The CANVAS founder believes that we should trust children with uncomfortable truths and complex ideas. Through the initiatives of his organization, legendary artists like BenCab and Rodel Tapaya are helping the next generation be more equipped and aware. — Jam Pascual / ANCX

The Philippines launched an exhibit on Filipino children’s book “Karapat-Dapat: Child Know Your Rights” at the United Nations in Geneva to highlight efforts to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which will mark its 30th anniversary in 2019.

Can you picture a museum on Philippine art for children?

That is the idea CANVAS, or the Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development, is trying to present with their proof-of-concept show, "Tumba Tumba Children's Museum of Philippine Art," currently mounted at the University of the Philippines Vargas Museum.

ENGAGING and fun — these are how CANVAS, or the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development, conceptualizes how a children’s museum should feel like. And the group has put its idea to the test in its ongoing public exhibition, Tumba Tumba Children’s Museum of Philippine Art.

On June 19, The Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development launched an exhibit titled Tumba-Tumba: Children's Museum of Philippine Art at the University of the Philippines’ Vargas Museum, and the show, which runs until July 27, encourages the public to rethink what makes a children’s museum.

The exhibit is a prototype for a larger, more permanent children’s museum that The Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS) hopes to establish one day.

Remarks by Mr. Michael Møller
United Nations Under-Secretary-General
Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva

Presented on behalf of the Director-General by Mr. Francesco Pisano Director of the Library, UNOG

In time for the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage, the EU Delegation to the Philippines will hold a Children’s Rights Summit on Thursday, May 24, at the Museo Pambata, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

It all started with a film. Gigo Alampay was a student at the University of the Philippines in the 1980s when he came across “The Man Who Planted Trees,” an animated film that was based on French author Jean Giono’s short story. It tells the tale of a man who plants trees over the course of 50 years. In the process, this fictional character transforms a barren landscape into a forest, and rebirths the land.

“Panyáan: Three Tales of the Tagbanua,” the newest book from the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (Canvas), features stories informed and inspired by the rich culture of the Tagbanuas of the Calamianes Island Group in Coron, Palawan province.

Gigo Alampay, the executive director of Center for Art New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS), invited Mark Justiniani, Elmer Borlongan, and Emmanuel Garibay to conceive a mural for Art Fair Philippines. The three-paneled, 8 x 24 feet mural titled "Tagadagat" took five days to conceptualize and finish. Justiniani, Borlongan, and Garibay actively made political art at the height of the post-Marcos era, working together in art collectives such as Salingpusa, Abay (Artista ng Bayan), and Sanggawa.

Multi-awarded artists Mark Justiniani, Elmer Borlongan and Emmanuel “Manny” Garibay have reunited to collaborate on a special exhibit for this year's Art Fair Philippines. The project was initiated by Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS) founder Gigo Alampay, who said the exhibit will aim to examine the present status of our identity through art.

Titled “BenCab Activity Book for Children: Imagine, Play, Color, Learn," the book written by Karen Joy Desamparado-Foronda was released as part of the celebration of BenCab's 50 years in the art industry.

Looking for Juan Outdoor Banner Project runs until July 2 at 3/F Galleries of the University of the Philippines (UP) Vargas Museum. A part of the exhibit, specifically the outdoor banners, will be installed around the UP Academic Oval from July 1 to 17.

Founded in 2005, CANVAS works with artists and writers to promote children’s literacy, national identity, and public awareness of the environment, arts, and culture. On their 10th year, CANVAS hopes to broaden its advocacy through their One Million Books for One Million Filipino Children Campaign.

Woodlands are given visual voice in “If Trees Could Talk,” an exhibit championing the environment organized by the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (Canvas).

“Filipino Myths and Legends” can be seen at the UP Vargas Museum until July 15. Sixty-five artworks by various Filipino artists are showcased, with the original works displayed at the UP Vargas Museum, while their banner counterparts are hoisted along the acacia-lined academic oval of UP Diliman.

“The Future. Here. Now. Seize it.” This was the theme of this year’s TEDxDiliman, held at the Malcolm Theater in the University of the Philippines Diliman, the second to be organized by the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (Canvas), a nonprofit organization dedicated to sparking interest in Philippine art, culture and the environment.

To raise historical awareness about martial law, especially among the younger generations, the Liongoren Gallery and the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (Canvas) have organized the exhibit “ReCollection 1081: Clear and Present Danger (Visual Dissent on Martial Rule),” which opens on July 14, 4 p.m., at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Bulwagang Juan Luna and Pasilyo Guillermo Tolentino.