Filipino Artist raised Over a Million for the Underprivileged Kids with cancer

OJT Lucsoon National High School, Biliran, Leyte

Joyce Atilano Herrera- Wong, a Filipino visual artist, and philanthropist, raised a total of 1.4 million funds from her five-day 2nd solo  Art exhibit last  Nov. 12 at the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City, Philippines.

It was also a fundraising event anchored with this year’s theme “The Hope That Nature Gives”. It was able to sell 15 of her painting including 7 large ones.

The fundraising event created a big impact on its chosen beneficiary-the House of Hope Foundation for kids with Cancer Inc. based in Davao City.

It is a foundation whom she described as a place of healing for children with cancer coming from marginalized families. 100 percent of the proceeds of the fundraising event will be donated to the said chosen foundation.

“I  always feel a sense of fulfillment everytime I initiated fundraising activities to help those who are in need,” said Herrera-Wong.

Herrera-Wong added she has successfully raised enough fund with the help of her  4 invited fellow artist namely Buds Convocar, Sasa-Tan Carlos, Franklin Cana Valencia and Bbisai Ya who graciously donated an artwork each in support of the fundraising activity and art exhibit. A chunk of the raised fund also came from raffle tickets with excellent prizes. Herrera-Wong’s compassion to help others boils down to her exposure being the daughter of the late Felicisimo “Okong” Herrera, who was the mayor of Dipolog City for 15 years and Dulcita Atilano-Herrera, the daughter of former mayor Crispin Atilano Sr. of Zamboanga City.

A bachelor of Science in Commerce major in accounting graduate of University of San Carlos (USC) in the late 70’s, she in several banks in the country, where she met her husband who was also a banker. She picked up her interest in painting when her husband, David Y.C. Wong, an international banker was assigned in Taiwan in 1986. She took up Chinese watercolor painting lessons in Taipei and the oil painting Classical Realism Technique lessons when they moved to Hongkong in 2007. With a growing passion for the genre, she took further studies of Plein Air painting from esteemed and multi-awarded visual artists Marcia Burtt in California and Phil Starke in New York apart from receiving art training from Buds Convocar, long-time President of the Saturday Art Group of Artists in Manila.

She is one of the founding members of Pintura Circle and former President of Pintura Circle, an art-for-charity group based in Hong Kong. Thus, she has joined several group shows with the aim of raising funds for charitable organizations such as Kids International Ministry, Munting Tahanan of Nazareth, Gawad Kalinga and the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. Last 2015, her works were showcased in a three-woman show at the Philippine Center Art Gallery in New York City.

Her first solo exhibition was last 2016 at the Ayala Museum, where all of the gross proceeds went to New Punlaan School, a school in San Juan, Metro Manila, that provides underprivileged young women with livelihood and employment skills, alleviating them from poverty.

Joyce Atilano Herrera-Wong feels a sense of fulfillment every time she initiates a fundraising event for those who are in need.