Focused on fostering experimentation, dialogue, and play, Faculty Projects is enriching the cultural landscape of the local art community.

The invite for the first-ever exhibit of Faculty Projects, Drawings + Sketches notes, “Artworks can be viewed at 54 Santa Rosa St. Kapitolyo, Pasig. Look for the black house.” 

Towards the end of the tree-lined street is said “black house.” Inside is a piano, its ivory keys glinting under a slouching light. In the corner, a calming mist perfumes the room with essential oils. It smells like patchouli. Walking further into the space is a small enclave separated by a glass door. A series of artworks hang on the wall. Only a few are framed, although one black and white charcoal work shows the instantly recognizable figurations of Charlie Co. Another Jason Montinola sketch hangs on a clipboard. Many of the artworks are on paper, securely held up by binder clips.

The structure was once used as an office until the pandemic hit. While the space brings to mind the charm of some literally “homegrown” galleries, be forewarned: this is not a permanent space. The black house has been transformed into just a temporary stop-over for artist-run shows. In this way, Faculty Projects is different from your art gallery or artist-run project, which typically stays in one place. 

How Faculty Projects is Not A Gallery

The art world is like a pulsing organism with many parts of the system from blue-chip pieces shown at auctions and galleries, to historically significant masterpieces in museum exhibitions, until the frenetic energy of the art fair. Yet as the art world evolves, the artist is the core unit that drives the life force of the art world forward. 

Faculty Projects is one such community project that is fostering an environment at a grassroots level, catered by artists for artists. 

While the cooperative is a result of the work of many different creatives, the conception and execution are largely spearheaded by three people: Renowned artists Valerie Chua and Jason Montinola, as well as their partner RG Gabunada.

Valerie Chua is an artist sought-after for her compelling figurative work. Her pieces use light, feminine palettes, yet have an almost geometry-like depth. This geometrical aspect makes sense in the way that Chua is extremely methodical and shows a good head for business. In Faculty Projects, “I do the risk assessments,” she jokes, “while Jason has the thoughts and ideas.” Montinola, meanwhile, creates dramatic characters often in a manner of Baroque or Medieval characters. He expresses his vision of finessing the local processes of cataloging and archiving in a way that will give more credit to our artists. Gabunada is also a creative who heads the account and strategies of the marketing company of LouderPH, and now manages the current Faculty Projects space. 

Regarding the name “Faculty Projects” both Chua and Montinola are registered teachers and past faculty members. This makes sense when they express the cooperative’s aim to emulate an academic environment, giving that sense of freedom of school days where students are allowed to explore ideas, create and play — all in a supportive space.

On the Wall

The inaugural exhibition of Faculty Projects starts with Drawings + Sketches, an apt starting point that marks the manner of “going back to the rudimentary way of doing art,” as Chua quips. Drawings are always the base for a bigger piece in the future, yet it is often overlooked in the bustling world of art. 

These pieces show the raw expressions, sans the editing that comes later in the process of creating a work. The exhibit takes after a two-man show of Jason Montinola and Kaloy Sanchez in West Gallery in 2016, which also sought to bring attention to the under-appreciated medium. 

Many of the works offer a glimpse of the side of the artist that is personal, and also noncommittal in the sense of not thinking of a buying audience.

Future Plans in Unconventional Spaces and Art Books

While Faculty Projects is starting their initial programming of exhibits in Kapitolyo, the cooperative only plans to say put until the end of the year. Montinola envisions the future of Faculty Projects to be immersive and experiential, as he describes potential future exhibit spaces, “Kung kaya natin sa bakanteng simbahan, palengke o bodega.” 

With no set gallery space, the cooperative has the freedom to travel abroad to places in Japan or Taiwan. While all the while having various curatorships and offering a platform to screen films or incorporate music into the exhibits.

In line with the academic tone of Faculty Projects, one of the major goals is to produce books. Montinola says, “Gusto ko may puntahan ang pieza sa libro,” which makes sense because not everyone can buy art, so to be able to have a piece published in a book is a circular way to have other people see the work. Highlighting the documentation seems to meld the academic world into a setting of art in a space that is intimate and supportive, where the artist always comes first.

Faculty Projects opens their next exhibition Portraits on on Thursday, July 27, 2023.