Inspire Every Day at Ayala Museum
"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture are like a tree without roots." - Marcus Garvey
Every time we found ourselves in the area of Greenbelt in Makati, J and I can't help but notice the signages of the Ayala Museum. We promised ourselves to visit it one day and finally, we were able to make good of that promise.
Last July 28, they held their Inspire Every Day 2018 with the theme "Patience Makes Perfect" and in celebration, admission to all their galleries is free of charge. It's an opportunity too good not to take advantage of. Accompanied by my mom, niece and of course, our curious little Queen B, we visited the breathtaking galleries of Ayala Museum.
Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street
Greenbelt Park, Makati City
Operating Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Admission Fees: (as of March 2, 2018)
Admission Full Access
Regular Adult (Non-resident) - 425 Php
Regular Student, Senior, PWD - 300 Php
Discounted Resident (Filipino and foreigners with proof of residence in the Philippines) Adult - 225 Php
Local student, Senior, PWD - 125 Php
Tour Guides or Teachers - Free
Admission: Changing Exhibits
All Changing Exhibits - 200 Php
Discounted Senior, PWD - 140 Php
One Changing Exhibit - 150 Php
Discounted Senior, PWD - 100 Php
Contact Info: (02)7598288
Email: hello@ayalamuseum.org
Website: www.ayalamuseum.org
Upon arrival, we immediately registered at their booth outside and then we were allowed entry into the museum. Since there was a special event happening, there were several booths from their sponsors at the lobby.
The first exhibit we visited is Historia: Stories of Art/ The BPI Collection. It is one of their changing exhibits and it will run from June 19 to August 12, 2018. As said in the description of this exhibit, "The selection of works shows how the themes of harmony, abundance, and resiliency abound in works depicting the values and dreams of the Filipino- family, community, tradition, and home. These works of art allow us to experience the story of the Filipino - our life and perspectives throughout the years." This collection contains paintings by 19th-century master and painter of the world-famous Spoliarium Juan Luna, the first Filipino National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, and other leading artists of 20th-century art.
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| It's J's turn to be our little Queen B's parent-teacher that day. Here he is explaining to our daughter the works of our favorite Juan Luna. |
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| Art is for everyone, whatever your age is. Here are my 61-year-old mom and 13-year-old niece. |
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| Daddy and daughter bonding time! |
We then took a short break from viewing the exhibits and watched a ballet performance of CENTEX (Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education, which is Ayala Foundation's flagship education program) dancers. My little Queen B watched in awe as the dancers danced gracefully. We're planning to enroll her in a ballet class soon and the brief show serves as an instant motivation for her.
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| The CENTEX dancers |
Our next stop is The Diorama Experience, one of Ayala Museum's permanent exhibits which can be found on their 2nd floor. This exhibit contains dioramas carved by artists from Paete, Laguna depicting sixty major events and themes in Philippine history, from the prehistoric Philippines to the recognition of Philippine independence in 1946. The exhibit ends with a multi-media presentation about the People Power of 1986. This exhibit was like traveling back in time. I was reminded that our history is quite rich and as intriguing as other countries. It was easy to follow also as each diorama is numbered so just view the entire exhibit from number 1 to 60.
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| A museum visit is a good family bonding experience. Both you and your child will learn as you explore and view the exhibits. |
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| Our prehistoric ancestors lived in caves like what is shown in this diorama. |
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| We have been trading with the Chinese long before the Spaniards came. |
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| The execution of Governor General Fernando Bustamante by an angry mob of citizens and clergy. |
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| Jose Rizal may not be tall but in his time, he was involved with a lot of women. Talk about charisma. |
Alongside The Diorama Experience is Ayala museum's collection of Maritime Vessels. This selection contains local skiffs and foreign ships that dropped anchor at Philippine shores. As an archipelago, the various islands of our country can only be visited before with the help of those boats and ships.
Also on the 2nd floor is a mini-activity area where visitors can color a coloring page which contains the theme of this year's Inspire Every Day event. This place is widely popular with the kids.
