A Day at The Lopez Museum.

I like field trips during my younger years. Not only it was a time out from classes but also you to travel. Even in my college Humanities class you get to experience the same atmosphere. After many years, I get an opportunity to visit the Lopez Museum which is a good opportunity to experience it.

At first, you won't imagine that the Lopez Museum is located within the Benpres building in Ortigas commercial district. Upon entering the Museum premises, I felt like I am no longer in the commercial area. Our first stop was from art works of present local artists/impressionists. The picture above shows the work of Maya Muñoz. The gallery of Maya Muñoz was arranged like a shrine as if you were there to meditate.

The next stop was the Street Art by Pilipinas Street Plan. These graffiti are now considered modern art than vandalism. This area shows that sticker designs are also considered an art work. After the street art, I also saw the editorial cartoons and comic strips that were published during the martial law era. Even then, drawing cartoons like these during Marcos era was considered risky. The second picture above is a one of the Street art you will see that dominates this side of the gallery. Below is the sample of one of the comic strips.

In another gallery called Loob at Labas, were the issue of managing prison inmates was focused on. Not only those inmates are still people, they were also maltreated improperly. The museum has this gallery dedicated to their welfare and awareness. In this area, the display shows their livelihood products, poems that tell their insights and photos. In the middle, there's a video documentary with interaction with the inmates. Below here is one of the photographs taken from inside a prison.

The museum also has the library and an office where they are working on archiving their galleries digitally.  At this time, there was a scanning of an old newspaper column in progress. I also got allowed to see their computer database. I type my church's name and surprisingly, they have one photo that shows that dates back during the American era. Picture below is the scanner used by Lopez Museum to scan the surface of the newspaper.

The Lopez Museum has adapted in the digital era. Taking advantage of the technology for the preservation and archiving of the priceless artwork and documents that dates back to more than hundred years. Their galleries are more interactive. This makes me value or treasure the works of our local artists that sometimes taken for granted. Even with new forms of impressionists coming, it still worth knowing what is their message they are conveying. It speaks a different message depending on how you interpret it. All you have to do is to see the Lopez Museum for yourself.

The Lopez Museum is located at Benpres Building, Exhange Road corner Meralco Avenue near Phil. Stock Exchange (Formerly Tektite) in Ortigas.  The Museum is opens from Monday to Saturday 8AM-5PM. Admission rates for grade school students for P60. each, high school and college students for P80., and non-student for P100., and a 20% discount for senior citizens with ID. Check out their website at http://lopezmuseum.org.ph/ for other details.