Bert Monterano

 Personal Info: Bert Monterano is originally from Iligan City. Philippines. He was the Regional Coordinator of the
Visual Arts Committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and founder and program
director of the Mindanao Alternative Centre for Visual Arts, Inc. He now lives in Vancouver, Canada with his
family, and is the artist in residence of Leigh Square Community Arts village, City of Port Coquitlam, British
Columbia, Canada.

Educational Attainment: Only by earning a scholarship was he able to attend schooling from high school all the way
until college. And it was in his second year of high school that he fell in love with art, nurtured by a group of professional
artists at his school that organized a young artists society.
“During my high school education there was a group of professional artists who nurtured the young artists, and they
organized this young artists society,” he said.
By the time he was in college, Bert was actively honing his craft. His scholarship permitted him to only take engineering
courses, but he found some friends with which to share in his love of art.

 Awards and Artworks:Internationally acclaimed, Monterona is a recipient of numerous grants and residencies
between 1995 and the present, including the Western Australia Department of the Arts and the Australia
Council for the Arts Grant; the University of Western Australia School of Architecture and Fine Arts and
Australian Embassy Philippines Residency Grant; and the Asian Artists Award of Vermont Studio Centre and the
Freeman Foundation, U.S.A. Other commendations and awards include Finalist in the Philip Morris Group of
Companies Annual Philippine and ASEAN Art Awards (1996,1997,1998,2000& 2001) and winner of the GSIS
Museum Artist of the Month Award and the Art Association of the Philippines Best Entry Award. In 2007,
Monterona won the International Mural Festival and Competition in Manitoba, Canada. He went on in 2009 to
become the Artist in Residence for the Mural Project of the Leigh Square Community Arts Village, City of Port
Coquitlam. This project was part of the Necklace Public Art Initiative, an inter-municipal collaboration of ten
municipalities in metro Vancouver. Bert is also a 2006 Recipient of British Columbia Provincial Nominee
Program (BC PNP) as international artist and granted a permanent resident status of the Province of British
Columbia, Canada. Monterona’s works are processes of "examining the future and rediscovering the past to
build the present;” linking cultures, places, times and events in an attempt to find the balance between the
conveniences of modernism and the wisdom of indigenous living. Using tapestries as canvas, Monterona uses
both brush and bamboo sticks to combine dye, textile paint and acrylic, producing “a rich overlay of multifarious
motifs, such as cloud scallops, triangles of mountain ranges, radiating forms of landmarks and landscape
contours, wild plants and vines, flowing rivers,” and human figures, portraying the celebration of life and human
diversity, indigenous myths and rituals.

AzeOng

 Personal Info:Originally from Antipolo and now based in Quezon City, AzeOng was a volunteer teacher assigned
to the mountains of Bukidnon. Here she was inspired by the culture of the Talaandig tribe. She firmly believes
that art and life must flow together. Her artworks are a realization of experiences of enlightenment nature. She
treats them like her own having personalities, characteristics and feelings.

 Educ Attainment: With no formal art schooling, Ong has, however, been making art for most of her life.She used
scrap fabric from her mother’s garment business when she was in elementary school. Even then, she chose
bright colors for her artwork; colors she says are not usually the norm in “traditional crochet.”
 Awards and Artworks:AzeOng’s work has been showcased even by the National Commission on Culture and the
Arts, as well as various galleries and exhibit spaces. Most recently, at the MWS Mussafah Abu Dhabi Art Hub
entitled “I Love You Mosque,” with her performance to a traditional Arabic music.
 Her art is spontaneously created without patterns, standards, formulas, sketches or studies—the kind
you’d never see in real life as they’ve been tucked away and brought together to provide a dreamworld
experience. She hopes to share her light and creativity with everyone.

Moreen Austria

 Personal Info: Austria is one of the many resident female artists of Bacolod City. She has become part of many
artist organizations as Feminine Touch, BABAYI, and the Art Association of Bacolod (AAB).
 Educational Attainment: Moreen Austria was given a 2016 exhibition grant by the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. She is also the Philippine representative in the International Art Workshop and Exhibition in Prince of
Songkhla University and 4 th ASEAN Art Workshop and Exhibition at the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of
Cultural Studies in Thailand, after being Artist in Residence for Philippine Art Month in Abu Dhabi Art
 Awards and Artworks: Moreen Austria was given a 2016 exhibition grant by the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. She is also the Philippine representative in the International Art Workshop and Exhibition in Prince
of Songkhla University and 4th ASEAN Art Workshop and Exhibition at the Princess GalyaniVadhana Institute of
Cultural Studies in Thailand, after being Artist in Residence for Philippine Art Month in Abu Dhabi Art. Austria
tries to put on canvas diverse depictions of love and affection while staying on her colorful coloring nature that
heightens each creation’s life. Viewing her works is not like walking through an exhibition, it is rather looking
through a kaleidoscope of memories as seen through the artist’s eye.

Manuel Panares

 Personal Info: A Cebuano painter whose beginnings in the arts during the late 60s started with several
exhibitions in Manila and Cebu. He later moved to Mindanao to delve into the study of the tribal Filipinos. In the
70s to the late 80s his paintings were exhibited in Davao, Manila and Baguio. His return to the Cebu art scene
started in 1980 with consecutive one-man shows up to the 1991 Sinulog Season.
In his hope to focus on the regional artists direction, he joined two painters from Dumaguete, Negros Oriental,
namely Sollesta and Taniguchi. The exhibition of these three painters provided a leap towards a new
consciousness addressing the significance of the artists’ leadership as cultural workers in the art development in
the Visayas.
 Educational Attainment: He spends a couple of hours each day at the Southwestern University Museum to study
and research historical events thus making him the pioneer in making works of art which portray accurately
historical events in Philippine History.
 Awards and Artworks: Manuel Panares has been awarded twice in 2001. First, an achievement Award for his
exemplary work as an artist in the field of Painting from Barangay Labangon, Cebu City where he grew up.
Second, an ALIBATA Award by the Global Foundation for International Education in Cebu Philippines was
awarded to him for his outstanding contribution to the preservation of Philippine Art and Culture -- most
notably for his unique paintings of the indigenous tribes of Mindanao and his collection of “Sugbo Sa
KaraangPanahon” depicting Magellan’s Discovery, marking the beginning of Philippine History as recorded by
Antonio Pigafetta in his written Account of Magellan’s Voyage while at the same time and making Cebu’s
Discovery part of the global history of global exploration.