ILOILO City – For many Filipinos, migration is a family story that repeats across generations. A new exhibition at the University of the Philippines Visayas places that experience at the center of Philippine modern art, tracing how movement across countries shaped both artists and the work they produced.
The UP Visayas Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage (UPV MACH) will open “Sown by the Traveler: Women and Migrants in Philippine Art” on Jan. 23, 2025, at 5 p.m. at the Pagwa Performing Arts Hall. The show features 16 paintings from the Lopez Museum and Library Collection.
Curated by Dr. Patrick Flores, the exhibit gathers works by artists whose careers unfolded through study, residence, and practice beyond the Philippines. It frames modernism as a story of circulation, with ideas, techniques, and influences carried across borders.
Included are paintings by Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Nena Saguil, Alfonso Ossorio, Juvenal Sanso, Macario Vitalis, and Fernando Zóbel. UPV MACH said these artists’ lives and practices were shaped by migration and transnational experience.
The museum described the exhibit as the second cycle of its collaborative project with the Lopez Museum and Library. The first cycle, “The Patrimony of All,” drew attention for presenting works by Juan Luna, Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, Fernando Amorsolo, and Juan Arellano.
The two-cycle project was initiated by former Sen. Franklin Drilon, with government funding ensured by Sen. Loren Legarda, according to UPV MACH. The Iloilo City Government and the Eugenio Lopez Foundation, Inc. are also partners.
UPV MACH will be open during the Dinagyang Festival weekend on Jan. 24–25. Visitors in Iloilo and nearby provinces can view the exhibit as part of the festival week’s cultural offerings.
Regular museum hours thereafter will be Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The exhibition will run until the first week of June 2026./PN
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Nena Saguil’s “Fontainebleau” (1954), oil on canvas
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Alfonso Ossorio’s “Faineants” / “Loafers” (1945), watercolor and ink on paper