Three Winning Designs by Local Artists Will Appear on Don Papa Rum Canisters

Don Papa revealed three award-winning designs for its Don Papa Art Canister Series at the launch of the second Don Papa Art Competition on Sept. 14 at the Mathilde Café. The top three artworks—winners of the 2015 Don Papa Art Competition—are being incorporated into the canisters and packaging of Don Papa Rum this year.

Second runner-up Untitled is an ink-on-paper illustration by artist Anjo Bolarda. Inspired by the original packaging of Don Papa Rum, Bolarda drew the piece by hand to signify the work, craftsmanship, and time required to produce excellent rum. The piece also aims to raise awareness about environmental concerns by depicting the exotic wildlife found in the dense rain forests surrounding Mt. Kanlaon. “In the illustration you can find, peeking out from behind the stalks of the sugarcane, just some of the animals endangered and endemic to Negros Occidental,” says Bolarda.

Don Papa and the Babaylan by first runner-up winner Barry Cervantes is his nostalgic tribute to the stories he heard as a child growing up in Valladolid, Negros about the shamanistic babaylan leader Papa Isio’s revolt against the Spaniards and the myths surrounding the active volcano Mount Kanlaon, considered a sacred site by the people of Negros “The painting depicts the soul of Papa Isio alongside a babaylan crowned with the images of struggle and the braveness of a true revolutionary icon that embodies the strong spirit of Negrosanons and the babaylanes,” says Cervantes.

First to be made available in October 2016 is the design The Spiritual Landscape of Papa Isio by grand prize winner Riel Hilario. The winning piece was inspired by Alfonso Ossorio’s The Angry Christ as interpreted from his dream of Papa Isio.
Don Papa Art Canister Series launches the Riel Hilario Edition in four Don Papa Rum markets: the Philippines, France, Germany, and the Netherlands this October. The two other Art Canister Editions will be available in November in key retail outlets, such as Rustan’s, SM, S&R, and Ralph’s Wines and Spirits. All three artworks will be available in the four world markets by December 2016.

The second Don Papa Art Competition, which launched on September 14 at the Mathilde Cafe along Kalayaan Avenue, Makati, is open to to both independent artists and artists represented by galleries. The top 10 finalists will be featured in a special Don Papa Exhibit at the 2017 Art Fair Philippines. The grand prize winning artwork will become the next featured design in the Don Papa Art Canister Series for 2017. The artist will receive a one-month Artist Residency Sojourn in Florence, Italy.

For inquiries about the second Don Papa Art Competition, visit the Don Papa Rum Facebook page at www.facebook.com/donpaparum or contact Mr. Dannie Alvarez at join@bleedingheartrum.com (email) or (0915) 688-8269 (cell).

Event photos by Star Sabroso