Jam Acuzar is transforming the grim history of Bataan, where her non-profit arts foundation, Bellas Artes Projects, launched in 2013. Here, in the restored and transported Casa Quiapo, site of the first arts school in the country, Acuzar revives Escuela de Bellas Artes for art residencies, workshops, and tours to enrich arts and culture visitors.

Surrounded by antiquities, Acuzar brings a new vision to Filipino art and heritage. In 2015, the artists-in-residence Not Vital and Paulo dos Sousa built a chapel set against the natural backdrop: a lone modern structure that is visible from kilometres away. It is an effort that literally puts the Philippines on the map. This installation came subsequent to a series of Vital’s creations in Switzerland and Nigeria.

While she focuses attention on artists, her own impact is duly recognised the world over. In 2018, she was among Asia Society’s 21 Young Leaders Program in 2018. That same year, she was awarded the MVP Bossing Award for excellent corporate social responsibility, in recognition of her establishment of Bellas Artes Outpost in Manila, which made art discussions accessible to novice collectors in the city. She sits on the board of a university, held membership in Asia Art Archive’s Collector’s Circle, and is part of the advisory group of Taipei Dangdai Art Fair and various grants bodies.

The art patron is looking to the future of the Philippines, while continuing to support her family business, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar celebrate and honour the past. In Las Casas Filipinas, the Acuzars transport, reconstruct, refurbish and conserve Old Manila’s regal homes, giving people a glimpse into the 1800s Filipino way of life.