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| My mom joined these kids in coloring that "patience makes perfect" pages. |
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| And this is her output. |
Another changing exhibit on the 2nd floor is The Hidden Cinema: New Perspectives in Philippine Cinema. This exhibit is curated by film artist, film historian, and film professor Nick Deocampo in commemoration of the centennial anniversary of Philippine cinema. At the center of this exhibit is the presentation of our various film forms. Of course, we are all familiar with the mainstream, commercial cinema but cinema is much more than that. There is also the short film dubbed as the "mother of all cinema", the documentary which is the purveyor of truth and reality, the experimental film which is the expression of the esoteric, the animation, the student film, the propaganda which is the instrument of persuasion, the home movie, the music video, and so on.
After a leisurely lunch break with our good friends and godparents to our little Queen B, we went back to Ayala Museum to continue our tour. We went straight ahead to the 3rd floor where we first view the Bamboo Road: Tel Aviv to Manila, a changing exhibit which will run from July 24 to August 26, 2018. It showcases the vision of Manila-based, Israeli artist Anat Heifetz of bamboos resembling rolls of fabrics which resulted in an array of bamboos in different shapes, sizes, and designs.
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| Each bamboo is etched with a design that represents a country/culture between Tel Aviv, Israel to Manila, Philippines thus called the Bamboo Road. |
The Museum Shop can also be found on the 3rd floor. They sell home decors, giveaways, postcards, books, and many more. I love their selection of books about Philippine Art and Biodiversity which I would like to have for future homeschooling lessons with my little Queen B.
The 4th-floor host the special exhibition, Crossroads of Civilization, which features three exhibits that prove that our country is a melting pot of culture as early as the 9th century. My favorite of the three is the Gold of Ancestors that contain more than a thousand gold objects. This exhibit reminded me that long before the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, our culture is already sophisticated. One of the highlights of this collection is the 4-kg gold sash worn by influential and rich men centuries ago.
Another exhibit is the Art and Order of Nature in Indigenous Philippine Textiles which contains 111 textiles representing indigenous communities in our country. This collection is donated by Mercedes Zobel to the Ayala Museum. The last exhibit on the 4th floor is the A Millenium of Contact which consists of Chinese and Southeast Asian ceramics found in our country. This collection tells us that Filipinos have a profitable trade with China and Southeast Asia even ages ago. In here, I learned that the designs and colors of the ceramic tell where and when they are made. Picture-taking at the 3rd and 4th floor is not allowed thus those works of art will just have to remain in our memories
The 6th floor of Ayala Museum is the home of their Filipinas Heritage Library, which we no longer visited. This library contains rare materials like antiquarian books and maps from as early as 1872. There are also presidential papers from Philippine presidents Elpidio Quirino and Manuel Quezon. There is also the Himig Collection which contains over 5000 digitized Filipino songs from the 1900s to 1990s and the Roderick Hall Collection which focuses on the personal experiences of Roderick Hall's family members during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
Aside from the exhibits and galleries, Ayala Museum also hosts talks, workshops, and even concerts. One of their interesting upcoming talks is Starting Conversations: Explaining Issues and Sensitive Topics to Kids on September 1 and 9, 2018. This is in partnership with Adarna House. As a parent, I believe we should continually equip ourselves so we can talk to our kids about topics like Martial Law, special needs and abilities, unconventional family settings, and loss and trauma.
Meanwhile downstairs, there are ongoing interviews with several creatives namely Samantha Lee, Meryll Soriano, Anina Rubio, Pepe Herrera, Ramon Orlina, and Jeffrey Solares. There are also performances by the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra.
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| Samantha Lee and Meryll Soriano |
Our Ayala Museum experience is definitely an inspiring one and surely, we will visit again in the future. As a parent, a homeschooler, and a Filipino, visiting museums like the Ayala Museum is a great way to spend the weekend and learn more about our country's rich and colorful art and history.
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| Capped off our day with churros. |
Yours,
Lady
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