Established | April 1967 |
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Location | Insular Life Building (1967–1974) Old Ayala Museum Building (1974–2001) Old Makati Stock Exchange Building (2001–2004) Ayala Museum Building (2004–present) |
Coordinates | 14°33′12.98″N121°1′23.41″E / 14.5536056°N 121.0231694°E |
Type | Art and history museum |
Visitors | 65,000+ [1] (2014) |
Website | ayalamuseum.org |
Building details | |
General information | |
Status | December 4, 2021 (reopened) |
Town or city | Makati |
Country | Philippines |
Inaugurated | September 28, 2004 |
Renovated | 2019–2021 |
Technical details | |
Material | granite, steel, glass |
Floor count | 6 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Leandro Y. Locsin Jr. |
Architecture firm | Leandro V. Locsin Partners |
Other information | |
Parking | Greenbelt Basement Parking |
The Ayala Museum is a museum in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is run privately by the Ayala Foundation and houses archaeological, ethnographic, historical, fine arts, numismatics, and ecclesiastical exhibits. [2] Since its establishment in 1967, [3] the museum has been committed to showcasing overseas collections and situating contemporary Philippine art in the global arena in a two-way highway of mutual cooperation and exchange with local and international associates. [4] The museum was reopened on December 4, 2021, after a two-year renovation. [5]
Envisioned during the 1950s by Philippine abstract painter Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo, as a museum of Philippine history and iconography, the Ayala Museum was established in 1967 as a project of the Filipinas Foundation, now known as the Ayala Foundation. [3] The museum was housed at the Insular Life Building until 1974 before being transferred to [6] the old Makati Stock Exchange Building. [7] The old building was designed by National Artist Leandro Locsin. [6]
Plans to transfer to the Ayala Museum were made as early as 2002. [8] The old building that hosted the old Ayala Museum was demolished which met some criticism from heritage conservationists. [6]
The museum moved to a new six-story building made from granite, steel and glass, [6] which was designed by Leandro V. Locsin Partners, led by Leandro Y. Locsin Jr., the son of the architect that designed the old Ayala Museum. It was formally dedicated at the 170th anniversary of the Ayala Corporation on September 28, 2004, and stands on the same site of the original Ayala Museum. [3]
The museum temporarily closed on June 1, 2019, for renovations, which were expected to finish by the end of 2020. [9] These renovations were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but subsequently finished by November 2021. The museum reopened on December 4, 2021. [10] [11]
Contemporary exhibitions such as retrospectives of Filipino artists and contemporary international art are housed at the ground floor of the museum.
Recent exhibition features the "Beyond Tobacco" exhibit which is in time with Ayala Corporation's 180th anniversary. Beyond Tobacco presents the rich economic history of the Philippines and its deep relationship with Spain during and after the Tobacco Monopoly in the 19th century by its large collection of artifacts, memorabilia, maps, and photographs of the Compañia General de Tobacos de Filipinas (also known as Tabacalera). Artifacts such as tobaccos, cigar holders, and other paraphernalia are shown in the exhibit. Maps of huge tobacco plantations chiefly in Luzon are also displayed, including photos of the factory before and after being bombed during the Japanese occupation. Furthermore, paintings by Fernando Amorsolo and books written by Jaime Gil de Biedma and other biographers are on display. [16] The exhibit was curated by Professor Martin Rodrigo of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (also known as Pompeu Fabra University) in Barcelona, Spain. [17]
The museum's second floor gallery features art exhibits and galleries. Accessible through Greenbelt, it offers free admission, distinct from the rest of the museum. [18]
The museum's third floor galleries and the Zobel multipurpose hall are designed to house the changing displays showing Pioneers of Philippine Art, Images of Nation, New Frontiers, and Collector Series- from the 18th century to the contemporary period of Philippine art. [19]
Pioneers of Philippine Art showcases the 100 years of Philippine art from the late 19th century to the 20th century in the works of three famous Filipino artists namely Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo and Fernando Zobel. [19] Paintings of Amorsolo includes Palay Maiden (1920), Maiden with Lanzones (1924), Maiden in a Flower Garden (1948), Portrait of Victoria Zobel de Ayala (1948), and Open Market Scene (1957–1958) to name a few. All works of Zobel highlights pure non-objectivism and abstract art. Some of these include Vasata (1960), Portrait of Ep (1961), El Balcon II (1964), Pausa Clara (1966), and Las Soledades de Lope de Vega (1968).
