CANVAS - The Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development
CANVAS works with the local creative community to advocate for children's literacy through promoting Philippine art & culture.
CANVAS, short for The Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development, is a non-profit organization based in the Philippines. Founded by Gigo Alampay in 2005, CANVAS aims to engage the creative community in promoting children's literacy, exploring national identity, and enhancing public appreciation of Philippine art, culture, and the environment.
One of CANVAS' hallmark initiatives is the "One Million Books for One Million Filipino Children" campaign. Through this program, CANVAS collaborates with local artists and writers to create and distribute colorful, original picture and activity books to children in underprivileged communities across the Philippines. The campaign not only aims to provide children with their first books but also to foster a love of reading and creative thinking, which are crucial skills for personal development.
CANVAS has also donated sets of its titles to hundreds of libraries and reading rooms throughout the country for shared use by these facilities' beneficiaries.
CANVAS' Art for Development Program is another significant initiative. This Program focuses on utilizing art for societal impact and discourse. Launched in 2009, the program showcases artworks from Filipino artists, graphic designers, and photographers on banners in accessible, pedestrian-friendly locations such as parks and university campuses. These exhibits are strategically placed to stimulate public engagement and discussion around various themes related to Filipino identity and contemporary social issues such as human rights and climate change.
The program transforms public spaces into art galleries, making art both accessible and part of everyday life, thereby promoting a broader public appreciation of art and its relevance to community and national issues. This approach helps to demystify art, making it more approachable for the general public, and serves as a tool for education and social change.
CANVAS is currently working towards the development of its very own children's museum, called Tumba-Tumba Children's Museum of Philippine Art, located in Ibaan, Batangas. This is envisioned to be an open-air museum comprised of several halls, art installations and other facilities on a rolling piece of land lined with mango trees; allowing art and green spaces to be more accessible to the public, especially children. The museum will reflect CANVAS’ belief in the power of storytelling, and the cross-cutting nature of human rights as central to children’s rights, as well as the other big issues of our times—climate change, and safety on the internet. Providing opportunities for hands-on activities and collaborations with their peers, the museum will be designed to help children learn and develop their skills in empathy and independent thinking.
Fundraisers
Official fundraiser
1 Million Books for 1 Million Filipino Children Campaign
1 Million Books for 1 Million Filipino Children (1MB) is one of CANVAS' flagship programs which aims to increase the literacy of underprivileged Filipino children by providing them with enjoyable and informative books through collaborating with local authors and artists to produce unique picture and activity books. The books often address important social issues such as human rights, climate change, and inclusivity, and are designed to encourage a love for reading. We have donated more than half a million to children, libraries, and communities across the Philippines and aim to surpass the 1 Million mark by the end of 2026.
- Raised
- $0
- Goal
- $2,500
Official fundraiser
Tumba-Tumba Children's Museum of Philippine Art
The Tumba-Tumba Children's Museum of Philippine Art (Tumba-Tumba) is a major initiative of CANVAS, situated on a two-hectare site in Ibaan, Batangas, is being developed as the Philippines’ first children’s museum dedicated to Philippine art. The museum will bring together many of the ideas that have guided CANVAS from the beginning: literacy and storytelling, creativity and imagination, children’s rights and participation, access to culture and lifelong learning. At its heart, however, Tumba-Tumba is guided by a simple belief: every child deserves the opportunity to imagine. The museum is already alive-- What we are building now is its next chapter. The first major phase of development centers on a permanent exhibition hall called I Am the Storyteller. This two-story structure will house approximately 200 artworks drawn from a carefully curated collection of contemporary Philippine art, many of which are currently on display at the 4th floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts. The Storyteller Hall will serve as the heart of the museum experience . It is envisioned as an immersive storytelling environment, permanent home for a significant child-focused collection of Philippine art, a space where children become active participants in meaning-making and discovery, a place where books, stories, art, and imagination come together. We target that the museum become fully functional and open to the public by the year 2030. Join us in our dream of building more spaces for our children to play, create, learn, discover, and imagine. We believe, after all, that a child with art and stories can change the world!
- Raised
- $0
- Goal
- $5,000
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