Turning fishermen into budding sculptors

BANGLOS sculptors with their mentor Rey Paz Contreras and Smart Public Affairs head Ramon Isberto

What a difference a day makes.

In the case of a group of fishermen from a town in Capiz that was devastated in November last year by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” 24 little hours were all it took to transform them from typhoon survivors into budding sculptors with works of art good enough to be exhibited and sold in the Philippine capital.

Helping them learn the new, useful skill is a group of former Quezon fishermen who also know how it is to live through a natural disaster.

The men from Quezon formed the Banglos Artists Community Group and were themselves taught how to make useful art pieces out of driftwood by known sculptor Rey Contreras, whose services were tapped by Smart Communications Inc.

As a way of paying it forward for the help they received, the Banglos members decided to share their skills with their fellow fishermen in Capiz. And they did not stop there. They also held a recent exhibit and donated part of the proceeds to the survivors of Yolanda.

Following up on the successful activity, the Banglos Artists Community Group, again in partnership with Smart Communications, is holding a selling exhibit of their art pieces from March 13 to 26 at the Kirov Model Unit in Rockwell, Makati City.

Joining them in the exhibit are the budding wood workers from Potevedra, Capiz who took part in driftwood sculpting workshops facilitated by the Banglos sculptors under the guidance of Contreras and the Daambakal sculptors of Tondo, Manila.

Smart Communications says in a statement that the earnings from the selling exhibit will be used to expand the training of interested Yolanda-affected fishing communities, and to purchase tools and equipment for production.

Smart organized the sculpture training program for typhoon survivors in 2005 to help the displaced fisherfolk of the Banglos community in Quezon. Felled logs and driftwood littered the area following four consecutive typhoons in 2004, and these became the raw material from which the fishermen learned how to make art pieces, instead of just turning the logs into charcoal.

They already knew their way around wood since they built their own boats and homes. They were also blessed with a vivid imagination that allowed them to see the potential art piece from discarded wood.

Smart tapped Contreras and the Daambakal Sculptors of Tondo in 2005 to train the Banglos residents. A month after they started training, they had already sold more than P100,000 worth of sculpture. Only four months later, they mounted an exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Smart says.

More exhibits in Manila, Cebu, and Bacolod followed, which brought in nearly P1 million in proceeds in just the first two years. The Banglos sculptors were also able to bring their work to the Ayala Museum Plaza in Makati.

“Following the success of the Banglos sculptors, we decided to replicate the program in a Yolanda-stricken community to help the survivors find a new source of livelihood and rebuild their lives. What makes this project more special is the fact that the Banglos sculptors themselves are helping their fellow typhoon survivors via workshops and this exhibit,” says Darwin Flores, head of Smart’s community partnerships department.

“The Banglos sculptors’ presence also serves as an inspiring reminder to Yolanda survivors that they, too, can overcome the tragedy caused by the supertyphoon,” he adds.