Images of Nation shows the works of the national artists for visual arts of the Philippines while, New Frontiers features the work of contemporary artists. Launched in 2010. In the past years, Images of Nation has featured a collection of works by Vicente Manansala (May–July 2010), Jose Joya (September 2011-January 2012), and Victorio Edades (March July 2012). [20]
The Collector Series presents selections from private collections of art in curated thematic exhibitions. [19]
Filipinas Heritage Library | |
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Location | Ayala Museum, Philippines |
Scope | Filipiniana [21] |
Collection | |
Size | 13,000+ contemporary volumes 2,000+ rare titles, rare books on microfiche, maps 35,000+ photographs 12,000 monographs 400 audio and video materials 1,000 phonograph records |
Other information | |
Website | filipinaslibrary.org.ph |
The Filipinas Heritage Library is located on the sixth floor of the museum. It is known to be one of the electronic research centers in the Philippines. It houses more than 13,000 contemporary volumes on Philippine history, art, language, religion, and the social sciences, and more than 2,000 uncommon titles, maps, and photographs. Additional features of this library include the digitization of its collection, CD-ROM publishing, development of web pages, and electronic databases. [22] The library has set up an online search engine that provides access to more than 357,000 Filipiniana database records, through its numerous Library Link initiatives in the past, from over a hundred partner libraries across the Philippines. [23]
Aside from the pieces of tradeware vessels from the Roberto T. Villanueva collection, one section of the museum provides researchers with study collections including books and several publications on art and history of ceramics courtesy of John D. Forbes. [24]
Ayala Corporation is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, it is the country's oldest and largest conglomerate. The company has a portfolio of diverse business interests, including investments in retail, education, real estate, banking, telecommunications, water infrastructure, renewable energy, electronics, information technology, automotive, healthcare, management, and business process outsourcing. As of November 2015, it is the country's largest corporation in terms of assets ($48.7B).
Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Nicknamed the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art," he was the first-ever to be recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines. He was recognized as such for his "pioneering use of impressionistic technique" as well as his skill in the use of lighting and backlighting in his paintings, "significant not only in the development of Philippine art but also in the formation of Filipino notions of self and identity."
Leandro Valencia Locsin, Sr., also known by the initials LVL and the nickname "Lindy", was a Filipino architect, artist, and interior designer known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic design in his various projects. An avid collector, he was fond of modern painting and Chinese ceramics. He was proclaimed a National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture in 1990 by the late President Corazon C. Aquino.
Félix Resurrección Hidalgo y Padilla was a Filipino artist. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest Filipino painters of the late 19th century, and is significant in Philippine history for having been an acquaintance and inspiration for members of the Philippine reform movement which included José Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, and Graciano López Jaena, although he neither involved himself directly in that movement, nor later associated himself with the First Philippine Republic under Emilio Aguinaldo.
Jaime Zóbel de Ayala y Pfitz, also known as Jaime Zóbel, is a Filipino businessman who served as the chairman of the Ayala Corporation from 1984 to 2006 and as its president from 1984 to 1994. Presently, he holds the honorary title as "Chairman Emeritus".
Ambeth R. Ocampo is a Filipino public historian, academic, cultural administrator, journalist, author, and independent curator. He is best known for his definitive writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal and on topics in Philippine history and Philippine art through Looking Back, his bi-weekly editorial page column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Don Fabián de la Rosa y Cueto was a Filipino painter. He was the uncle and mentor to the Philippines' national artist in painting, Fernando Amorsolo, and to his brother Pablo. He is regarded as a "master of genre" in Philippine art.
Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo Torrontegui, also known as Fernando M. Zóbel, was a Spanish Filipino painter, businessman, art collector and museum founder.
The Ateneo Art Gallery is a museum of modern art of the Ateneo de Manila University. It is the first of its kind in the Philippines. It serves as an art resource for the university community and the general public as well. The Gallery is located at the Arts Wing, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
Enrique Jacobo Pedro Luis Plácido Zóbel de Ayala was a Spanish-born industrialist and philanthropist who became the first patriarch of the Zóbel de Ayala family. He was also one of the leaders in the Philippine Falange during the 1930s and 1940s.
Camille Jean Verdelaire D. Dela Rosa is a painter who studied at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Her works, commencing in 1998, include Impressionist gardens, landscapes, churches, beaches, and morbid surrealisms.
The Makati Central Business District is a financial and central business district in the Philippines located in the heart of Makati in Metro Manila. It is politically known as "Central Cluster" in the West District of Makati. It is different from the Makati civic center known as "Makati Poblacion" which is situated at the northeast portion of the district. It is bounded by EDSA, Amorsolo Street, Ayala Avenue, Gil Puyat Avenue, Osmeña Highway, South Luzon Expressway, Metro Manila Skyway, Zobel Roxas Street, Ocampo Street, Metropolitan Avenue, Nicanor Garcia Street, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati Avenue, Anza Street, Polaris Street, Orion Street, Mercedes Street, Amapola Street and Estrella Street. The whole district occupies barangays of San Antonio, San Lorenzo, Bel-Air, and Urdaneta.
The Ayala Triangle Gardens is a 2-hectare (4.9-acre) landscaped urban park in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a triangular public garden and courtyard in the center of the Makati Central Business District. It was named after its owner and developer Ayala Land, and opened to the public in November 19, 2009. Inspired by Hyde Park in London, the park, which is dotted with palms, acacia trees, and tropical foliage, is considered one of the few "green" areas in Makati.
Anita Magsaysay-Ho was a Filipina painter who specialized in Social Realism and post-Cubism in regard to women in Filipino culture. Magsaysay-Ho's work appeals to Modernism by utilizing more abstract designs and styles rather than realistic approaches. She was the only female member of the "Thirteen Moderns," a standing group of Filipino modernist artists, and in 1958 was chosen by a panel of experts as one of the six major painters of the country's history. The most famous work of Magsaysay-Ho are subject to the beauty of Filipino women dealing with everyday issues. Collections of her artwork can be found in museums around the Philippines.
Purita Kalaw Ledesma was a writer and art critic and founder of the Art Association of the Philippines in 1948.
Wilfredo Beltran Alicdan is a Filipino figurative artist. His works are distinguished by their quaint and geometric folk representations, populated by rounded stylized figures usually engaged in traditional and rural activities.
Celeste Lecaroz-Aceron y Salud, also known as Celeste Lecaroz, is a Filipino visual artist who is known for her works in the spontaneous realism style.
Ramon Nazareth Villegas more popularly known as Mon Villegas or Boy Villegas, was a Filipino curator, art historian, jeweler, author, antiquities dealer, and poet. He was best known for chronicling the history of Philippine art and antiquities in various publications in both the Philippines and overseas. Villegas ran his own antique shop called Yamang Katutubo Artifacts and Crafts, which featured Philippine jewelry and antiques that closed on his death in 2017.
Nena Saguil was a Filipina artist of modernist and abstract paintings and ink drawings. She was most known for her cosmic, organic, and spiritual abstract works depicting internal landscapes of feeling and imagination. For these, Saguil is considered a pioneer of Filipino abstract art.
Santiago Albano Pilar more popularly known as Jak Pilar, was a Filipino art historian, curator, and author. He was best known for chronicling Philippine art centered on the 19th and the 20th century in numerous publications in both the Philippines and overseas.