What made BGC’s Instagrammable murals possible?
- It was brought about by BGC’s Art program’s advocacy project Bonifacio Arts Foundation(BAFI) alongside LeBasse Projects and Honeycomb Communities.
- It’s a local project named ArtBGC NextAct ONE Festival launched in 2015 aiming to transform blank spaces in the city into visual attractions that could tell significant stories.
- Those who were invited in the festival were composed of both local and international artists who have their individual trademarks.
- The murals have significantly boosted the city’s tourism progress.
Condos for sale at the Fort has been among the most impressive real estate market since forever. Well, who wouldn’t want to live in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) considering the nightlife, abundance of shops, stores, and well-known companies offering great employment deals, galleries, and museums? Figuratively, comfort resides in there.
However, what would’ve particularly made BGC a talk of the town nowadays is its Instagrammable murals named ArtBGC. The city looked like a blank canvass filled with artists’ interpretations and perspectives in the realities of life. It was definitely oozing with significant messages, all the more making the city a go-to place in the Metro for families, barkadas, and couples.
What is ArtBGC?
Street art is a prevalent tourism attraction in famous cities like New York, Sao Paolo in Brazil, and George Town in Penang. Hence, it’s pretty impressive that the Philippines has its own landmark of mural street art, which is Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. These murals as worked on by artists from the Philippines and from the international scene, has made the local project of BGC called ArtBGC NextAct ONE Festival possible since 2015. It is a week-long mural festival organized by the Bonifacio Arts Foundation (BAFI), an advocacy under BGC’s Art programs, while working closely with LeBasse Projects and Honeycomb Communities in terms of the execution of said project.
Basically, the project aimed to convert the city into an open mural gallery; transforming blank spaces such as trash cans, trees, sidewalks, and transformer vaults into corners and streets filled with stories as told by exemplary artists.
How did the artists came up with their masterpieces?
The project wouldn’t be considered a success without the artist’s’ extraordinary creativity that made their interpretations and visions alive. Among these artists, both local and international, include:
- Trip63
Trip63 is a local street artist who aims to challenge the concept and boundaries limiting the definition of graffiti. In the ArtBGC’s 2016 festival, he gamely presented “Wallflowers” from a different perspective, putting direct emphasis on the details of his piece’s entities. This is located at Bonifacio High Street B-2, at the back of Krispy Kreme.
- Andrew Schoultz
Andrew Schoultz is a well-known muralist from San Francisco, California. His works are known to depict themes that are of relevance in the society: political, religious, and socio-cultural. His work for ArtBGC’s sophomore year, “The Heart of God’s Country” has earned praises for his well-structured and descriptive idea of universal nature and regeneration. It is currently situated on W Fifth Bldg., overlooking 5th Avenue and 32nd Street.
- Kris Abrigo
Kris Abrigo, among other artists who participated in the annual event, has an interesting background. He was an assistant painter in the 2015 ArtBGC festival, in CYRCLE’s well-articulated piece “Between the Lines”. While working on the said piece, Kris was inspired by the construction workers passing along the murals as they head for home. Indeed, his trademark of candy-colored and geometrical-shaped mural style, has given light to the nation’s labor force. It served as a reminder for people, especially construction workers, to take pride in their occupation and hard work as they also contribute to the nation’s progress through time. If you’re looking for his piece, you can check it out on Net One Center.
- KFK Collective
KFK Collective is a collaborative group of artists composed of Kate Quebrar, Fulgencio Bermejo, and Katrina Almalki. They won the ArtBGC Open Call which aimed to invite artists from all over the Philippines to join the famous mural festival. In 2016, they brought a masterpiece in one of the corners of BGC, B1 on Lane O, into life with the artwork “May You Find Comfort Here.”
How did it help boost BGC’s tourism?
Interestingly, BGC’s tourism has progressed since the launch of ArtBGC festival. It has consistently contributed to the many attractions that the city has, and has definitely catered to the people’s need of picture-perfect photos. Thus, making it a great way to spend family day, couple dates, or even barkada hangouts at BGC.
With this in mind, indeed, the ArtBGC festival has successfully implemented an open gallery of murals that turned the city’s corners and streets into a visual attraction.
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http://pursuitofpassion.ph/featured/take-stroll-bgcs-massive-murals/
http://primer.com.ph/blog/2016/05/10/the-artbgc-mural-festival-returns-to-bgc/
https://www.spot.ph/arts-culture/the-latest-arts-culture/66405/art-bgc-hot-tea-kfk-a1117-20160520
http://www.traveling-up.com/art-in-the-city-murals-in-bgc/