Arts & Culture

Turtle’s Nest Café and Gallery: Every Artisans’ Home

Odd but intimidating. Solemn but crowded. Two years ago when I first entered Turtle’s Nest, those were the things I noticed. Back then, I figured to why not discover the place in the neighborhood and grab a cup of coffee. Up to this day, I still find myself going there.

Turtle’s Nest is literally a nest. It’s a cozy place and it feels home-y whenever you’re there. It’s a two-storey house and Bambi Beltran, the owner, decided to make a bar on the first floor. The place opened in the late 80s and you can already imagine the history it has. She constantly reminds anyone new that she wants people to feel at home whenever they’re at Turtle’s, “And I am proud to say that I don’t fail on that,” she said while she was carrying her puppy.

The walls are filled with doodles and tiny stickers that probably make up the entire interior. Bambi’s gigantic paintings were hung in random places and there were installations that seemed out of place but amused the eye anyway. It never fails to make me smile. Behind the bar were old cameras sitting on the shelves and collections of remnants of what seems to be the place’s past.

One of the bartenders there was Ruby and she worked there for almost 15 years. “The only significant thing that changed here is probably the number of bartenders,” she laughed. She mentioned that back then there were 16 of them since Kukuk’s Nest, a lodging place, was still open right across the street. “Also, most of our customers were foreigners,” she said while making my coffee.

I was sitting on one of the high chairs of the bar and behind me was huge red sofa and some customers were sitting on it. Between them were two smaller wooden chairs. One was piled with bags and the other occupied by a woman that I recognized from one of the indie films I recently watched.

The other room was filled with more tables and more people. The corners of the room were filled with yellow lights which gave the illusion that it was bit dim. Just like the interior at the bar, it was also covered with doodles, stickers and paintings but this time— two wider shelves that covered most of the walls were filled with books. For bookworms like me, it was heaven.

At times, there would be events that would fill the house with people. The ambiance of Turtle’s is not just a cozy place to hang out but it also serves as a hub for different artists all over Cebu. That’s why in some nights, the solemn place turns into a zone where bands [eg. Silingan ni Felicity, Chai Fornacier, etc] hold gigs and artists [like Kidlat, Daot, etc] all started showcasing exhibitions in Turtle’s Nest Gamay’ng Gallery.

In normal days , you’ll find students studying or night-shifters enjoying a break from work. But if you ask the “local” customers, their whole intention of going there is because it was and will always be called their home.

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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.