My City, My SM, My Art gives tribute to Defensor

This year’s My City, My SM, My Art exhibit highlights the works of Ed Defensor and other Ilonggo artists. Currently ongoing at SM City Iloilo Event Center until January 23, the campaign brings art and people together by showcasing the works of masters, modernists and millennials in our vibrant and culture-rich city.

My City, My SM, My Art is an art roadshow that is held annually around different SM Supermalls, an advocacy of the conglomerate to promote art for all as well as the teamwork with communities to mount exhibits, workshops, and contests in key cities around the Philippines.


In Focus: Ed Defensor
Ed Defensor is a multi-media artist of Iloilo City, Philippines. One of the outstanding sculptors of the country, he has worked on three iconic monuments in Iloilo City: the Donato M. Pison Monument in Brgy. San Rafael; the "Lin-ay Sang Iloilo", an 18-foot monument in bronze that presently stands at the dome of the Iloilo City Hall; and the St. Ignatius of Loyola Monument of Ateneo de Iloilo, probably the biggest St. Ignatius sculpture in the whole world.

He has been into art since the 1980s and held exhibits in the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in Makati City, and at the Vargas Museum of Quezon City. He also brought honor to the country when his artworks were placed on exhibit at the Philippine Center of New York, USA; The Space Art Gallery of Seoul, Korea; and the Philippine Embassy of Singapore.

Defensor has more than 15 one-man exhibits and participated in more than a hundred group exhibits, a number of which he himself organized and managed.

He has been active in art management and art organizations in the Visayas, being founder of Hubon Madiaas, the longest-existing art organization of Western Visayas, and charter chairman of the Visayas Islands Visual Artist Association, which was, at one time, one of the largest art associations of the Philippines.

He has also served in the National Committee of the Visual Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. He is listed in the Encyclopedia of Philippine Arts of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the volumes on the Visual Arts, Theater and Dance.

He was Professor of Art History at the University of the Philippines Visayas, and was Most Outstanding Professional Jubilarian of this university in 2006. He was also awarded as Most Distinguished Ilonggo in the Visual Arts in 2008 by the Province of Iloilo. In 2010, the Visayas Biennale in Cebu City, Philippines, honored him with the ‘Garbo sa Bisaya’ (Leading Light of the Visayas) Award.


Iloilo’s Pride
My City, My SM, My Art is a celebration of Philippine visual arts – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and filmmaking.

Aside from Defensor, the exhibit also showcases the works of other prominent Ilonggo Artists Martin Genodepa, Harry Mark Gonzales, PG Zoluaga, Kristoffer Brasileño, Kat Malazarte, Jeline Laporga, Alex Ordoyo, Mia Reyes, Gina Apostol, Cezar Arro, Jeanroll Ejar,Vic Fario and Marzz Capanang.


This is a joint project of SM, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Shell Companies of the Philippines and the Philippine Star with support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and Centerstage Productions.

Comments