PHL art exhibit on Mindanao women opens in Belgium

A Filipino visual arts exhibit featuring the women of Mindanao in the Philippines opened in Brussels, Belgium last October 27 and will run until November 12, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. Dubbed "Bae Mindanao: Works of Women About Women of Mindanao," the exhibit is being held at the Brenart Gallery in Brussels, the DFA said. "The universality of womanhood as a subject, as seen through a Filipina's eyes, will certainly captivate the interest of our European friends and will allow them to have a deeper appreciation of how much we have in common despite differences in our cultures," said Philippine Ambassador-designate to Belgium Victoria Bataclan. She added this year's exhibit was "a celebration of three things that Filipinos hold dear: Philippine arts, the empowerment of women and the untapped beauty that is Mindanao." Bataclan congratulated curator and exhibit organizer Guia Mabel Acosta for the initiative of bringing the Philippines, specifically Mindanao, to Europe. Acosta and Brenart Gallery administrator Jack Mener had jointly organized the exhibit. The two had staged the Brussels exhibit of "Tanaw Mindanaw" held in September 2010 in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Brussels. Acosta was unable to participate at the event but had her message read by Brussels International Independent Film Festival director Robert Malengreau, a friend of the Philippines who regularly promotes Philippine films in Belgium. - VVP, GMA News