Unitas: Muslim and Christian Artists in One Exhibit

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Eid'l Fitr marks the end of Ramadan for Muslims all around the world. It is an event that brings together brothers and sisters ofIslam with a chance to celebrate their faith together. The end of fasting brings a clean start to the Muslim community, allowing them a look at the world with a clearer perspective. For this year’s Eid’l Fitr Festival, the concept for the art exhibit will be to provide an opportunity for Muslim artists to come together with their Christian brothers in the spirit of unity. It is in celebration of this unity of both Muslims and Christians that Magbassa Kita Foundation, Inc., together with Galerie Joaquin Podium and the Podium Mall, present “Unitas: Muslim and Chrisitan Artists as One.”

The exhibition will feature works that use not only Islamic but ecumenical and universal motifs and themes, from the likes of National Artists Abdulmari Imao, Arturo Luz, and Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, as well as noted artists Toym Imao, Rameer Tawasil, Jamila Tamano, Dominic Rubio, Jovan Benito, and Aljo Pingol, as well as fashion designers Len Cabili, Amir Sali Aluk, Patis Tesoro and Cora Manimbo. Also featured is a Pangalay Dance from Tawi-Tawi.

The exhibition will be on display at the 2nd Floor Atrium of The Podium Mall in Ortigas Center from July 21 to 27, with an opening reception on July 21 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, please contact 634-7954, and visithttp://www.galeriejoaquin.com.

National Artist Abdulmari Imao takes motifs from the traditions of the Islamic community. With bold colorizations, figures such as sarimanoks, gongs, and sails are abstracted into inspiring geometric shapes and creative compositions reminiscent of long-established weaving and textile techniques. Rameer Tawasil takes human figurations and abstracts them through a unique swirl of dynamic colors with Islamic patterns seen in the background in a unique melding of styles. Works on display by National Artist Arturo Luz, on the other hand, abstract the mosques and temples he saw in visits to ancient cities of Southeast and East Asia highlighted by his iconic Cities of the Past series where monuments of symbolic Christianity, Muslim, Hinduism, and even orthodox faiths are depicted. Works by National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz will primarily be in shades of green, a color most associated with Islam.

This exhibition is an apt and fitting way to join the Muslim community in observing one of the most important days in the calendar. It is also a path to experience how Islamic and Christian culture can co-exist in an art forum.