Alternative artists’ group rocks Quezon art scene

A group of young artists is stirring the lethargic art scene in Quezon province with their kind of progressive and radical multimedia paintings, music, poetry and photography.

Graphic designer Sheryl Garcia, one of the founders of Guni-Guri Collective, says her group believes that art “isn’t just art but a medium to communicate to people, convey a message and help them understand that there is more to art than decorations.”

She describes the collective as an independent group of visual and multimedia artists, musicians, writers, students and professionals who are all based in Quezon. At present, it has 72 members spread out in schools and towns in Quezon.

Guni-Guri was coined from guni-guni or perceived images or imagination and guri-guri, a colloquial term for doodling or “something which connotes the idea of perception to output,” according to its Facebook account (https://www.facebook.com/GuniGuriCollective?fref=ts).

Same interest

Garcia, tattoo artist Odessa Lopez, art hobbyist Alegria Indal and illustrator Lanny Tolda, all in their late 20s, formed the group on Nov. 17, 2010. They came from local colleges and universities but share the same interest in hard-core punk music and paint in varied medium to depict and interpret contemporary social views.

The collective plans to include artists from different genrés and aspiring ones who have similar progressive or propeople orientation. They would be encouraged to hone and practice their craft in their localities and not to places where modern-day art has already made a niche, Garcia says.

“They don’t have to leave the province or their towns to express their art. They have to try to expose and educate the people in the province on what art can do to help society,” she says.

Anybody can join the collective as long as they promise to regularly attend meetings, discussions and workshops, and have genuine interest in “progressive arts.”

“But most of the time, we conduct meetings, map out plans and projects online,” Garcia said.

Tapping potential

The group aims to develop the potential of each member through workshops, exhibits, discussions, educational trips and other activities, including providing assistance to promote their artistic fields in their communities.

“We want to bring the art, especially of young people to a different level, beyond what is taught inside the school classrooms,” Garcia says. Guni-Guri has already been to several towns, even as far as Catanauan in the  Bondoc Peninsula.

Abigail Holgado Abuel, a young budding painter based in Lucena City, says the group has helped mold and improve her craft. “I feel that the advocacy of the group to reach out and help the less fortunate through free workshop and painting session is really something. For me it’s a priceless endeavor,” she says.

The group also introduced the art of wall mural painting in Lucena. Some members transformed a bare concrete wall along Bonifacio Street into a huge colorful canvass of the father of the Philippine revolution.