A Tribute to Betsy Westendorp

Instituto Cervantes launched the virtual art exhibit Creadoras: A Tribute to Betsy Westendorp last November 18, 2020, in gratitude for her generous donation of the artwork “Passage” and in recognition of her artistic career.

Together with Fernando Zóbel and Juvenal Sansó, the Spanish painter Betsy Westendorp, who considers the Philippines as her adoptive country, is perhaps the contemporary artist who best represents the connection between Spanish and Filipino art.

In its efforts to promote outstanding women on National Women’s Month, an exhibition in honor of Ms. Westendorp was initially programmed for March 14. However, it did not push through due to the lockdown. Instead, Instituto Cervantes created a short documentary, giving us a tour of the exhibition and an exclusive interview in which the artist tells us about her life and her work.

The highlight of the event is Betsy’s painting “Passage”, which is of special significance for the artist. This is accompanied by the works of various Filipino and Spanish artists with which they pay tribute to Westendorp, namely Phyllis Zaballero, Ivi Avellana Cosio, Marivic Rufino, Vicky Zubiri, Eva Baró, Carmen Brias, Cristina Grisar and Inma Ortoll.

The documentary followed by an interview with fellow artists Phyllis Zaballero and Marivic Rufino, as well as Ms. Tina Colayco, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and finally, a message from Betsy herself.

Creadoras: A Tribute to Betsy Westendorp is presented by Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, with the collaboration of the Intramuros Administration and the contributing artists, as well as Manila-born Spanish musician Luis Eduardo Aute.

The link for the event is https://zoom.us/j/95665972044. Access is free of charge and open to all. For further information visit https://manila.cervantes.es or the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.