Ambassador Ignacio (center) and Third Secretary Articulo (far R) with Mr. Miranda (6th from L) and fellow Angono artists and their works at the Stainless Gallery, New Friends Colony.
NEW FRIENDS COLONY, NEW DELHI – The bridge-building power of art was at the fore for the week of 19-26 April as 11 venerable artists of the Angono Ateliers Association of the Philippines (AAAP) visited New Delhi for a contemporary art exchange with Indian counterparts.
The AAAP was in India under a Culture and Art Exchange Program undertaken with Indian contemporary art company Arth Art International. In February last year, AAAP hosted Arth Art-affiliated artists on a similar tour and exhibition in Manila and Angono.
Led by muralist, sculptor and AAP founder Nemesio “Nemiranda” Miranda Jr., the delegation included artists Bernardo Balagtas, Claro Agusto Santiago Jr., Aaron Bautista, Aries Hernandez, Arnaldo “Atoy” Apostadero, Don Nemesio Miranda III, Katrina Tuazon, Maria Cecilia Artillaga, Rodolfo E. Alcantara, Jr., and Rosalie Vitor Gonzales.
The Filipino and Indian artists held a joint Art Diversity exhibition that ran from 20 April to 26 April at the Stainless Gallery at the New Friends Colony, a major art haven of New Delhi.
The featured Indian artists were Anoop Kamath, Ashish Arora, Jasmine Kaur, Krishnendu Porel, Meenakshi Jha, Nitasha Jaini, Dr Ramesh Kandagiri, Ritu Kamath, and Shuvendu Sarkar.
Gracing the occasion were Ambassador Josel F. Ignacio and Joint Secretary Shatrughna Sinha of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Philippine Embassy Reception
The Angono artists surprised the Embassy with a donation of a collaboration painting by AAAP members honoring this year’s 75th Anniversary of Philippine-Indian relations. The work was conceptualized and completed within the preceding 48-hour period and in between other engagements, attesting to the artists’ skill and artistry.
Mr. Miranda also donated a signed copy of his book, Nemiranda: The Art Philosophy of Imaginative Figurism, to the Embassy.
In a further display of talent, painter and accomplished flutist Rosalie Vitor Gonzales of AAAP performed instrumental renditions of Filipino folk tunes, during the reception.
A portrait sketching session saw the AAAP and Arth Art artists give full play to their art, impressing and delighting with their quick portrait sketching skills using individual Embassy personnel and Filipino guests themselves as models.
“This art exchange between AAAP and Arth Art artists affirm most emphatically that between the Philippines and India, beyond the political and economic, our strongest links are our people, the creative, and even the spiritual, via art”, acknowledged Ambassador Ignacio as he intoned words of appreciation. END
