Sitting in a lush garden inside a residential compound in Talisay City is ABungalow, a wooden house that serves as an artist residency that houses notable talents who contribute to the art ecosystem of Negros Occidental.
The residency is led by Adjie Lizares, President of the ABungalow Artists' Foundation and the Efigenio and Enrica Lizares Foundation, Inc., which maintains Balay ni Tana Dicang, a heritage house in Talisay City. A fourth-generation heir of Tana Dicang, Lizares oversees the residency, which complements the Kapitana Gallery, a contemporary art space within the house. The outputs of the residency—typically an exhibition—are displayed at the gallery.
Lizares is very hands-on with the residency, working directly with resident artists to ensure their daily needs are met. His extensive experience in dealing with works of masters and antiques, coupled with growing up in a family of art collectors, plays a key role in how he selects the artists he collaborates with.
The residency came about in 2016 when Dawn Atienza of Tin-aw Art Management raised the idea of an artist residency with ABungalow. Atienza shares: "Art collector Jonathan Matti saw Henrielle Baltazar Pagkaliwangan’s work at Tin-aw and suggested we collaborate with Adjie Lizares of Talisay, Negros Occidental. Tin-aw, as an artist management group, consistently seeks opportunities to foster growth and continued learning for artists. So, we approached Adjie with the idea."
"We traveled to Negros to see the space in person and discuss the residency’s arrangements: duration, accommodations, immersion in the local community, and an exhibition to conclude the residency. We also suggested that the artist leave a piece of work at the site. At that point, the space wasn’t yet called ABungalow; the artist’s quarters were simply adjacent to the main house. Eventually, Adjie built a separate house called ABungalow.
Following Henrielle’s residency, we organized residencies for Lee Paje, Pope Bacay, Kitty Kaburo, and Riel Hilario. Adjie even built a specialized studio for Riel’s sculpting work."
Out of those five artists mentioned by Atienza, three of them (Pagkaliwangan, Paje, and Hilario) won the Don Papa Rum residency prize, which hosts a contest that often calls for images that represent Sugarlandia, speaking to the caliber of the artists-in-residence at ABungalow.
“This was my first residency right out of college, so I really enjoyed the change of scenery outside of Manila,” said Pagkaliwangan, the first resident artist. “My stay in Negros Occidental gave me the opportunity to learn about well-preserved ancestral houses and made me realize the potential of doing fieldwork research to investigate material culture that holds shared histories, which go beyond my personal narratives.”
Apart from Tin-aw, ABungalow has also collaborated with Eskinita Art Farm and is currently one of the residency partners of the Ateneo Art Awards.
Typically a normal residency period would run for a month or two, but the longest residency at ABungalow ran for 311 days during CCP-13-artist awardee Mars Bugaoan's stay. His culminating show in March 2020 was interrupted by the COVID lockdown which resulted in an extension. “Given that at this time shows were either getting canceled or postponed, not many options for holding online shows were available. Hence, it was decided to present the exhibition online as a Facebook album,” Bugaoan said, making it one of the first online shows during the lockdown.
Securing a residency at ABungalow is not strictly through gallery representation, they also accept proposals in addition to institutional endorsements. One unique case is Tekla Tamoria, whom Lizares discovered through the recommendation of a fellow collector. Impressed by her work, he offered her a residency prior to her being named an Ateneo Art Awardee in 2023.
Tamoria’s two-month residency at ABungalow provided an opportunity for her to apply her practice of creating large tapestries depicting groups of people. “This is the first time I’d get to do a family portrait [tapestry] that’s not my own,” Tamoria said.
During the writer’s visit to ABungalow, the space transformed into a larger version of Tamoria’s bedroom-studio in Pasig. Work tables were filled with sewing materials while the floor was fully utilized as space for her to lay out what would become 50% of her pièce de resistance for the solo show as the culminating event of her residency.
Tamoria describes her residency period as highly productive. Time away from the fast-paced life in Manila and the many distractions that come with it was exactly what she needed after a group show where she had worked on a large tapestry. “The change of pace is a welcome aspect of the residency. I am only expected to focus on my work,” she said.
In the midst of creating her tapestry, preparations for her exhibition were also happening. On the night of the preview, Talisay experienced a power outage, creating an unusually romantic ambiance inside the heritage house. Antique candelabras were brought out, and the candle-lit ancestral house transformed into something close to what evenings in the house during Tana Dicang’s time would look like—a rare sight for those who have only seen the house during the day. Fortunately, Balay ni Tana Dicang had generators allowing preview to go on without a hitch. She discussed her process, her experience at the residency, and plans for her culminating show.
Tamoria wrapped up her residency with the opening of her solo show, Mula sa Ugat at Pag-alala, on October 12. Shortly after, 2023 Ateneo Art Awardee Vien Valencia arrived as the latest artist-in-residence at ABungalow.
Over the years, ABungalow Residency has grown into an important alternative space for artists to develop their practice and form connections with the community in Talisay. It has also provided meaningful experiences for each of these artists in their careers.
Author’s note: Quotes have been translated from Tagalog and edited for brevity and clarity.