ILOILO CITY – A recent exhibit at the Adoro Gallery Museum here was not only for art’s sake but also a manifestation of philanthropy in Iloilo.
THE second Dagyaw exhibit at the Adoro Gallery Museum in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
Outside the artists’ share, 100 percent of net proceeds of the Dagyaw Exhibit that ended on Feb. 7 was donated to beneficiaries of the Valencia Family Foundation Inc. and the Assumption Iloilo Educational Foundation Inc. (AIEF).
“This is a way of my family giving back to the community,” said Edwin Valencia who opened the Adoro Gallery Museum in February 2023 to share his personal art collection to the Ilonggo public for free.
Valencia has made the arts as an avenue to honor his family’s humble beginnings in Iloilo after his retirement as a banker in New York City, United States.
Dagyaw, a Hiligaynon word that closely describes the bayanihan (communal) work, was initially broached in 2023 to continue the Valencia family’s philanthropy for deprived communities and public schools here and select towns in Iloilo.
Dagyaw’s second edition merged the communal development initiatives of the Valencia family and AIEF’s scholarship programs for deserving underprivileged students of the four Assumption schools in Western Visayas region.
EDWIN Valencia of the Adoro Gallery Museum in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
“With the partnership with the Valencia family, we can perhaps expand the scholarship program to students in public schools,” said AIEF President Marjorie C. Florete.
Lawyer Mai Doloseile “MD” Liao of AIEF said that the second Dagyaw exhibit featured around 65 artworks by 48 artists mostly from Iloilo. There were also works by prominent Filipino, Indonesian, and Malaysian artists.
The AIEF also featured the works of Ilonggo artists at the recent Tahum: Pop-up Festival 2025, an annual trade fair for the benefit of Assumption scholars.