines Mozart and Bach Competitions.

Violinist Yasa Poletaeva is a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and as a prodigy has concertized throughout Europe and is a seasoned soloist. She is also a published author and sought-after poet in Russia, and was a former Grand Prize Winner of the Miss Saint Petersburg Beauty Pageant.

Their 2017 International Concert Seasons included performances in Russia, the Philippines, and various cities in the United States and Europe. Their most recent accomplishments include 1st prizes at John Oliveira Inaugural String Competition and the Lyric Chamber Music Competition; prizes from Arriaga, Coleman and Fischoff Competitions; finalist at the Carnegie Hall Fellowship and residencies from Carey Institute, Lynn University and High Peak Music Festival. Just recently they also won the prestigious Academia Music Award for the Best Instrumental Song and were awarded the Gold Medal for Classical Duo in the Global Music Awards last November 2016.

UST Museum Director Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P., together with UST Center for the Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics (CCCPET) Director Assoc. Prof. Eric B. Zerrudo, MCH; UST Graduate School Faculty Secretary Assoc. Prof. Alejandro S. Bernardo, PhD; and Museum Collection Management and Documentation Assistant Maita Oebanda were guests of the General Santos City Local Government Unit (LGU) during the recently-concluded Turnover and Graduation Ceremonies for the GenSan Cultural Mapping Project last August 14, 2017.

After a few messages, 85 mappers composed of Araling Panlipunan (AP) teachers and barangay enumerators from the 26 barangays of the city were then awarded Certificates of Completion for their participation and work in the project, while key offices, barangays, and partner institutions were bestowed with Plaques of Appreciation for their collaboration in the massive project.

A large-scale painting of Our Lady of the Rosary giving the Rosary to Saint Dominic recently underwent conservation measures at the UST Museum Conservation Laboratory and was installed at the new UST Central Laboratory Building on April 26, 2017.

The painting was acquired by the University to commemorate the 800^th Jubilee of the Dominican Order.

SM Cares partnered with the University of Santo Tomas in support of their shared advocacies: care for the environment and sustainability, bringing people and art together, and the preservation and propagation of Philippine cultural heritage.

SM Cares presented “Likhang-Bayan Year 9: UST’s SweetART,” a collaborative project of the UST College of Education (CE), College of Fine Arts and Design (CFAD), and the UST Museum as part of the 406th Foundation Anniversary celebration of the University of Santo Tomas. The advocacy exhibit aimed to heighten awareness for the environment and sustainability, and emphasized man’s unique role as “steward of God’s creation.” It also aimed to deepen appreciation for traditional Filipino arts as cultural treasures and encouraged everyone to learn more about our heritage, and how to preserve and propagate the traditional Filipino art form of “pabalat ng pastillas.”

Designs featuring flora, fauna, scenery, and environmental mottoes were showcased. Upcycling and photography projects of UST Interior Design, Industrial Design and Advertising Arts students, respectively, were also included in the exhibit. Exhibit viewers were able to purchase featured artworks. All proceeds went to tree-planting initiatives of the SM Cares and UST Simbahayan.

A free workshop on crafting “pabalat,” wrappers made of Japanese paper with intricately-cut tail ends used for traditional Filipino milk candies called “pastillas,” was held on April 30, 2017 at the Skygarden, SM North EDSA as a collateral activity of the exhibit. The skill was passed along by the late and much-beloved “Nanay” Luz Ocampo, who spent her life teaching pabalat-making to anyone willing to learn. UST Museum Assistant Director and professional Interior Designer Assoc. Prof. Anna Marie H. Bautista facilitated the workshop, while UST Department of Food Technology faculty members Enelyn King and Essence Jean Logan prepared flavored pastillas complementing some of the designs. The free workshop was open to the public, with a limited number of slots.

The exhibit opened on Earth Day, April 22, at the 3rd floor City Center, SM North EDSA, Quezon City at 6:00 p.m. with an invocation led by UST CFAD Dean Asst. Prof. Mary Christie D. Que, followed by messages from Museum Director Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P., US Embassy Consul Mr. Mark Pituch, and UST CE Dean Prof. Allan B. de Guzman, PhD. A framed pabalat souvenir was presented to SM, represented by Vice-President for Corporate Compliance Ms. Liza Silerio and SM Supermalls Program Manager for Sustainability Department Ms. Simonette Lat.

Thanks to SM’s support, the exhibit ran until May 1, 2017, and was also part of the USTCE Foundation Week activities; CFAD’s contribution to National Interior Design Week and Earth Day celebration; the UST Museum’s contribution to the declaration of May as Heritage Month; and UST’s response to Pope Francis’ papal encyclical “Laudato Si” (Care for Our Common Home). It also responded to the cultural agenda of the Philippine National Development Plan on Promoting Culture and Preserving the Environment.

UST was a proud supporter of the recently-concluded Plotting Points Museum Summit. The 3-day summit held from 30 March to 01 April 2017 brought together museum practitioners from all over the country “to re-assess the current state of the field through relevant developments in national policies related to the arts and culture as well as innovations in museum research, operational practices and programming.”

The summit sought to “engage issues and challenges faced by museums and other cultural institutions in the 21st century by creating opportunities for dialogue and exchanges of ideas, strategies and even skills.”

Plotting Points was presented by Eugenio Lopez Foundation Inc. (ELFI) through Lopez Museum and Library (LML) and made possible through a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The summit was held at the Civil Law Auditorium, UST Main Building and conference rooms of the UST Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building. Delegates visited the UST Museum, University Archives and the Miguel de Benavides Library. Site visits were also done at various museums in and around Metro Manila.

