A closer look into the murals that add vibracy to the progressive urban oasis
Bonifacio Global City, a model of green, smart urban planning, has also built its reputation as a champion of urban art. For the past two years, thanks to the annual Art BGC Festivals organized by the Bonifacio Arts Foundation Inc. (BAFI), BGC has gathered a collection of vibrant murals courtesy of both international and local artists – allowing the public to see and experience art as they live, work, and play in BGC.
Late last year, BAFI began working with a collection of PINTO artists to work on murals on eight building surfaces, while a ninth mural comes from a collaboration of artists from South Korea and Asean countries, with support from the Korean Cultural Center.
According to BAFI, the murals each have a story that speaks of passion: for journeys bound for home, for special meeting places, for technology, for dreams and aspirations, and for cross-border friendships.
If you seek to explore the city in multi-colored lenses, here are the spots where you can appreciate what is dubbed as the slant of BGC’s soul.
Dating Tagpuan
Artist: John Paul Antido
Location: C3 Annex, Bonifacio High Street Central (30th St. cor. 7th Ave.)

Before the tall concrete buildings in BGC, there used to be a common hangout place in the fields. Dating Tagpuan re-imagines the old meeting place surrounded by plants and under the old lamppost. The image is placed in the junction of the space to create the impression of the characters meeting each other. It represents a place where ideas and aspirations converge.
 
Kapit Kamay
Artist: Biskeg Pangasinan Artist Collective
Location: C3 Annex, Bonifacio High Street Central (30th St. cor. 7th Ave.)

BISKEG is a Pangasinan-based artist group that aims to promote and uplift the province’s artistry. Their mural symbolizes the Filipino value of one person helping another for a common goal. Just like the artwork, the group aims to bridge the gap between generations and impart wisdom and skills for younger, upcoming artistsin Pangasinan.
 
Beyond Borders, Peaceful Voyage
Artists: Younggyun, Nam, Siyeong, Sunil, Auggie, Bunga, Bows, Haha, Perol, Pesey, Ariff, Cyrus, Zero, Miguel, Nemo
Location: 26th St. cor. 5th Ave.

Beyond Borders, Peaceful Voyage is an ASEAN-ROK Collaborative Graffiti Painting, initiated by the Korean Cultural Center, as they partnered with the National Commission for Culture and Arts and BAFI. It is a collaboration of Korean artists, and artists from Asean countries. The shelf is a traditional Korean chaekgado and in it are symbols from the different Asean countries. This merging represents the friendship across borders.
This project was created by the main artists from Korea and Asean countries, with the help of over a hundred local and expat volunteers.
 
The Way Home
Artist: Solana L. Perez
Location: One Parkade

The Way Home’s three-part mural features a colorful rendition of horses in equally vibrant background revolving around Perez’s feelings of sentimentality and homesickness, as well as a longing to return to her childhood hometown.
“The wheels and circular motifs are an allusion to the building’s role as a parking space, a place where people must constantly be coming and going,” says the artist about her inspiration for her work.
 
For the People: Gates of Paradise
Artist: Palimpsest
Location: BGC Bus Depot

Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film Howl’s Moving Castle, Wall-E, and Snowpiercer, the mural expresses the movement of civilization towards an uncertain future. The mechanized caterpillar represents budding technology that with time, effort, and patience will eventually mature. Thriving on top of the caterpillar is a city built on optimism.
According to BAFI, like BGC, the work shares the ongoing process of growth and development – bold and fearless in laying its stakes for the future.
 
Tree House
Artist: Jerson Samson and Janica Rina, assisted by Chris Andujar Villegas and Jaypee Samson
Location: Bonifacio High Street B2 Portal

The gradual increase of urbanization has resulted in the crowding of even our personal spaces – the places we call home. This reality brought Samson to the concept of large trees where people can build houses on top, recreating a child’s dream tree house. His idea was inspired by mushrooms, which possess a unique growth process called cell enlargement which makes it easier for them to bloom in unexpected places.
 
By VIA BAROMA