For the longest time, the National Capital Region (NCR), has always been the go-to place for art enthusiasts to visit. But in recent years, contemporary art has found a new home in Iloilo City. And recently, Megaworld’s Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) is featuring the Ed Valencia Art Collection upon the patron’s generous favor.
Image Credit: Berwin Coroza on ANCX
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Ed Valencia’s Love for Art
Ed Valencia — ex-New Yorker and art collector — has always been open about his addiction to fine arts. For this reason, he has generously decided to lend his acquisitions to Iloilo’s recently completed art museum. It’s his legacy to his beloved hometown.
“I love art, what can I say?” He tells us ABS-CBN News, “Charlie Co tells me I have this disease that is difficult to reverse.”
His past as a graduate of CPA at the University of the Philippines Visayas is a far cry from his philosophy as a collector. According to him, money doesn’t take precedence over the personal value he allots to art and to his personal collection. It’s a personal choice, and surprisingly, he went on to say that it wouldn’t matter to him if any of the pieces in his collection won’t go up in value in the next decade or so.
Image Credit: Berwin Coroza on ANCX
The Ed Valencia Art Collection
At the moment, Valencia’s art furnishes all the floors of the new Iloilo Contemporary Art Museum. His vast collection includes local art, foreign art, sculptures, and the work of Iloilo artists. From prints to hand-painted canvases, you name it, he probably has it in his 140 plus collection. He has been gathering art since the 80’s. Try to wrap your hand around that.
There have always been renowned artists from and in Iloilo, their names thriving richly within the city’s art community. However, Valencia’s efforts as an art patron are effectively making the Iloilo art scene even more visible. Nowadays, the museum gets a lot of visits from schools and tourists alike. The patron’s collection has made it to thousands of Instagram feeds.
Image Credit: Spot.ph
ILOMOCA
The Ed Valencia art collection fills up the walls of the Megaworld building. A chic and pleasingly old world, it’s like roaming the halls of an art museum in Europe.
No doubt, Valencia’s contributions are a huge asset, and Iloilo is truly grateful. The Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art is the first art institution in the region. It devotedly features exclusive works of Filipino and foreign modern and contemporary artists.
Occupying three stories of the Casa Emperador Building, it is designed to provide a rich, dynamic, artistic and cultural experience for Iloilo City and the whole of Western Visayas Region.
Check out more places to go when you visit Iloilo City. All that and more here at Iloilo Blog.
