Last 28 October 2024, the Justice Sector Coordinating Council – Quezon City Justice Zone and Bagong Buhay Group of Artists, launched “Behind Walls, Beyond Bars: National Correctional Consciousness Week Art Exhibition” at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibition features a collection of paintings and pyrography (wood-burned works) made by persons deprived of liberty, or PDLs, as part of an art competition for the 2024 National Correctional Awareness Week.

In a brief opening ceremony, NMP’s Director-General Jeremy Barns conveyed how this exhibition, which marks the culmination of this year’s National Museums and Galleries Month, “truly lives up to the MGM themes of fostering innovation, allowing PDLs to showcase the transformative power of art as means of expression and change.”

Moreover, Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Karl Miranda outlined the importance of this exhibition to the PDL artists. “This exhibition signifies a new beginning—a symbolic way of celebrating a milestone in the lives of the PDL artists, looking beyond and above their plight, moving past their commiseration, and celebrating their important contribution to the country’s culture and the arts”, Miranda emphasized.

Meanwhile, Executive Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City Rosanna Fe Romero Maglaya acknowledged the 170 PDLs who participated in the art competition. “We now appreciate the realization that incarceration is not the be-all and end-all of the Philippine criminal justice system; it is a step towards rehabilitation and reintegration to society”, Maglaya stated.

First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos graced the event as guest of honor, leading the ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally open the exhibition.

Behind Walls, Beyond Bars is on view until 5 January 2025 at the Sandiganbayan Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

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Last 14 October, the National Museum of the Philippines launched the travelling exhibition, “AKLAN PIÑA: Handloom Weaving and the Schools of Living Traditions of the Philippines” at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.

AKLAN PIÑA highlights the historical and cultural significance of its namesake fabric, showcasing a visual narrative of its production, the techniques used, and a collection of historical and contemporary clothing fashioned from piña textile. The exhibition also celebrates the inscription of the Aklan piña handloom weaving into UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023, as well as the inscription of the Schools of Living Traditions of the Philippines into the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices in 2021.

The AKLAN PIÑA exhibition is on view at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France until 18 October. This travelling exhibition will continue its run at various partner institutions in Europe next year.

The National Museum of the Philippines proudly announces the ceremonial turnover of a significant addition to its National Fine Arts Collection: National Artist Fernando Amorsolo’s 1959 oil painting, “Double Portrait of Nieves Balmori Gonzales de Moran and Her Daughter Nieves Moran Garcia.” This generous donation was made by Rafael Garcia Moran-Montenegro, Jean Paul Garcia-Moran, and Rosalie Montenegro-Roth in honor of Bianca Montenegro-Roth. The turnover ceremony will take place on August 5, 2024, 5:00 PM at the Spoliarium Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts. 

Nieves Balmori Gonzalez de Moran was a notable figure, crowned carnival queen of Lingayen in 1919 and Bautista in 1920, both in Pangasinan where she is from. She was married to Manuel V. Moran, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the first Ambassador to Spain and the Vatican City. A photograph of Nieves as a carnival queen from 1919 hangs in The Presidencia, a museum located in the historic town hall of Rosales, Pangasinan. Her photo postcards were highly popular, reportedly outselling those of previous Manila Carnival Queens. She is the grandmother of 1973 Miss Universe, Margie Moran, while her daughter in the portrait, Nieves Moran Garcia, is Margie’s aunt and the wife of the former  Minister of the Philippine Embassy.

On behalf of the Filipino people, we extend our deepest gratitude to Rosalie Montenegro-Roth for honoring her daughter Bianca’s wish to entrust this treasured painting to our institution. This significant artwork will not only enrich our collection but also serve as a testament to the enduring legacy of Fernando Amorsolo and the distinguished Moran family.