Sketch for Transparency #civiceducation #sketch #transparency #civicart #sketchfortransparency
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.
🌟
Today we make history. 🌟
For the first time, Art Camp PH launches Sketch for Transparency — an online
civic art exhibit that turns sketches into lessons of accountability, values,
and hope. 🎨✨
This
is not protest art. This is civic art: art that reflects, awakens, and
educates. 🇵🇭
Read more about the historical and cultural significance of this movement in my latest blog:
https://kuyajesscampattack.blogspot.com/2025/09/sketch-for-transparency.html
#SketchForTransparency
#ArtCampPH #CivicArt #SiningNaNagliliwanag
"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: Watercolor 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.
Artist: Alvin Dennis Cristobal
Size: 8 x 12 inches
Medium: Graphite on Paper
Artwork Title: Boceto “Kapangyarihan”
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
Size: 11.5 × 8.5 inches
Medium: Mixed media (acrylic and watercolor on canvas cloth)
Artwork Title: “If Greed is the Creed”
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
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.
Adan Pesito Artwork Title: “My Beloved Flag, Submerged
and Defiled”
The Philippine flag once waved proudly in the wind—dignified, triumphant, a symbol of freedom and prosperity. In this artwork, however, it is depicted drenched and submerged in floodwaters: a bitter reflection of the nation’s present condition.
The waters engulfing it are not mere rain, but a flood of poverty and corruption. The people, in this image, are drowning—searching desperately for someone to rescue them from the dishonesty and neglect of those in power.
With every heavy, waterlogged ripple of the flag, a plea emerges: do not let the nation sink. This work reminds us that beneath all the storms, the flag is not just cloth—it is the mirror of our identity, dignity, and future.
Artist: Meljan Albert Cabagay
Size: 12x16 inches
Medium: Oil on canvas
Artwork Title: “Proletariat”
Proletariat is a reminder of the daily struggles of the ordinary Filipino—the worker, the farmer, and the common citizen whose only desire is to live with dignity and hope.
Each stroke of oil on canvas carries both the weight and the dignity of labor, echoing silent voices that are often overlooked. But beyond the portrayal of hardship, the painting is also a call directed at the nation’s leaders.
It becomes a mirror, reminding them of their solemn oath: to serve truthfully,
to uplift the quality of life, and to ensure that justice is not withheld from the people.
This work is not only a depiction of sweat and survival. It is also an invitation
—for both government and citizens—to meet in
the middle ground of honesty and equality. In this way, art becomes a voice of transparency—not
to incite anger, but to guide, to awaken, and to emphasize that there are
higher ways of fighting: by upholding dignity, accountability, and collective
humanity.
Jesus Genotiva Artwork Title: “Flooded Landscape”
Artist: Jesus Genotiva
Size: 18 × 12 inches (landscape orientation)
Medium: Watercolor, pen & ink (violet, blue, yellow, orange, green, neon rose)
Style: Future Cubism × Surrealism
Artwork Title: “Flooded Landscape”
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.
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.
It may well be said that Art Camp Philippines is among the first to stage an online exhibit in the context of a historic anti-corruption event. This milestone demonstrates how art can move beyond the confines of galleries, reaching the people directly in a time when truth and accountability are most needed.
Through civic art, the exhibit did not merely display images; it became a mirror of the nation’s struggle, a voice of conscience, and a reminder of collective responsibility. It positioned art not as fuel for anger, but as a guide toward awareness, integrity, and unity.
By bringing history, politics, and the everyday lives of Filipinos into one creative space, Art Camp Philippines affirmed that art is inseparable from society—it is a reflection of our identity, our memory, and our shared call for justice.
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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