As promised, here is the second part of my collected highlights of ArtBGC 2016, a ten-day art festival my husband, Kayo, organised together with LA’s LeBasse Projects.
During that entire time, the kids and I explored, creating our own urban adventures, while hanging out and learning from some of the best contemporary street artists of our time. I had also compiled these memories in a mini album which I really put in effort and time to work on so that when our kids are older, they can always go back to it and remember what an awesome time we had together and what an amazing group of people we spent those days with.
Though I tried to plan what the girls and I did around BGC while Kayo was busy at work, each day had its surprises. We walked the same streets every afternoon but always witnessed something new or different. The progress of each mural was definitely part of that. Seeing how the pieces came together and become what they are right now was like an art lesson in itself. Every day brought a new learning experience.
Mind Museum
I saved our wrist band passes, glued them together on a card and slipped it in a pocket!
The kids and I were gifted a three-hour pass to Mind Museum, which we decided to use halfway through the festival. We took a little break from art-watching and tackled some science. Although most of what we saw was a little too complex for the kids to understand, the fact that it was very interactive, made it an enjoyable experience for them. Their favorites: dinosaurs, volcanoes, planets and the tongue!
Closing Party
The ten-day festival culminated with a private dinner party at Kabisera in BGC. Many of our friends from the art and graffiti scene showed up to celebrate with us. Food was fantastic, drinks were overflowing (quite literally!), there was an abundance of laughter and countless stories were cheerfully exchanged amongst each other all night. Everyone had a pretty great time and it was so heart-warming to witness everyone, most specially the ArtBGC team and artists, celebrate what they had just accomplished together.
Celebrating Six Years of Marriage
I based the color scheme of this spread on the restaurant calling card which I had also slipped into a 3X4 pocket. On the other side, I put a journaling card where I wrote my thoughts about that night.
The celebrations didn’t end at the closing party for me and Kayo. The very day after happened to be our sixth wedding anniversary. Although we had some more wrapping up to do, we took that night off, and spent time just to be with each other AND have an AMAZING meal. We went to High Street Cafe in the new Shangri-La at BGC, where I had eaten all the seafood and sushi I could. It was wonderful — a perfect way to kick back and relax a little before packing up and heading back home.
It was a buffet dinner so a dedicated page for food is a must! Insert text on the left says: “I know this looks like I didn’t eat much but I really did cause I got twice of each…” (LOL!)
Finished Murals
Art BGC 2016 was a big step of improvement from last year’s One Festival. We were more prepared, had a better idea what we had in our hands and were also able to avoid the mistakes we made last year. However, this year had its new set of challenges and overwhelming obstacles as well. The team had to face some giants. To begin with, I think, collectively, we had bigger walls this year. We also had more artists do walls at this size for the very first time. On top of that, we had to deal with rain almost everyday, making it difficult for the artists to hammer down the painting for long periods. Everyone had been stretched a little bit and worked harder than they ever had, But the great thing was, we had awesome volunteers and painting assistants this year, making everything so much more bearable.
All this experience remind me of a phrase Drew Merritt, one of last year’s forefront artists, would always use to describe his work when painting massive walls — SLAYING GIANTS. It very much resonates with us this year. In one way or another we all faced seemingly unsurmountable tasks but we had chosen to press on and slay it. Slay it we did. Whether the challenge was time constraint, limited funds, misunderstandings, the weather, complexity of design or the sheer size of the wall, everyone came together, made it work and overcame.
By simply going to BGC now to see all the finished murals, you’ll see what I mean. These walls are gorgeous. Not only do they beautify the city and draw attention, they also tell stories and are testaments of unity, hard work and dreams coming true.
The final part of my scrapbook shows photos of the competed murals. Here they are and the names of the artists who painted them:
R: Magic Owl by Bunnie Reiss
L: Untitled by Bunnie Reiss | R: “Charlotte” by Nate Frizzel
L: “Wallflowers” by Trip | R: “May You Find Comfort Here” by KFK
L: “Novels” by Hot Tea | R: “Manpower” by Kris Abrigo
L: “Magsasaka” by Archie Oclos | R: “Let’s Roll” by Dog & Pony
L: “The Heart of God’s Country” by Andrew Shoultz | R: “Calamansi and Sampaguita” by Pastel
I made spray can stamps and use those to create a patterned card for the last pocket page of my scrapbook. I punched holes on my Production Team ID and included it in the end.
Saying goodbyes…
To end, I want to congratulate the artists, the organizing committee, the volunteers and assistants who gave of themselves generously to make this all a reality. You guys are an inspiration to the community and a big encouragement to many aspiring artists out there. You are missed and I sure am looking forward to the next. Let’s slay more giants, shall we?
You may see Part 1 of my ArtBGC 2016 Highlights HERE.
If you’d like to see the paintings at BGC, refer to this map for the exact location of the walls:
To know more about ArtBGC, visit the website or follow @artbgc on Instagram.
Photos of completed murals by Shutterpanda
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