The Pink Room: Saving lives through art

What happens when you put National Artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Ronald Ventura, Elmer Borlongan, Plet Bolipata, Manny Garibay, Lydia Velasco, Daniel dela Cruz, and 20 other visual artists in one room?

They transform it into The Pink Room: A Gallery for Good.

The Pink Room is a fundraiser to mark the 25th anniversary of the ICanServe Foundation, a breast cancer awareness group.

“At 25, we’re aware that our journey is far from over. We realized that there’s so much work to be done,” says Crisann Celdran, chairwoman of the board and co-founder of ICanServe Foundation. “For our silver year, we asked ourselves what we can still do to reach more people, to better raise awareness, and to help women if they are diagnosed.”

Celdran and her team drafted a blueprint of their dream art project.

“We drew up a wish list of artists we were confident would amplify our message,” shares Celdran. “We nervously drafted a letter, texted and emailed them. We asked friends. We asked friends of friends to do it and told them that we could sit down with them to further explain the work that we do.”

However, Celdran never got around to doing sit-downs or even making calls.

“Instead, we got yeses. We got ‘Of course, we’ll do this,’” she enthuses.

Meet the 'Icons of Hope’

When inspiration stems from a desire to promote a compelling cause in an authentic way, it adds another layer of meaning to visual art. Championing a cause through their work allows these artists to make a statement. It draws interest to the concerns they address.

Two of the artists—Lydia Velasco and Christina Dy—in the roster are breast cancer survivors themselves. Several are children of cancer survivors. “Others have told us that many of them have dear friends who are on the healing journey,” notes Celdran.

Their connection to cancer makes their artistic contributions even more powerful. And yes, moving.

Joining the esteemed roster are Gus Albor, Arce, Max Balatbat, Jinggoy Buensuceso, Carlo Calma, Katrina Cuenca, Daniel Dela Cruz, RM De Leon, Monica Delgado, Tracie Anglo Dizon, Christina Dy, Emmanuel Garibay, Toym Imao, Jose Santos III, Pam Yan Santos, Gerry Tan, Carlo Tanseco, Vien Valencia, Melissa Yeung, and MM Yu.

“We can attach many labels to them. Some are painters, sculptors, abstraction and mixed-media artists, and architects. We have furniture designers, printmakers, award winners, and a National Artist. But today, they are collectively called our Icons of Hope,” says Celdran.

Using a Nike Air Force 1 (AF1) Triple White as a canvas, each artist offers a unique and thought-provoking art piece. These artists have reimagined the shoe that’s known for its history, timelessness, style and substance. 

And the results are breathtaking. The one-of-a-kind masterpieces will be auctioned on Sept. 14 at The Pink Room, The Estate Makati Lounge in SM Aura. Proceeds will go to the IcanServe Foundation.

Pole dancer and visual artist Christina Dy credits an ICanServe ad online promoting a self-breast examination for the early detection of her own breast cancer in 2018.

“So, I did it and discovered a lump in my left breast,” shares Dy. “I’ve no history of cancer in the family. I was super-fit. I ate well. I even had abs.”

Her family members, relatives, and friends told her that lumps and bumps are normal. But this feisty lady trusted her gut. She went to see a doctor, had an incision biopsy, and found out on Dec. 4, 2018, that she, indeed, had breast cancer.

When asked about the inspiration behind her shoe piece, Dy explained. “It’s inspired by the concept of kintsugi, which means to ‘join with gold.’”

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken objects, often ceramic pottery or glass, using gold to highlight the cracks.

The color of the shoe is pink and blue, the colors of the ICanServe Foundation. 

“And since I had my battle scar on my left chest, that’s where I used the gold paint. And from there, beautiful things come out. Because a lot of good things did come out of my cancer,” Dy enthuses.

Mixed-media artist Max Balatbat shares that his mother is a cancer survivor; hence, his support for cancer awareness advocacy.

Product designer and sculptor Daniel dela Cruz says, “I believe in the cause that ICanServe Foundation is advocating.”

Tickled Pink 

The Pink Room is more than a gallery or an exhibition of 27 celebrated artists’ creations united to champion ICanServe’s mission to save lives.

“It’s a powerful symbol of collective action. A vibrant and inspiring testimony to the power of creativity,” adds Celdran.

To date, ICanServe Foundation has touched the lives of at least 300,000 women.

“We have yet to figure and measure the indirect impact, which I suspect is much bigger,” says Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, founding president of the ICanServe Foundation.

Again, there’s so much work to be done. Breast cancer is still the number-one cancer in the Philippines. And over 70 percent of patients are diagnosed when it’s advanced or late stage. The survival rate is 44 percent.”

“In the coming years, we are committed to establishing more life-saving breast cancer-control programs,” she adds. “We will also work towards zero out-of-pocket expenses for patients. We will continue to expand our network in the region and internationally to strengthen and create relevant and responsive, people-centered policies and programs. So, by 2040, as per WHO target, we can save at least 2.5 million lives all over the world.”