Batangas PDLs' artworks for sale at Repertory Philippines' 'ART' run
MANILA, Philippines — This month, outside the REP Eastwood Theater, artworks become the center of attention.
The biggest among them is a replica of a white painting — the focus of Yasmina Reza's "ART," which Repertory Philippines (REP) is staging until June 29.
The pieces around it, however, bear much more significance. The artworks are created by persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Lipa City, Batangas — many of them tattoo artists, carpenters, and house painters.
These participating artist PDLs are members of the HOPE Project (Help One Person Deprived of Liberty Every Day), founded by by jail warden Aris Villaester, which supports the release of qualified and deserving PDLs who are ill, of senior age, or have no financial means.
REP got involved with the HOPE Project as Victor Lirio, director of the company's "ART" run, is an owner of a painting by a Lipa BJMP PDL.
Production designer Miguel Urbino sought help from author Chary Mercado, who previously worked with the HOPE Project, to produce paintings that will feature in "ART."
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These paintings, as well as other pieces by the Lipa PDLs, are available for auction at the REP Eastwood Theater Lobby during the entire run of "ART."
Winning bids will be announced right after "ART" closes on June 29, and proceeds will cover legal fees for the PDLs' release after they complete their full sentence.
According to Villaester, past iterations of the initiative in three Cavite jails he was previously posted at led to raising P400,000 from selling artworks that facilitated the release of a hundred PDLs.
"For collectors, the paintings in REP’s staging of 'ART' are a unique acquisition with an unexpected back story. For the artists who made them, they represent freedom and a second chance at life," said REP's president Perez-Rubio in a statement.
The one-act "ART" follows three long-time friends where one of them purchases an all-white piece worth 200,000 francs and becomes a source of tension.
Playing the three friends are Filipino-British "Bridgerton" actor Martin Sarreal as Serge, British actor Freddy Sawyer as Marc, and award-winning Manila-based actor Brian Sy as Yvan.
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