Filipino artist in Paris for Alliance Française residency

MANILA, Philippines - Riel Hilario, the second recipient of the Alliance Française de Manille-Philippine Artist Residency Program (AFM-PARP), is currently completing his three-month residency at “La Cité des Arts” in Paris. The residency runs from October to December.

During the first part of his artist residency, Riel Hilario settled in Paris, discovered everyday life and explored this inspirational city. Hilario has dedicated his artistic research to religious and liturgical art in France throughout a series of visits of churches and cathedrals in Paris and around (Notre Dame de Paris, St Germain des Près, St Denis Cathedral etc.) and of museums such as the Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin, Musée du Quai Branly and Musée de Cluny. He gathered creative ideas visiting famous French landmarks such as the Chateau de Versailles, the Chateau de Fontainebleau and its forest, the Père Lachaise Cemetery, and churches in Normandy. He also had the opportunity to meet fellow artists, particularly during the famous International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC), held in Paris in October.

Halfway through his residency, Hilario’s activities shifted from a research perspective to a creative mode. Making a creative work is, for him, “vital in the subsequent integration of (his) experience of Paris.” As an end-result of this residency, Riel Hilario has been asked to carve a Nativity scene for the Christmas project of the Saint Merry Church in Paris.

The Alliance Française de Manille Philippine Artist Residency Program, or AFM-PARP, was launched in July 2010 to mark AFM’s 90th anniversary.  It was conceived as a means to broaden professional networks between contemporary art communities in the Philippines and France. The three-month residency, hosted by the famous “Cité des Arts” in Paris, aims to enrich the experience of local artists within the contemporary art scene, by providing them opportunities for stimulating cultural exchanges and collaboration with other artists.  One residency is offered annually to Filipino visual artists. The AFM-PARP continues a long-established tradition of cultural relations between France and the Philippines, and reflects France’s policy of promoting cultural diversity and exchange.

After Ambie Abano in 2011 and Riel Hilario in 2012, the recipient of the 3rd edition of the Alliance Française de Manille artist residency program will be selected by the PARP Jury in January 2013. The selected artist will have the choice to spend his/her three month residency either in the spring or in the autumn of 2013.

For details, call Alliance Française de Manille at 895-7441 / 895-7585 or e-mail Earl Parco at cultural@alliance.ph, or visit www.alliance.ph.

Visit Riel Hilario’s Paris Journal at: http://riel.weebly.com.