Sketch for Transparency

 

DISCLAIMER:
Ang Sketch for Transparency ay isang proyektong pang-sining na nakatuon sa civic education, transparency, at values formation.
Hindi ito protest art at hindi rin ito direktang pagtuligsa sa sinumang institusyon o opisyal.
Ang lahat ng obra ay malikhaing pahayag na naglalayong magbigay ng liwanag, magmulat, at magpaalala sa kahalagahan ng pananagutan at tamang paggamit ng pondo ng bayan.

"Sketch for Transparency is an art project focused on civic education, transparency, and values formation.
It is not protest art, nor is it a direct attack on any institution or official.
All artworks are creative statements that aim to shed light, raise awareness, and remind the public of the importance of accountability and the proper use of public funds."

Civic Education Through Art (Art Camp PH’s Role)

 

EDUARD “DOODS” BUSMENTE Artwork Title: “Masquerade”

  

Artist: EDUARD “DOODS” BUSMENTE

Size: 9 x12 inches

Medium: Water color pencil on paper

Artwork Title: “Masquerade”

“Samantalang ang may mata,
ay pipiliin pang magbulag-bulagan,
na tila mas malayo pa sa katotohanan.”

In the context of Sketch for Transparency, this is not a cry of anger but a mirror of reality. Having sight is not the same as seeing; having ears is not the same as listening. When those entrusted with vision choose blindness, the truth drifts farther away.

Here, civic art takes its place—not to condemn, but to awaken. Through images and symbols, it reminds us that transparency is the opening of the eyes, the removal of masks, the courage to face what is real.

Masquerade thus becomes an invitation: to see beyond pretense, to look through the windows of accountability, and to awaken the light that has long been hidden in the flood of silence.

ALFONSO “AL” VARGAS Artwork Title: "Tawid Gutom"

 

Artist: ALFONSO “AL” VARGAS

Size: 27x 19 cm paper

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Artwork Title: "Tawid Gutom" 

In Tawid Gutom, a young girl wades through floodwaters, carrying food across the submerged street. Her destination: a mother waiting in hunger. The kitchen is drowned, the household undone, yet the child pushes forward, embodying both survival and sacrifice.

This watercolor is not merely an image of hardship, but a mirror of what happens when public projects fail their purpose. It reminds us that when flood control falters, it is not statistics or blueprints that suffer—it is ordinary families.

Through this piece, the artist captures the quiet resilience of the Filipino poor. The girl is both burden and beacon: a child should not have to cross waters to feed her mother, and yet she does—because hunger cannot wait.

In the context of Sketch for Transparency, Tawid Gutom is a civic art narrative: a call to accountability, and a reminder that behind every misused fund is a human story, painted here in watercolor, fragile but unflinching.

 

 Reuel Garzon Artwork Title: “If Greed is the Creed”

  

Artist: Reuel Garzon
Title: “If Greed is the Creed”
Size: 11.5 × 8.5 inches
Medium: Mixed media (acrylic and watercolor on canvas cloth)

In If Greed is the Creed, Reuel Garzon visualizes the devastating ripple of greed in the Philippines. Using the fluidity of watercolor and the weight of acrylic, the work layers textures to reveal how corruption bleeds into everyday life.

The title itself is a warning: when greed becomes the guiding principle, the nation suffers its outcomes—flooded streets, empty plates, faceless citizens carrying the burden of decisions not their own. The mixed media reflects this tension: watercolors spread like uncontained damage, while acrylics solidify the permanence of systemic decay.

Within the framework of Sketch for Transparency, Garzon’s painting is more than critique—it is a mirror. It invites viewers to confront the uncomfortable truth that greed is not an abstract idea but a lived experience that distorts institutions, erodes trust, and drowns ordinary people in its wake.

This is civic art in its clearest form: not an attack, but a call to see, to question, and to reflect on the cost of corruption. In its small size but powerful message, the painting reminds us that even on a modest canvas, the weight of truth cannot be contained.

 

 Jorge Milante Artwork Title: “Sinumpa ng Pandaraya (Cursed by Deceit)” 

Artist: Jorge Milante

Artwork Title: “Sinumpa ng Pandaraya (Cursed by Deceit)” 

Medium: Acrylic, pen & ink

Size: 9 × 12 inches 

Jorge Milante captures the harsh reality of ordinary citizens who must endure the failures of public trust. The painting focuses on a lone figure crossing floodwaters, clinging tightly to a steel screen for safety. 

