Looking for Juan: Everyday Filipino Heroes

Today I thought about ordinary people being heroes. I can't help it, the tarpaulins around the Academic Oval all had this singular theme. From Rizal's youth, to your average manong driver, the artworks illustrate that the idea of heroism can be stretched to include almost everyone.

As a project by the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS), the idea is to put up outdoor banners that will send a collective message about everyone's role in free elections this May. The elections, as it is indirectly portrayed in the exhibit, is not about a search for heroes. The banners around the Academic Oval depict ordinary Filipinos -- policemen, parents, students, OFWs -- performing little acts of heroism. A heroism that doesn't anymore include martyrdom at Bagumbayan.

The national election is done as I type this, but these works of art still line the University’s Academic Oval today. At the end of the exhibition, it is said that the banners will be recycled and transformed into tote bags. Once sold, the proceeds will be given to selected charities and will also be used to support other initiatives that promote greater appreciation for Philippine art, culture and the environment.

Even if the grass in the Sunken Garden has turned brown this summer, looking at these banners felt like a breath of fresh air. Yet what I like most about this project is its message. Under the heat of the sun with papers on hand, it tells me that you and I, we can both be heroes.

(Outdoor banners of Everyday Filipino Heroes will be hanged on the light posts of the University of the Philippines Diliman only till May 31.)