The History of the Brown Strokes on a White Canvas Show

In 2002, the Philippine – American Foundation for Charities, Inc. (PAFC) annual celebration of Philippine Independence, the Philippine Festival kicked off with the first opening of “Brown Strokes on a White Canvas: A Kaleidoscopic View of the Philippine-American Experience” at The World Bank in Washington, DC. This show was conceived as a traveling art exhibit by Washington, DC based Filipino artist, Julian Oteyza, to highlight Filipino artists in the area by exhibiting artwork in a public arena, and offering a diverse audience exposure to the creative cultural wealth. The event moved to the Philippine Embassy and on to the Foundry Gallery. Each venue expanded to include additional artists and the Foundry Gallery exhibit offered the first mentoring opportunity by displaying emerging artists work (represented by the winners of the Philippine Festival’s annual children’s art contest aged 3 - 16) with the established artists in a diverse, public venue. The mentoring and outreach of this group has become a model to the children of the community.
In 2003, the PAFC again sponsored a traveling art exhibit, entitled, “Brown Strokes on a White Canvas: Embracing Our Diversity” kicking off the annual Philippine Festival. Events began at George Mason University Arlington campus in early June, where the artwork of the Filipino artists also included the 2002 winners of the annual children’s art contest. The exhibit moved to Harmony Hall Regional Arts Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland and included the winners of the 2003 children’s art contest, and ended its tour at the Philippine Center on 5th Avenue in New York, including artists from the New York, New Jersey area. During the on-site art contest during the annual Philippine Festival celebration the Brown Strokes artists assisted with the annual children’s art contest by interacting with the participants furthering the mentoring model established in 2003.
In 2004, PAFC once again celebrated Philippine Independence with the 3rd annual Brown Strokes on a White Canvas art exhibit: Sharing Artistic Visionary Experience. The exhibit occurred at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library from June 6th to July 15th. The theme, “Sharing Artistic Visionary Experience” was representative of the Filipino artists who extended their outreach to include multi-cultural, multi-faceted, myriad artistic reflections in a celebration of freedom and independence. Once again, the Brown Strokes artists, including several who (because of their age) were no longer eligible for the children’s art contest, assisted with the annual Children’s art contest.
In 2005, Brown Strokes on a White Canvas began the year with a show at George Mason University in Arlington, VA, entitled, “Memory Surfaces” featuring 9 Philippine-American artists and a show at The Philippine Center in New York, entitled “Art Palabok” featuring 12 Philippine-American artists. The students at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia invited the traveling exhibit for their April Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration; the George Washington University Philippine Cultural Society in Washington, DC invited the show to their annual cultural event in April; the show is scheduled to exhibit at Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in Washington, DC for the month of May; and the show is booked for Reston Arts Community Center in Northern Virginia for the months of September through November. Negotiations are underway for exhibits in Oregon, Las Vegas, Okinawa, Tokyo and Bagiuo. The Brown Strokes artists in cooperation with George Washington University Philippine Culture Society members will conduct the annual children’s art contest during the Philippine Festival scheduled for Sunday, June 5th in Washington, DC. For more information, please contact art committee chair, Julian Oteyza, joteyza@erols.com or (703) 536-3173
The Philippine-American Foundation for Charities, Inc., (PAFC) is a nonprofit, nonpolitical tax-exempt 501©3 organization formed in 1997 to focus on community-based charitable, educational and cultural projects that will improve the quality of life of the Filipino American community and the larger mainstream community. Please visit the PAFC website: www.pafc-inc.org for more information or to make a tax deductible donation to continue the self-sustaining art program.