This artist residency in Siargao is making waves in the local art scene by inviting foreign artists

The people of Siargao are no strangers to visual arts or to visiting foreigners. It is a much-adored and preferred destination for travellers, teeming with creatively designed restaurants, bars and hostels. However, witnessing a visitor practising art by the beach or at a resort is a wonderfully enriching experience, as Alelee describes. It not only enriches the artists but also the local community, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of art and culture.

“The artists get to live the vibrant local culture while the locals discover the magic an artist’s touch can bring to their surroundings. Seeing Spanish artist Juan Trillo collaborating with curious local children on an ‘island stray dog mural’ was truly inspiring. For many of these kids, it was their first time witnessing the artistic wonders of a paintbrush and spray paint,” Alelee shares.

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Working alongside the Andanars is Ian Giron, art director of IAOAIR, whose primary responsibility is to find artists willing to join the programme. By scouting potential residents from ateliers, studios, art centres, art fairs, galleries and exhibitions around the world, Giron was able to invite Trillo, Arnabal, Tosi and, recently, Serretta.

“We worked with two leading art centres in Europe: Port Tonic Art Center in the south of France and NVS, an art cooperative based in Lisbon [Centro Cultural de Ambulante],” explains Giron. “Through them, we developed an artist exchange programme where they send us their artists to IAOAIR, and we send Filipino artists to residencies in Europe.”

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As of this writing, Filipino contemporary art icon Jigger Cruz and fellow artist Arvin Nogueras are in a residency programme with Port Tonic.

“Our mission and vision is to invite international artists to Siargao and send Filipino artists to Europe. In effect, this creates a dialogue between cultures,” Giron explains. “Art to me is dialectic—we want to create a dialogue between Filipino artists and other artists from Europe, Latin America, etc. We invite other artists, collectors, patrons, critics and curators to do informal discussions of art wherein they can exchange techniques and skills and, hopefully, use them in their private practice. And maybe, even create a new [art] movement.”

Serretta’s show, These Remains, is a portrait series that familiarises viewers with the individual faces and stories that make up the social fabric. Philippine and foreign banknotes from across colonial periods have conjured a different perspective in our collective memory in Seretta’s show, curated by Roberta Garieri, a DPhil candidate from the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris, France.

“Stefano thoughtfully explored his relationship with money through the intersections he created between images that represent value, institution, place and his narrative,” artist Maria Cruz wrote in her foreword for Seretta’s exhibition.

In cultivating art and culture

“IAOAIR is committed to working hand-in-hand with the people of Tangbo, a charming and still largely untouched surf spot in Sta Monica municipality, in northern Siargao,” says Alelee. “Tangbo today is reminiscent of General Luna [another municipality in Siargao] 25 years ago. Its cultural purity, stemming from its ‘under-developed’ state, makes the experience uniquely special in the rapidly growing surf capital of the Philippines,” she continues.

As a civic-minded entrepreneur and supporter of the arts, Alelee finds this endeavour worthwhile and timely for their community. “Siargao has a rich culture. The island has always had its own unexplainable charm, which is why we believe it needs artists to capture and depict its beauty, quaintness, and dreaminess,” she says.

With General Luna at the forefront of Siargao’s thriving art and culture scene, Alelee believes that more art can flourish, especially in unexplored areas like Tangbo, where IAOAIR is located.

“We will continue to invite international artists and hold more exhibitions and workshops for this residency to flourish,” Giron says.

“Art and culture are areas that we all need to embrace. Cultural interpretations through the eyes of contemporary artists provide a timestamp of what an era was and where we are today. It serves as a guidepost to decisions about life and progress. Siargao has made so much inroads into tourism development, and our advocacy is for cultural and environmental preservation of the island through the arts,” Alelee says.

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