Staying true to their Benildean roots, seven alumni and one student artist will have their personal works showcased by the Center for Campus Art (CCA) for the upcoming exhibit titled “The Benildean Painter” on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the 12th floor Gallery of the Design + Arts Campus.
From award-winning veterans to up-and-coming artists, viewers are sure to be impressed by the diverse styles and strokes that reflect the various disciplines taught by Benilde in the last 35 years.
Despite being known for its design and new media programs, Benilde is not the first thought when thinking about fine arts. “The Benildean Painter” seeks to reshape this perception with its impressive lineup of Benildean artists, ID90 International Studies graduate David Kaufman, ID104 former Production Design student Joseph Tecson, ID109 Multimedia Arts graduate Lee Caces, ID110 Fashion Design and Merchandising graduate, G Paris Magalona, ID112 Architecture graduate Robin Ravago, ID113 Architecture graduate Lyra Tan, ID115 Multimedia Arts graduate Winna Go, and ID122 Industrial Design student Jadon Kilayko.
Curated by CCA Director, Ar. Gerry Torres, the upcoming exhibit will be the first show to feature artists solely from the College, perfectly timed to commemorate Benilde’s 35th anniversary. In an official interview with The Benildean, Ar. Torres shared his excitement for the opening.
“In spite of the absence of any fine arts degree, surprisingly, we were able to come up with Benildeans who are now painters [...] and very good ones. I feel it’s about time that they are recognized, and it’s about time they also reveal that they’re from Benilde,” he said.
Aside from the paintings, renowned Benildean sound artist ID105 AB Production Design alumna Joee Mejias, will be playing a special soundscape for the opening night. Interested visitors can also look forward to a catalog of the show created by Multimedia Arts students which will be released at a later date with its own separate event.
Coming from diverse programs and different batches of studying and graduating from Benilde, the exhibit wishes to display what the school has produced and is still producing in terms of creativity through these Benildean painters.
“Come and visit, invite your friends, even those outside of Benilde because this is a show you can be proud of, this is a show that as Benildeans we’ll be able to really raise our flag [...] raise our heads and say this is what our school can do even if we don’t have a fine arts degree,” Ar. Torres remarked.
The College recently introduced its newest program this academic year, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Culture-based Arts (BFA CBA) under the School of Arts, Culture, and Performance (SACP). The pioneering Fine Arts program was designed to empower the younger generation of innovators, trailblazers, and creative leaders to reshape the world of the future.
For more information on the upcoming exhibit, tune in to CCA’s Facebook page and Instagram.
