By: Kristen Marie Atilano Sesante Leopoldo
Filipino visual artist and philanthropist Joyce Atilano Herrera-Wong’s artworks are already sold out before the opening date of her second solo exhibition set this coming November 12, 2018, at the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City, Philippines.
Also, a fundraising event dubbed as “The Hope That Nature Gives” has sold 15 paintings including 7 large ones.
“I am happy when my works get sold out because I feel that I can raise the money for the charity that really needs it. And secondly, because just any other artist, a sold artwork is an indication that what they created was appreciated,” said Herrera-Wong.
The beneficiary of her second solo exhibition will be the House of Hope Foundation For Kids With Cancer, Inc. in Davao City. She visited the foundation last year and described it as a place of healing for children with cancer coming from marginalized families.
“All gross proceeds of the event will be donated to them,” said Herrera-Wong.
Herrera-Wong has also invited 4 guest artists, namely Buds Convocar, Sasa-Tan Carlos, Franklin Cana Valencia and Bbisai Ya who
graciously donated their artworks in support of the fundraising activity and art exhibit.
“Three of the artworks of my invited guest artists were already sold. The remaining artwork not sold will be auctioned and hopefully, we will achieve the maximum bid price of 45,000 pesos,” Herrera-Wong added.
They sold raffle tickets with excellent prizes. Sales of those raffle tickets have already reached 300,000 pesos.
“I am hoping that by the opening night when the charity will give a talk and a presentation as to what they are about, more cash donations will come in. So far, I raised 1, 030,000.00,” said Herrera-Wong.
Herrera-Wong will be showcasing her impressive artworks that reflect an artist eye of nature and her worldwide travels. The art exhibit will run until November 17, 2018.
Herrera-Wong’s compassion to help others boils down from her exposure in public service being the daughter of the late Felicisimo “Okong” Herrera, who was the mayor of Dipolog City for 15 years and Dulcita Atilano-Herrera, the daughter of former mayor Crispin Atilano Sr. of Zamboanga City.
A bachelor of Science in Commerce major in accounting graduate of University of San Carlos (USC) in the late 70’s, she has worked in several banks in the country, where she met her husband, David Y.C. Wong, who was also a banker.
She picked up her interest in painting when her husband, an international banker, was assigned in Taiwan in 1986. She took up Chinese watercolor painting lessons in Taipei and the oil painting classical realism technique lessons when they moved to Hongkong in 2007.
With a growing passion for the genre, she took further studies of Plein Air painting from esteemed and multi-awarded visual artists Marcia Burtt in California and Phil Starke in New York apart from receiving art training from Buds Convocar, long-time President of the Saturday Art Group of Artists in Manila.
She is one of the founding members of Pintura Circle and former President of Pintura Circle, an art-for-charity group based in Hong Kong. Thus, she has joined several group shows with the aim of raising funds for charitable organizations such as Kids International Ministry, Munting Tahanan of Nazareth, Gawad Kalinga and the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Last 2015, her works were showcased in a three-woman show at the Philippine Center Art Gallery in New York City.
Joyce Atilano Herrera-Wong started her passion for painting after college
Her first solo exhibition was last 2016 at the Ayala Museum, where all of the gross proceeds went to New Punlaan School, a school in San Juan, Metro Manila, that provides underprivileged young women with livelihood and employment skills, alleviating them from poverty.
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