Established 1967 Visitors 65,000+ (2014) Floors 6 Inaugurated 28 September 2004 | Type Art and history museum Status Complete Phone +63 2 759 8288 Materials Granite, Steel, Glass | |
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Location Insular Life Building
(initially)
Old Makati Stock Exchange Building
(? - until 2004)
Ayala Museum Building
(2004-present) Address Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Makati, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines Hours Open today · 9AM–6PMSaturday9AM–6PMSunday9AM–6PMMondayClosedTuesday9AM–6PMWednesday9AM–6PMThursday9AM–6PMFriday9AM–6PM Architecture firm Leandro V. Locsin Partners Company Similar Yuchengco Museum, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Legazpi Active Park, Jaime C Velasquez Park, Greenbelt Profiles | ||
An iconic museum ayala museum
The Ayala Museum is a museum in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located in Ayala Center adjacent to Greenbelt mall and is run privately by the Ayala Foundation. This six-storey edifice houses ethnographic and archaeological exhibits on Filipino culture, art, and history. Since its establishment in 1967, the museum has been committed to showcasing overseas collections and situating contemporary Philippine art in the global arena in a two-way highway of mutual cooperation and exchange with local and international associates.
Contents
History
Envisioned during the 1950s by Philippine abstract painter Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo, as a museum of Philippine history and iconography, the Ayala Museum was established in 1967 as a project of the Filipinas Foundation, now known as the Ayala Foundation. The museum was housed at the Insular Life Building and was transferred to the old Makati Stock Exchange Building. The old building was designed by National Artist Leandro Locsin.
Plans to transfer the Ayala Museum was made as early as 2002. The old building that hosted the old Ayala Museum was demolished which met some criticism from heritage conservationists.
The museum moved to a new six storey building made from granite, steel and glass, which was designed by Leandro V. Locsin Partners, led by Leandro Y. Locsin, Jr. It was formally dedicated at the 170th anniversary of the Ayala Corporation on September 28, 2004.
Permanent exhibitions
Ground Floor Gallery
Contemporary exhibitions such as retrospectives of Filipino artists and contemporary international art are housed at the ground floor of the museum.
Recent exhibition features the "Beyond Tobacco" exhibit which is in time with Ayala Corporation’s 180th anniversary. Beyond Tobacco presents the rich economic history of the Philippines and its deep relationship with Spain during and after the Tobacco Monopoly in the 19th century by its large collection of artifacts, memorabilia, maps, and photographs of the Compañia General de Tobacos de Filipinas (also known as Tabacalera). Artifacts such as tobaccos, cigar holders, and other paraphernalia are shown in the exhibit. Maps of huge tobacco plantations chiefly in Luzon are also displayed, including photos of the factory before and after being bombed during the Japanese occupation. Furthermore, paintings by Fernando Amorsolo and books written by Jaime Gil de Biedma and other biographers are on display. The exhibit was curated by Professor Martin Rodrigo of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (also known as Pompeu Fabra University) in Barcelona, Spain.
Third Floor Gallery
The museum’s third floor galleries and the Zobel multipurpose hall are designed to house the changing displays showing Pioneers of Philippine Art, Images of Nation, New Frontiers, and Collector Series- from the 18th century to the contemporary period of Philippine art.
Pioneers of Philippine Art showcases the 100 years of Philippine art from the late 19th century to the 20th century in the works of three famous Filipino artists namely Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo and Fernando Zobel. Paintings of Amorsolo includes Palay Maiden (1920), Maiden with Lanzones (1924), Maiden in a Flower Garden (1948), Portrait of Victoria Zobel de Ayala (1948), and Open Market Scene (1957-1958) to name a few. All works of Zobel highlights pure non-objectivism and abstract art. Some of these include Vasata (1960), Portrait of Ep (1961), El Balcon II (1964), Pausa Clara (1966), and Las Soledades de Lope de Vega (1968).
Images of Nation shows the works of the national artists for visual arts of the Philippines while, New Frontiers features the work of contemporary artists. Launched in 2010, Images of Nation presents each exhibition with corresponding educational components and publications, such as introduction to the exhibition, captions of each artwork, exhibition guides, and exhibition catalogues that provide an effective learning experience for the visitors of the museum. In the past years, Images of Nation has featured a collection of works by Vicente Manansala (May–July 2010), Jose Joya (September 2011-January 2012), and Victorio Edades (March- July 2012).
The Collector Series presents selections from private collections of art in curated thematic exhibitions.
Filipinas Heritage Library
The Filipinas Heritage Library is located at the sixth floor of the museum. It is known to be one of the electronic research centers in the Philippines. It houses more than 13,000 contemporary volumes on Philippine history, art, language, religion, and the social sciences, and more than 2,000 uncommon titles, maps, and photographs. Additional features of this library include the digitization of its collection, CD-ROM publishing, development of web pages, and electronic databases. The library has set up an online search engine that provides access to more than 357,000 Filipiniana database records, through its numerous Library Link initiatives in the past, from over a hundred partner libraries across the Philippines.
Ceramics Study Center
Aside from the pieces of tradeware vessels from the Roberto T. Villanueva collection, one section of the museum provides researchers with study collections including books and several publications on art and history of ceramics courtesy of John D. Forbes.