Projects
He proposed building a Rizal Monument in honor of the Philippine national hero's ancestral hometown in Jinjiang City, Fujian China through his Philippine Star columns as well as writings in other media. He also pioneered in making a genealogical research tracing Jose Rizal's ancestors to Jinjiang county (now a city), Fujian province, China. He also referred multi-awarded sculptor Juan Sajid Imao to do a life-size Dr. Jose Rizal bronze statue for the Rizal monument and park in China, to be sponsored by ethnic Chinese businessmen and philanthropists, this statue originally meant for the national hero's ancestral hometown was eventually donated to the Fort Santiago in Instramuros, Manila through the help of then Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon and after China had already constructed their own Rizal monument.
Due to his lifelong love of art, from 2001 to 2002, Wilson Lee Flores sponsored an art group of talented young painters who are mostly graduates of the University of the Philippines' College of Fine Arts for their weekly nude painting sessions at the second-floor of his then resto-bar and it was called the Ikalawang Palapag Art Group (in English, "Ikalawang Palapag" means "Second Floor"). This group had two group exhibits. The members of the group included nine (9) artist-friends who are multi-awarded and renowned artists, painters, sculptor and art educators namely Juan "Bing" Sajid Imao (Sculptor, TOYM 2004 Awardee), Jasper de Leon (Ateneo High School Art Teacher, Shell Art Contest 1990 Winner), Norman Dreo (Painter, multi-awarded painter - Shell, AAP, Philip Morris, etc.), Kris Soguilon (Painter, AAP 2nd Place Winner, 2001), Eric Quay Evano (Philip Morris Art Contest Finalist, 1999; Painter, Writer, Art Director, Musician), Alfonso "Dayong" Mendoza (Painter), John Paul "Lakan" Olivares (FEU Art Teacher, Painter), Omar Sebastian (Painter) and Raul Delfin (Video Editor, Graphic Artist). They have held two group exhibits in the past entitled "Unang Hakbang"; "Ikalawang Hakbang" in Manila and was once featured in one of GMA 7's shows. The group is momentarily on hiatus since two of its members are working and living abroad namely Kris Soguilon who is in the UK and Eric Quay Evano who is in the UAE. Except for John Paul Olivares, all the other seven members are batchmates, entering UPCFA in 1989.
Wilson Lee Flores had also introduced sculptor Juan Sajid Imao to then Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, who eventually was instrumental in helping arrange for Imao to do the giant landmark Lapu Lapu monument in the Rizal Park area, and Gordon also donated an Imao-created bust of the World War II hero Wenceslao Vinzons for the Vinzons Hall at the University of the Philippines' campus in Diliman, Quezon City.
Due to his admiration for the talents of the artists of the Ikalawang Palapag Art Group, Wilson Lee Flores in March 2010 was sponsor of the "Reunion" art exhibit by University of the Philippines (U.P.) College of Fine Arts Studio Arts Batch 1989 artists Tessa Alcantara, Grandier Bella, Daniel Coquilla, Susan Corpus, Kweenie Young-Cotton, Aba Lluch Dalena, Jasper de Leon, Norman Dreo, Juan Sajid Imao, Nikulas Lebajo, Jesus Lozada, Joey Luna, Noel Mahilum, Marc Malto, Dayong Mendoza, JJ San Pascual, Paul Albert Quiaño, Omar Sebastian, Kris Soguilon and Rogel Tapang at Sining Kamalig Gallery in Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City.
As former Director of the Unyon ng Mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) or Philippine Writers Union, he once spearheaded the country’s biggest poetry reading project held in Marikina City Hall. He advocates popularizing reading among the public.
On January 26, 2009 in the Chinese Lunar New Year, Wilson Lee Flores's 2005 proposal for the Anvil Business Club to donate a larger-than-life granite Confucius monument to the Chinese Garden of Manila's Rizal Park to honor the great moral teacher and to pay homage to all teachers of the world became a reality. The project hopes to add another unique landmark to Rizal Park and to Manila City as a new tourist attraction, since Confucius is revered throughout East Asia. The project also hopes to promote Confucian moral values and to encourage reverence for teachers. Wilson Lee Flores believes and has written many times in his columns: "I believe teaching is the noblest of all professions". This Confucius Monument project became a reality due to the Thanks to the support of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano and the hard work of Anvil Business Club officers led by then President Eduardo Cobankiat. The inauguration of the Confucius monument was graced by the presence of various teachers, former President Fidel V. Ramos, Singaporean Ambassador A. Selverajab; Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Former Manila Mayor Mel Lopez, Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros Baraquel and others.
Read more about this topic: Wilson Lee Flores
Famous quotes containing the word projects:
“But look what we have built ... low-income projects that become worse centers of delinquency, vandalism and general social hopelessness than the slums they were supposed to replace.... Cultural centers that are unable to support a good bookstore. Civic centers that are avoided by everyone but bums.... Promenades that go from no place to nowhere and have no promenaders. Expressways that eviscerate great cities. This is not the rebuilding of cities. This is the sacking of cities.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)
“One of the things that is most striking about the young generation is that they never talk about their own futures, there are no futures for this generation, not any of them and so naturally they never think of them. It is very striking, they do not live in the present they just live, as well as they can, and they do not plan. It is extraordinary that whole populations have no projects for a future, none at all.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)