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NEWS AND FEATURE
News and feature stories about the City of Love and beyond. Blog of Andrea Ortega Guanco.
Mural Art in the City of Love
May 7, 2017Andrea Ortega Guanco

There is so much beauty in the City of Love. Iloilo, aside from its rapid economic
development, is still the Iloilo lined with preserved heritage sites, imminent Ilonggo culture, and
the undying patronage to local – be it locally grown talents or products. Apart from that, Iloilo is
still the Iloilo that has a high regard for artistry – grandiose architecture, cultural festivals, visual
arts, photography, literature, and so much more. Photo above: mural art at Robinsons Place
Iloilo.
Indeed, there is so much beauty in the City of Love. With reference to artistry, comes the
emergence of today’s contemporary mural art. Walls of establishments have been decorated
with surreal and abstract representations – of modern Ilonggo and of life in general. The Shops
at Atria Park District, Robinsons Place Iloilo, Iloilo River Esplanade are just some of the places
with breathtaking murals painted on the walls.
Painting the history of Ilonggos on the walls of Iloilo. In comparison to the most notable
murals made in different places around the world, murals have always been entwined with
culture. A mural is not just an aesthetic artwork but an illustrational narrative of the life lived in
that era. Today’s contemporary art is tomorrow’s version of the past that will always be worth
discovering, studying, and appreciating. Photo below: ‘Dream Big’ mural art at Atria Park
District.

Should mural art be encouraged? By all means, yes. We took the liberty of interviewing
Kristoffer Brasileňo, distinguished Ilonggo artist and the name behind some of the
inspiring street murals made in the City of Love, regarding his thoughts on encouraging
and popularizing mural art. Photo below: Mural art by Brasileňo at Atria Park District.
First off, how is mural art here in Iloilo?
The culture of street art and mural art in Iloilo is still in its formative stage. For the longest time,
the only exposure of Ilonggos to murals come in the form of paintings in the walls of schools and
universities and the occasional backdrop of stage plays and street performances. During the
popularity of street art and graffiti in USA and Manila around 2004 onwards, several individuals
who had internet access and copies of magazines like Juxtapoz and Hi-Fructose were inspired
to create word and letter-based paintings on public walls using aerosol and household paint.

All over the province, there are individual artists who would create murals in private domiciles
and companies such as resorts or research facilities like Seafdec which was headed by Andrea
Bagarinao. Around 2011, my personal experience with street art began when I, together with a
friend, made a large portrait of a female figure in wall in my cousin’s house in Janiuay. I believe
this was the beginning of image-based or figurative style of street art in Iloilo. Throughout my
days as a student at the University of San Agustin College of Fine Arts, we would accept large
scale projects such as the chalk art drawing in SM City parking area, the USA hallways,
cafeteria and perimeter walls. Eventually, my friends started to create murals on their own. They
filled an alley inside Aurora Subdivision with different types of figure-based murals. They would
eventually take part in an international project of New York-based French Artist called JR to put
up wheat-paste based posters in Muelle Leone.
Around 2015, the city government of Iloilo in cooperation with Iloilo Visual Arts Collective, an
artists’ organization that I have been a president of from 2015-2017, organized the largest street
art/public art event at Esplanade called Arte sa Kalye. Several barangays in Iloilo copied the
event in their own locations afterwards. On November 2016, Atria Parks District in collaboration
with VIVA Econ Organization Iloilo, Inc. created four large scale murals all over the complex of
Atria. It was sponsored together with Ayala Land, Avida and Boysen. Last April, an event called
Artivism was organized by artists Marrz Capanang and Kristine Buenavista in collaboration with
Robinsons and British Council. It filled a 100-foot stretch of walls with black and white themed
murals on the concept of social media and social impact. There are also lateral movements from
other groups that I am not fully aware of. Photo below: mural artworks from Arte sa Kalye at the
Iloilo River Esplanade.

Do you intend to do more mural artworks? If so, what are the target locations?
Yes. I am inspired by the murals in other parts of the world as I have seen from social media
and the internet. There are so many blank walls all over the city that I have scouted for all the
time. The streets of Calle Real and Muele Leone provide interesting texture and historical value.
Several new walls around Esplanade are perfect for tourism and promotion of themes and other
advocacies. The city is still a blank canvas and we must always keep a good example in order
for street art and murals to more acceptable and respected by the masses. Photo below: mural
art at Atria Park District.

If a mural art festival will take place here in Iloilo, what would be the activities?
A mural festival would be firstly focused on creating well-curated murals in select locations all
over the city. When I say curated, I mean to say that each design is carefully deliberated and
composed. Each mural must consider the context of the surrounding areas and the historical
values of any given space. The movements must be well directed and organized. Alongside the
mural-making, we could hold exhibitions in galleries of large-scale, mural-like paintings on
canvas for those who are more comfortable with this kind of medium. We can also hold artists
residencies where artists can occupy an abandoned building and transform it into a masterpiece
using paints and aerosol. We can hold competitions, demonstrations, workshops, talks and art
exchanges. The possibilities are endless.

And lastly, why popularize street art and a mural art festival here?
I believe it is human nature to aspire to become popular and it would spread to their individual
interests like, for example, street art or classic car models. An artist paints with the purpose to
communicate to a viewer visually, the same time a writer to a reader. Popularizing something
can also generate promotion and attention to whatever an artist intends to communicate. An
artist may promote his or herself with the talents they acquired through street art, ultimately
garnering projects and commissions afterwards or the artist may use street art as a medium to
promote advocacies or opinions about current events or politics.

Street art can also introduce visual art and fine arts to the masses that do not often come to
museums or exhibitions. It is in a way, taking the gallery out into the streets. Street art can
become a tourist attraction and a location where tourists can take selfies. Street art can easily
transform a blank wall into a masterpiece that can influence and inspire a viewer. And lastly,
several artists in the subculture of street art do street art for street cred and for bragging rights.
It is a way of claiming territory over a place or location. Photo below: mural art at Atria Park
District.

Kristoffer Brasileňo is affiliated with the Iloilo Visual Arts Collective as president from 2015-
2017. He is currently a member and is back on doing personal projects. He is likewise affiliated
with VIVA ExCon Organization Iloilo, Inc. with the main purpose of organizing events and
conferences about art in Iloilo. As of the moment, Kris operates with a few close friends with
street art projects. Notable artists behind art murals are: Marrz Capanang, Ronnyl Bulahan,
Kinno Florentino, Andrea Bagarinao, among others.