It’s 75 days to go before Christmas! We all know that it’s stressful to cram our Christmas shopping, and yet, we still find ourselves doing it year after year.
If you want help in finding special gifts for loved ones and yourself, I invite you to come to FilipinaZ: Living Art at The Fifth of Rockwell Power Plant Mall from October 20 to 21, 2023. You will not only find well-curated items, but also help fund the projects of Zonta Club of Makati & Environs (ZCME). These are the Psychological Center for Sexually Abused Girls in Marilac Hills and the Empowering Women Scholarship Program.
The event is also a celebration of art and women. According to fellow ZCME member Melissa Romualdez, “It is called Living Art because it encompasses a unique take on celebrating creativity. Art is everywhere all the time. It’s in our fashion, food, home, jewelry, etc. On its tenth anniversary, FilipinaZ is presenting a wider and broader approach in showcasing wearable art.”
The brands that will be showcased for you during the event are as follows:
FilipinaZ also honors exceptional women in the arts whose lives, unique journeys and body of work have empowered others to find their own voices. This year’s awardees are pioneers in the fields of art, fashion, jewelry, craft and education.
1. Josie Natori for fashion – After leaving her Wall Street job (she was the first female vice president of investment banking at Merill Lynch) in the late ‘70s, she founded The Natori Company, a luxury lingerie and loungewear brand that put Philippine design and workmanship on the world map. The brand is now in retail shops such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Dillard's, to name a few.
2. Anita Magsaysay-Ho for visual arts – Her body of work captures the unique role of Filipinas in our society through the lens of social realism, post cubism and modernism. She is regarded as the “female Amorsolo.” She was the only woman among the “Thirteen Moderns,” an elite group of the most outstanding modernist artists in the country.
3. Vicky Vizcara Amalingan Sales for craft – As the only child of the owners of S.C. Vizcarra, a store founded in 1925 that showcased exceptional range of Philippine-made products, she bravely took over the business during the turbulent 1980s. She grew the company to become an exporter and now one of the most sought out suppliers of exquisitely hand-crafted furniture, décor, handbags, etc., supplying some of the world’s major luxury players.
4. Sara Soliven de Guzman for education – As O.B. Montessori Center’s president, she continues the work started by her mother Dr. Preciosa Soliven in 1966. The school now has five campuses in Fairview, Greenhills, Las Piñas, Sta. Ana and Angeles City.
5. Milagros Salgado Dayrit for fine jewelry – She started forging love stories through fine jewelry in the mid 1960s when her husband gifted her with a packet of loose pearls, which she set in her own design. She later on created pieces not just for the affluent Filipinos but also for the everyday Filipino. Today, Miladay Fine Jewelry shops are located in more than 10 stores.
Not just for art’s sake
“Art for art’s sake” is an expression taken from a French slogan that expresses the philosophy that art is utterly independent of any and all social values and utilitarian function. Art is valuable as art itself, and it does not need moral justification. Fortunately, if you participate in the FilipinaZ: Living Art, you go beyond “art for art’s sake.” You don’t only experience an upliftment of your spirit (yes, I find art viewing as nourishment of the soul), but you also help the psychological center for sexually abused girls and also empower young girls through scholarships. Oh, and of course, you also avoid Christmas cramming, especially for those special gifts for special people, including yourself!
See you on October 20 to 21. Watch this video for a sneak peak.