Artist Night at the MET

I recently wrote about the opening night of Elmer Borlongan’s retrospective titled Elmer Borlongan: An Extraordinary Eye for the Ordinary at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila (MET). This major exhibition, which was held early this year to celebrate Borlongan’s 25 years of artistry and also his 50th birthday, featured his over 200 artworks depicting the everyday Filipino. It was curated by historian Ambeth Ocampo.

Now, this feature is about the 2018 MET Artist Night, which was held in support of the museum’s advocacy of “Art for All.” The event drew 200 art connoisseurs and aficionados for a charity sit-down dinner at the museum.  The MET has regularly hosted an annual gala to raise funds for its exhibition and education programs.

(From left) Lawyer Felipa Anama, Pascual Borlongan (the artist’s father), Rica Santos, Plet Bolipata and Jun Borlongan.

The highlight of the event included a benefit auction that featured four works donated by Borlongan. Proceeds from the auction were for the benefit of Casa San Miguel Foundation, the Art Discovery and Learning Foundation, CRIBS and the Don Salubayba Bookgiving Endowment Fund.  The auction was hosted by Julius and Christine Babao.

The 2018 MET Artist Night was made possible with the support of Bench, Florabel Group of Restaurants, CATS Motors Inc., SoundCheck, Jonathan Matti, Andrew Gan and ThemeWorks Events.

The Elmer Borlongan: An Extraordinary Eye for the Ordinary exhibition, which occupies the ground floor galleries of the MET,  runs until tomorrow, March 28. Try to catch the last day of this phenomenal exhibition (with a lot of borrowed works from private collections). Also watch out for the book featuring Borlongan’s amazing works that will hopefully be launched next month. The exhibit was made possible with the support of Pioneer Insurance and Asia Coatings Philippines Inc.

(From left) Sofia and Elena Coyiuto with Stephanie and Joseph Tay.

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