A one-day-only sale of Dutch wooden shoes raised P2.4 million, a portion of which will benefit deserving students from impoverished backgrounds under ING Foundation’s scholarship program.
The unique live auction called “KLOMP/ART” involved “klompen,” or Dutch wooden shoes turned into works of art by 27 seasoned and young contemporary Filipino visual artists. The traditional Dutch clogs “traveled” all the way from the Netherlands and were donated by ING’s headquarters in Amsterdam to support the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of ING Bank in Manila.
Bangko Sentral Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., who graced ING Bank’s 25th anniversary celebration on September 16, lauded the foreign bank for “fusing art, banking and national traditions into a distinct expression of CSR.
“By choosing to ‘work’ tonight, ING Bank Manila is benefiting its scholars, and doing this in a way that supports local artists and enhances cultural ties between our nations,” the monetary chief said.
ING’s clients and partners, as well as its current and former employees, participated in the auction that fetched bids as high as P285,000 for a klomp ship by world-renowned sculptor Daniel de la Cruz, who also designed the 25th anniversary logo of ING Bank Manila. Also getting top bids were the artworks of mixed-media artist Salvador Joel Alonday, and world-class brass sculptor Michael Cacnio. Other contemporary Filipino visual artists who contributed to the auction were: Ambie Abano, Leo Abaya, Gus Albor, Carlo Aranton, Plet Bolipata, Charlie Co, Renato Barja, Zean Cabangis, Jonathan Ching, Francis Commeyne, Melvin Culaba, Cian Dayrit, Antipas Delotavo, Alee Garibay, Emmanuel Garibay, Riel Hilario, Winner Jumalon, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, Jojo Lofranco, Ferdie Montemayor, Lee Paje, Alwin Reamillo, Ioannis Sicuya and Clairelynn Uy.
“Through the art auction, we were able to give our clients, partners and staff the opportunity to help sustain ING’s educational assistance to our ING Learning Center scholars so that they can be better equipped to find employment and improve their lives,” ING Bank Country Manager Consuelo Garcia said.
One of the beneficiaries of ING Foundation’s scholarship program is Cassandra “Cas” Gamlanga, the daughter of a tricycle driver and a sari-sari storeowner and one of the Baseco kids whose leadership skills were honed at the ING Learning Center in Tondo. Cas is about to become a college junior with the continued support of ING Foundation, which plans to send more deserving students to high school, college, or post-high school (i.e., technological-vocational schools) on scholarships, covering tuition, miscellaneous school fees, textbooks and allowances.