By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
Harampang. Yes, you are reading it right. The word does not start with a letter G.
A Waray word, harampang means ,” to meet, converse and come together”
It is roughly the equivalent of the Ibaloy word, aspulan.
The Visayan term is conveniently used as the title for an art exhibit involving 21 visual artists from Eastern Visayas, plus Eden Cawang, the leading female indigenous artist of CAR. The exhibit, already on its 3rd iteration, opened last April 8, 2026 at the Baguio museum. It will run until Apr.30, 2026. Of the 21 featured artists, 18 were physically present during the opening.
The opening was graced by Baguio Councilor Leandro Yangot, himself a visual artist, and Kidlat Tahimik, a national artist for indie film.
According to the Baguio Museum, “the exhibit marks a meaningful milestone in our ongoing effort to foster cultural exchange with different regions, bringing together artists from Baguio and Eastern Visayas in a spirit of solidarity and shared purpose.”
The Museum further emphasized that the exhibit seeks to nurture meaningful relationships, promote cultural understanding, and cultivate a strong sense of camaraderie between artists and communities from both regions.
The successful first 2 editions of Harampang were hosted by Leyte where at least 8 artists from Tam-awan exhibited their artworks. They were also held in a Museum of Art and History in Tacloban city
The collaboration among artists from different regions is always a manifestation of the innate desire of people not only for professional considerations but also more importantly, for fostering peaceful co-existence. It is also for respect and promotion for each other’s culture. This will ultimately redound to a more comfortable and less stressful environment to live in. In this regard, hat’s off to the two regions’ concerned artists and facilitators.
For the good collaborative atmosphere, appreciation is due to Randy Nimer, a senior artist of Tam-awan who started the ball rolling by facilitating the initial participation of Eastern Visayas artists in an art exhibit at Tam-awan. After this, the collaboration was born when Mr.Jordan Mang-osan, President of the Tam-awan artists and Mr. Rico Palacio, the President of Kasugbong artists found time to willfully unite their minds, throw away selfish interests, and plan things out together without an iota of upmanship . The result was the Harampang Series of art exhibits.
If only “warring” politicians or officials will cultivate the same mindset, the Philippines would easily climb high up in the totem pole of economic prosperity
The collaboration resulted not only to art exhibits by artists but also the initial implementation of mentoring program of artists interested to advance or acquire new art discipline. The first beneficiary of this is no other than Eden Cawang who coordinated the on-going Harampang 3 art exhibit. She traveled to Leyte to enhance her proficiency in clay art and wooden sculpture. She was under the mentorship of Rico Palacio himself. Some of her relevant finished art work after the training are also on exhibit as part of Harampang 3.
Mr. Palacio is all praises for the more advance state of art appreciation in Baguio compared to their region.That means, eastern Visayas artists can learn a thing or two from Baguio artists such as Jordan Mang-osan, the famous solar artist, and other indigenous artists. According to Palacio, they are also looking for interested artists to come to Baguio to train and learn.
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