Priest blesses others with art
Entering his office at the Sacred Heart Parish (SHP), one will be welcomed with an array of artwork – paintings, sketches, grafitti, installation and conceptual art. Not a typical office for a priest but it will surely engage one’s mind in creative and critical thinking.
Joining the Sacred Heart Parish in 2009, Fr. Jason Dy, parish vicar and director of the SHP Alternative Contemporary Art Studio (ACAS), introduced art to the parish.
He turned an abandoned garage in the compound into an art gallery. In November of the same year, SHP launched its inaugural art project “In Loving Memory: Bottled Memories of Our Beloved Dead” curated by Dy.
Since then, ACAS has showcased the wors of local visual and performance artists.
When Dy arrived in Cebu, he noticed the lack of space for artists to hold exhibits. He noticed that Cebu was brimming with established and emerging artists who deserve recognition.
“Some galleries were closed and it was expensive for the artists to hold exhibits in malls. The studio is for free, but before an artist can mount an exhibit, he must send first his proposal, including its goal, concept of work and statement,” said Dy.
Article continues after this advertisementHe said he hopes the studio will be instrumental in giving local artists the opportunity to expose their creations to the Cebuano public.
Article continues after this advertisement“The space provides artists with an alternative art studio where they can propose as individuals or as a group, art projects that explore fresh concepts of art making, the innovative use of new art media and a critical exchange with the public,” Dy explained.
Some of the solo exhibits include performance artist Russ Ligtas’ “Rocking the Mouth’s Cradle,” Radel Paredes’ “Spring,” Jose Mari Picornell’s “In His Time” and Joshua Cabrera’s “Kal-ang.”
ACAS also conducts a curatorship workshop for artists before an exhibit.
A nonprofit studio, it is dependent on the support of patrons and assistance of agencies and institutions.
The parish-based studio is a “potent venue for personal contemplation and public communion.” Through lectures, workshops and talks on art and religion, parishioners, artists and art patrons “explore the spiritual and religious in the temporal spheres of life.”
Apart from providing artists space for their work, ACAS, with the help of partners like the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), also sends local artists to Manila for them to showcase their projects, such as an art exhibition of Cebuano artists at the New Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University followed by five simultaneous exhibitions at The Picasso Boutique Serviced Residences last year.
ACAS projects were also shown abroad. The art project “In Loving Memory: Bottled Memories of Our Beloved Dead” became part of the curated show ARTE+FE in Madrid, Spain last Aug. 10-26, 2011.
ACAS artists also hold art workshops for children and the youth.
In 2010, RAFI and ACAS entered into a partnership to promote art and culture and art fairs that were held in the SHP Social Hall as part of the Gabii sa Kabilin.
Dy looks back to the scenery of Duka Bay in his hometown in Medina, Misamis Oriental, as his “first memory of beauty.” While his father did some watercolor paintings and sketches, he never tried his hand in painting or drawing.
When Dy was in high school, he made posters and stage designs in school events. He also won second place in his first on-the-spot oil painting contest.
For him, the win affirmed his skills in painting and drawing.
“I discovered I have the talent,” Dy said.
He continued to sketch, draw, paint and explore visual arts in varied media.
Since he was interested in designing, he would have taken an architecture course in college, but his parents didn’t allow him to come to Cebu to study. He ended up taking civil engineering in a college in their province.
In his third year, he joined the Jesuit pre-novitiate program.
Though he became a licensed civil engineer, he knew in his heart that he was called to priesthood. He entered the Jesuit seminary.
Dy said being an artist helped him in his ministry.
“Art allows the creative expression of faith,” Dy said.
“My advocacy is both art and theology, faith and beauty. I am interested in how art is collaborating with religion and how religion dialogues with art. My interest is to continue the dialogue for mutual support,” Dy added.
Dy also illustrated books “Once a Upon a Time in Asia,” “Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds” and “Gospel According to Mary,” which were published by Orbis Books, New York. He also authored a children’s book titled “Butong Munti.”
For Dy, art making must be driven with intent.
“Art is educational. When you present a piece of art, it must boil down to what your story is all about and the message you want to tell people. If you cannot do this, then that makes the work less relevant.”
In the project “In Loving Memory,” artists and parishioners worked together in remembering their deceased loved ones by decorating empty recycled bottles with pictures, letters, prayers, drawings and other things related to the departed.
Dy’s other project, “Concrete Caution,” a series that documents things related to industrial remains like cement and cable wire, was his way of communicating the need for protection of the environment.
During Holy Week, parishioners’ petitions were placed inside a heart-shaped woven palm leaves that hung from a metal trellis in the arched ceiling of the chapel.
Exploring contemporary art in Cebu was a “fruitful challenge” said Dy. He said he has to deal with many factors – the artists, institutions promoting the arts, art patrons and collectors, art educators and the general public.
He said he was grateful that ACAS is working together with its partners and artists.
“Promoting contemporary art should revolve around me. I want to create a network. That is why we partnered with RAFI, other museums, with some artists and art collectors,” he explained.
Dy said he hoped that ACAS would establish more linkages to get sustainable support for the studio and artists in Cebu. /Hannah Marie Aranas/Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc
