06 May 2014 - SINING art exhibit, also called Art@PhilConGen was proudly launched by the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto on May 2 at the new Consulate General’s premises located at 160 Eglinton Avenue East in Toronto.  The event is a joint project with the Philippine Artists Group (PAG) in Toronto in celebration of the Asian Heritage Month in May.  The exhibit will be on show for two months.

Members of the Consular Corps Association in Toronto (CCAT), representatives of Philippine-Canadian media and press corps and various Filipino-Canadian community, social and business organizations in Toronto and across Ontario graced the opening of Sining exhibit.

Forty-two paintings of the members of the Philippine Artists Group in Toronto led by its president, Nelia Tonido, and founding president, Maestro Romi C. Mananquil were featured in Sining.  The paintings of the talented and award-winning PAG artists manifested their cultural heritage as Filipinos.  The paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor portrayed Filipinos at work, at home and at play.  PAG spearheads the promotion of Philippine art in Canada, with paintings such as Mananquil’s Banduria Belle, Breakfast in Beach and Abandoned Hut, Tonido’s Ang Mayang Pula at ang Manggang Maasim Pa, Omel Masalunga’s Carriedo Street Market Series, Teody Asuncion’s Sungka, Harana, and Rondalla, Antonio Afable’s Bangus, and Michelle Charmaine Ramos’ Legendary Adarna Bird.  Consul General Junever Mahilum-West, who is an honorary member of PAG, participated with two paintings -- Bayabas and Kamatis.

PAG members are considered ambassadors of Philippine visual arts, promoting Philippine art and culture in the midst of the ethnic and cultural diversity in Canada.  PAG was founded on June 12, 1988 and has since then mounted their annual exhibit every June with the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa and the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto as presenting sponsors.  In 1996, in a joint project with the Knights of Rizal, PAG donated to the Consulate General in Toronto a framed portrait of the Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal in barong tagalog, to mark the centenary of his martyrdom.

PAG membership is composed of some of important names among contemporary Filipino artists in Ontario:  Antonio ‘Jun’ A. Afable, Jr., Teody Asuncion, Joyce Bondoc, Frank Cruzet, Jhun Ciolo Diamante, Marissa Buyco-Corpus Gaa, Romi C. MananQuil, Omel Masalunga, Koni Marcoux, Calixto ‘Toots’ Quiachon, Michelle Chermaine Ramos, Frank Tonido and Nelia Tonido. END