The UST Museum was delighted to present "Colors in Flight: Artworks of Colorists" at its Main Gallery from March 29 to April 28, 2017. A sequel to last year's popular exhibit, "Color More, Stress Less", this exhibit featured works by numerous colorists, interpreting the theme of birds’ flight through artistic expression using colored pencils, ink, and pastels on paper.

Also included in the exhibit were origami paper cranes lent to the UST Museum by the family of Sylvia “Manya” Alvendia Rodriguez. The paper cranes are a Japanese tradition, and were a bright and colorful spiritual tie-in to the exhibit’s title, “Colors in Flight."

Guest colorists included our own Museum Director, Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P., as well as members of the Philippine Pastel Artists group.

Two lecture-workshops were held in conjunction with the exhibit. The first was "Colors for the Refreshment of the Soul" by Dr. Grace Brillantes-Evangelista, Ph.D. on April 4, 2017, at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex (TARC) Building. Participants explored their spirituality through art and found new ways to express their thoughts and emotions through contemplative and therapeutic coloring exercises.

The second one was "Birds & Blooms: A Pastel Art Workshop" by the Philippine Pastel Artists (PPA) on April 20, 2017, at the UST Faculty of Civil Law Lobby, UST Main Building. PPA Founding President Julius Legaspi headed the workshop, with a short talk on the history of pastel as an art medium by well-known artist and PPA Chairman Salvador “Buds” Convocar. They were assisted by PPA Corporate Secretary Celeste Lecaroz and Artist Member Aizza Mapanao-Allid.

The UST Museum presented "The UST Junior High School Glee Club Gives Back: A Night of Songs Filled with Faith, Life, and Love" at the Main Gallery on March 22, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. The invitational concert featured LA Santos and The Nightingale Strings Manila, and included a wide variety of songs such as “Siyahamba” (traditional Zulu sacred music), “Manangguete” (a Karay-a folksong), “Paraiso” by Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, and “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway musical “Wicked.” The UST JHS Glee Club’s twenty-four members sang under the guidance of their Artistic Director and Choirmaster, Mr. Emerson Hernandez.

The castle-shaped headdress worn by Miss Universe Germany 2016 Johanna Acs as part of her national costume during the 2017 Miss Universe pageant held in Manila was donated to the UST Museum last February 13, 2017.

Ms. Acs decided to donate her headdress as a gesture of thanks for the warmth and hospitality of the Filipino people during her stay in Manila as a contestant of the international beauty pageant. The donation was facilitated by UST College of Architecture and Fine Arts alumna Consolacion “Sol” Dayo-Albar, who received the headdress from Ms. Acs.

Museum Director Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P. and Mrs. Albar signed a memorandum of agreement for the turnover of the headdress during the opening of its exhibition, which also featured the Miss Universe doll collection of Educational Technology Center Director Asst. Prof. Anna Cherryle M. Ramos, MSc.

The UST Museum was pleased to play host to “Panata,” (“Vow”) a large-scale painting by Cebuano artist Florentino “Jun” Impas. The artwork depicts the energy and fervor of the devotees of the dark-skinned, life-size statue of Christ as the Black Nazarene. The Feast of the Black Nazarene is traditionally celebrated with a procession that winds through the streets of downtown Manila, with teeming crowds of people trying to get close and touch the figure, which devotees believe to be miraculous. The painting was temporarily exhibited at the Main Gallery from February 12 to March 15, 2017.

UST held its annual Inter-School On-the-Spot Painting Competition last Feb. 11, 2017 at the UST Benavides Garden in cooperation with Metrobank Foundation, Inc. This year’s theme was “LOVE OF NATURE EXPRESSED IN ART.” Nature has inspired some of our greatest works of art – from Fernando Amorsolo’s luminous depictions of golden rice fields to Botong Francisco’s incorporation of nature in his visual celebrations of Philippine history and culture – but these days we seem to be losing our connection with this vital source of inspiration.

This year’s Board of Judges included: NCCA National Committee on Visual Arts (NCVA) Vice-Head Edgar “Egai” Fernandez; NCCA National Committee on Art Galleries Head John Delan Robillos; Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) Director and Curator Joselina “Yeyey” Cruz; Ateneo Art Gallery Director and Chief Curator Ma. Victoria “Boots” Herrera; and UST Museum Director Rev. Fr. Isidro Abaño, O.P. Fine Arts students from different colleges and universities were invited to express their love of nature through art from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the awarding ceremonies began at 6:00 p.m. at the Main Building Lobby.

The winners this year were: “Panatilihin Ang Bukas” by John Rowell Correa, Bulacan State University (2^nd place) and “Deep Love” by Arvin G. Santos, University of the East – Caloocan (3^rd place). “Wala Tayong Makikitang Kagandahan sa Ating Kapaligiran Kungdi Natin Ito Aalagaan” by Wendi T. Patoc, Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST); “Dying Nature” by Ma. Therese Cunanan, UST; and “Human Nature” by Jehushua Pascua, Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) were 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Honorable Mentions, respectively. There was no 1^st Place winner declared this year. Metrobank Foundation presented the Metrobank Choice Award to “Flora and Fauna” by Sophia Yvone Salvador, Far Eastern University.

A Lecture Forum was held at the UST Faculty of Civil Law Auditorium as a collateral activity to the OTSPC. The winning artworks were on exhibit at the UST Museum Main Gallery from February 11 to March 16, 2017.