Arts & Culture

Paolo Abellana Brings Art to the Streets

Bringing art to the street is Paolo’s way to send that strong message to appreciate street art. With support and acceptance, these street artists can pour their heart into their art and share their passion and consistency through the different walls of Cebu.

“Street art can very much give a very big impact on our culture in so many ways—whether it’s political, business, current situations or just simply just a strong message you want the public to see through your artwork” –Paolo Abellana

Photo Courtesy: Paolo Abellana (Facebook)

In the streets of Cebu, we get to pass by striking art on walls—from sidewalks, highway overpasses or exterior building walls. Street art is created in public places, especially in urban areas.

It is usually an expression of the artists’ messages and emotions about different issues, whether political or social. Street artists want different people to appreciate their work in order to get a reaction and feedback on the issues depicted. These varied art don’t stop at just being a mere painting, it evolves and continues to send a message.

Street art is creative and diverse. It continues to grow and develops interaction as you pass by different walls. These art of movement is for everyone to see, and we are welcome to appreciate expression and freedom.

Taking pride in spray paint and can skills, Paolo Abellana comes up with good content for the public to see. For him, promoting the graffiti scene helps in educating people that street art should be appreciated.

Spray paint that art. Photo Courtesy: Paolo Abellana

Paolo’s love for street art and graffiti during his high school days made him continue doing his passion until now. Even after coloring the city for 8 years now, it is still a struggle to keep the graffiti scene alive. It is still a struggle to have little support from the people especially from the government. Street artists like Paolo are still branding their own name and art.

Despite struggling for public acceptance, one thing that drives Paolo to do street art is the adrenaline he gets putting his artworks on the streets. He gets that inspiration where people can pass by and witness a masterpiece every day. The never-ending learning process and different styles to master in improving the art keeps him going.

For Paolo, street art is more than just artwork you see in the streets. There is more culture and history behind every striking image. It has its own art scene and that makes it different from any other forms of art out there.

Graffiti art in Escario, St. by Paolo Abellana

He looks up to street artists from Seventh Letter Crew, Banksy and Stompdown Killaz, considering that they brought street art to a whole new level—whether the street art is for business or movement of the scene. As a street artist himself, his current activity is educating young minds about street art such as graffiti lifestyle.

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Arts & Culture

Chaos and Clarity: Zen Aesthetic in Oj Hofer’s Art

by Jing Ramos |

Oj Hofer, our fashion contributing editor, is a Fine Arts graduate from the University of the Philippines. Though he began painting at the age of eight, his artistic journey took a transformative turn in 2013. While volunteering as a costume designer for Siddhartha: The Musical, he encountered Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s One-Stroke Calligraphy, sparking a deep devotion to Japanese sumi-e painting and kanji calligraphy. Over the years, he refined his craft, using his art to share the Dharma through exhibitions while supporting the Hsing Yun Educational Foundation. In 2022, his spiritual path deepened at Nan Tien University, where he embraced Zen and Humanistic Buddhism, shaping his artistic philosophy.

“Plum Blossoms in Moonlight.” Serigraphy on abaca.

In his recent works, Hofer merges traditional calligraphy with serigraphy, drawing inspiration from his friend Charles Lahti—an internationally recognized New York-based painter and printmaker. Lahti, known for his collaborations with post-war American artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, and LeRoy Neiman, introduced Hofer to silkscreen techniques. Through a workshop Lahti conducted in Cebu—arranged by their mutual friend Greg Urra—Hofer integrated silkscreen into his Zen artworks, particularly those on abaca.

“The Circle of Harmony” Serigraphy and Calligraphy on abaca.

Hofer’s cross-disciplinary approach challenges conventional Zen aesthetics. His layered paintings on abaca may seem far from tranquil at first glance, but closer contemplation reveals a meditative core. His serigraph of an Enso circle, for example, initially appears chaotic, filled with Tang Dynasty poetry and overlapping, repetitive forms. Yet, by focusing on a single calligraphic element, the viewer experiences a moment of clarity—a glimpse of awakening within the visual complexity.

“Monkey Mind” Serigraphy and Calligraphy on abaca.

Even more engaging is his diptych Monkey Mind. At odds with the traditional Zen emphasis on negative space, this piece is deliberately busy, reflecting the restless nature of the mind. A distracted viewer may struggle to find a focal point, but one attuned to emptiness and presence will perceive clarity amidst the seeming disarray.

Ink and intention—creating calligraphy in support of one of my advocacies.

By fusing Zen philosophy with the discipline of serigraphy, Hofer invites his audience to look beyond surface impressions and discover stillness within movement, balance within complexity. His art does not merely depict Zen—it embodies the paradoxes at its core, offering a path to mindfulness through the act of seeing and the experience of doing.

Arts & Culture

What is Sappia? The Rice Myth Goddess of Bohol Who Helped Feed the People During a Great Famine

by Emma Gomez

The story began when the people of Bohol started to experience hunger and famine. All the livestocks were inedible and the fields were dried out leaving only weeds planted on the ground. The people prayed to the goddess of mercy, Sappia, to ask for food.

Sappia, the rice myth goddess of Bohol

Sappia, from the heavens, heard the cries of the people. She saw the dense population of weeds and offered to help them. Sappia thought of nourishing the weeds to be edible and healthy for the people of Bohol. Straightaway, she sprinkled the weed with milk from her bossom. She emptied each breast until blood came out. Before she left, she whispered to the weeds that they may be nourished and be able to feed the people.

When harvest season came, the people of Bohol quickly gathered the nourished weeds. They observed that the ones sprinkled with milk were white, while the other were red. They called the new plant rice and they replanted these in honor of Sappia, and for the people to devour.

Arts & Culture

Kimsoy’s Canvas of a Lifetime in Full Display

by Diana Gillo

There is nothing more fascinating than seeing an artist’s lifetime of work in one room. Such is the experience in Jose “Kimsoy” Yap’s third solo exhibit entitled “Kimsoy: Episodes of Mastery,” at Galerie Raphael Cebu. This serves as the truest form of homage to his enduring journey, showcasing works that span over decades.

Kimsoy with his student and muse, Zhara Rivera Mercado, at the entrance of Galerie Raphael

The exhibit speaks greatly of Kimsoy’s evolution as an artist, with his shifting mediums and remarkable variety of subjects. His creations range from heartfelt portraits of individuals he encountered along his journey to detailed landscapes inspired by the different walks of his life. The room’s layout carries the weight of his years of craft with one wall lined with pastels, another with watercolors, and another with oil painting.

As the River Flows Onward by Kimsoy Yap 2020 | Oil on canvas | 82×48 inches

The exhibit transcends beyond just the commemoration of Kimsoy’s masterful periods. It wanders more into a sense of intimacy reflecting Kimsoy’s life’s journey—from his roots as a young boy in Negros Oriental, through his pursuit of greater artistic mastery in New York, to his prominence in Cebu’s art scene. All his work freehanded, created both with his left and right hand, depicts the ways in which we all leave traces of ourselves in our work and in the world.

A Friend of Mine 1979 | watercolor on paper | 24×18 inches

In a Relaxed Mood 1977 | water color on paper | 16×19.5 inches

The opening ceremony featured Ambassador Jose Mari Cariño, alongside special guests Ivy Ang Gabas, Paolo Li, Angbetic Tan, Laurie Bouquiren of the Visayas Art Fair, and Valerie Go of Galerie Raphael Cebu. The exhibit is open until March 21, 2025.