Transition 2008/2009

Top experiences of 2008 that I have filed in my memory bank:

Visited BENCAB in Baguio and saw the MUSEUM he and ANNIE are building on Asin Road coming up. He was moving into his
new studio which had a stacks of wrapped books on a wheeled table. A beautiful table; piles of history in art. And outside, a bonsai collection in his Japanese garden to die for (photo). Art as experience. We will be there when the Museum opens its doors.

Went to MELBOURNE twice this year, first with family, second as guests of MANIX SANTOS and family. Our favorite photographer from Australia who introduced us to the best coffees and fed us fantastically-- the East African food of the ABYSSINIAN on a cold winter's evening was unforgettable. We will be back. As MANIX, better known as EMMANUEL T. SANTOS
broke Christies auction records for Southeast Asian Photography, will be back at Silverlens in Feburary for the second half of his angel series The Passing of Light.

Mourned and celebrated our dear friend CYRIL SANTIAGO, who passed away on March 29th, of cancer. Cyril climbed mountains and flew planes. He dreamt hard and achieved much. A life packed with indelible memories especially for everyone who knew him. He was a winner. The type who made those he beat feel like they won.

Sentimentality and personal memoir happened with my father's film negatives. THE MORO NEGATIVES are single irrepeatable images of his negatives from the 50's and '60s collaged with mine from 2007 and 2008. The darkroom is where PHOTOGRAPHY started for me, and to have one in our house, built by DODONG with an enlarger borrowed from DEREK SORIANO is joy; and playtime every couple of weeks.

The FINANCIAL CRISIS hit us, with less than stellar sales at this year's fall international art fairs, and some shrinking of Silverlens Foundation endowment which will keep us from handing out grants in 2009. Lesson learned, we must preserve in order to give.

However, now is the time for artists to make, and for collectors to buy, GOOD ART.

And so we at Silverlens built a BRIDGE into SLAB. SLab, short for Silverlens Lab, is our second gallery for painting and sculpture, with a Main Gallery and a second space called 20SQUARE. With a kick ass website by Jois and Rex of INKSURGE.
SLAB opened with two fantastic shows, DEATH TO THE MAJOR, VIVA MINOR by PATTY EUSTAQUIO and NEW WORK by MARIANO CHING. Both easily listing as the more important shows of contemporary Philippine art for 2008.

http://slab.silverlensphoto.com/slab.htm

The design and construction of the spaces and bridge, applause and ovation to TISHA DE BORJA, ANNA SY and KENNETH, and RG ROA our contractor who, very unusually for contractors, has endeared himself to us for projects now and in the future.

And who cannot mention 2008 without mentioning BARRACK OBAMA!? R and I were in New York for election day, with friends Pepper Roxas and Owen Houhoulis, when Obama became President-Elect Obama. Tears shed, hugs exchanged, the arrival of change. I was in New York when 9/11 happened, living two blocks away from the World Trade Center, and the instant THAT happened, we knew that our world was going to change. THIS night in New York in November, seven weeks and four weeks to the date since 9/11, the world had changed again, but for the better.