It is an image of both determination and fear: the resolve to survive, and the knowledge that floodwaters carry not only debris but disease—like leptospirosis

—that threatens the vulnerable. While people struggle to stay dry, the work reminds us that money flows elsewhere. It is not water alone that floods, but money in the hands of the greedy—contractors who profit with nothing but words as capital. 

The contrast is stark: one life clinging to survival, and another life thriving in deceit. Within the framework of Sketch for Transparency, Sinumpa ng Pandaraya is civic art that unmasks this imbalance. It does not shout with anger, but quietly confronts the reality that corruption deepens disaster.

It is both warning and witness: a call to transparency, and a reminder that accountability is not abstract, but written in every step an ordinary citizen takes through the flood.

 Jesus Genotiva Artwork Title: “Flooded Landscape”

 

Artist: Jesus Genotiva
Artwork Title: “Flooded Landscape”
Size: 18 × 12 inches (landscape orientation)
Medium: Watercolor, pen & ink (violet, blue, yellow, orange, green, neon rose)
Style: Future Cubism × Surrealism

In Flooded Landscape, Jesus Genotiva captures not just a moment, but an expanse. Rendered in horizontal format, the painting stretches outward like a panorama of crisis—floodwaters swallowing buildings, distorted windows and doors transformed into watchful eyes, symbols of citizens who see but remain faceless.

At the center floats a chair: a metaphor for leadership, surrounded by waters of accountability. Its backrest of glass reflects uncomfortable truths, while an open book and a single egg atop the seat remind us that lives and futures remain fragile, hinging on wisdom and responsible governance.

Across the waters drift plates—meals denied to ordinary families—while faceless figures hold them like burdens, some balanced with hangers shaped as question marks, embodying hunger and uncertainty.

By using landscape orientation, Genotiva expands the viewer’s gaze, forcing us to see the flood not as an isolated scene but as a sweeping reality: one current, affecting all. Through cubist distortion and surreal hues, Flooded Landscape transforms frustration into civic reflection. It is not protest art but civic art—a lesson in transparency, accountability, and the shared responsibility of a nation adrift.

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In every era, artists carry the responsibility of memory. We hold pens, brushes, and colors not only to create beauty, but also to reflect truth. Today, at a time when questions of accountability and governance weigh heavily on our society, we believe art can offer a new path forward—one of awareness, reflection, and civic education.

Sketch for Transparency is Art Camp PH’s first collective step in this direction. This exhibit is not protest art. It does not shout slogans nor vilify faces. Instead, it invites viewers into a quiet but urgent dialogue: What does transparency mean for us as a people? What does accountability look like when painted in color, line, and form?

Through the works of our participating artists, we transform emotions into metaphors, frustrations into reflections, and questions into symbols. Each artwork is a fragment of our nation’s ongoing narrative—fragile, vibrant, and insistent on truth.

By gathering in this digital space, parallel to the noise of the streets, we affirm that there are many ways to participate in the life of a democracy. Some march. Some write. We draw. And in our sketches, we hope to awaken in every viewer a renewed sense of civic responsibility.

This is our offering to history: a reminder that art can illuminate, that education can liberate, and that transparency is not just a principle but a practice.

Art Camp PH
September 21, 2025

In the long arc of Philippine history, art has always been more than ornament—it has been witness, record, and conscience. From murals to music, from street theater to digital sketches, creativity has shaped the way our people remember, resist, and reimagine.

What makes Art Camp PH historic is not only that it pioneered an online civic art exhibit. Its deeper significance lies in the way it shifted the narrative: from protest to pedagogy, from anger to awareness, from condemnation to conversation. By reframing art as a tool for civic education, Art Camp PH has carved out a new cultural space where values are taught, accountability is explored, and democracy is strengthened without resorting to division.

Its impact may not always be loud, but it is enduring. For every sketch that sheds light, for every color that questions, for every symbol that awakens—society is changed, even if quietly.

In this sense, Sketch for Transparency is not just an exhibit. It is a milestone. It is proof that Filipino artists, when united, can expand the boundaries of expression and open fresh pathways for civic engagement. It is a reminder that art is not only for the gallery, but for the nation. And in times when truth is fragile and trust is eroded, art like this becomes history itself.

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