2nd Quarter Update!
Our biggest development this quarter has been our growing partnership with the Department of Education.
Several months ago, CANVAS gave the Department of Education a royalty free license to print and distribute more than 1.7 million copies of “Message in the Sand” for K–3 learners across the country.
Last June 9, together with fellow donors and partners including Adarna House, Rex Education, Lampara Books, and The Asia Foundation, we were invited to Taytay Elementary School for a ceremonial distribution of school bags and books. It was also included complimentary advance copies of “Message in the Sand”, and we were informed that the printing of the 1.7 million copies of Message in the Sand was already underway.
For CANVAS, this is a significant milestone. Since 2005, we have donated a little over 515,000 books. With this single project, the reach of our books will grow to more than 2.2 million copies. And this is only the beginning.
We are currently working with DepEd on other book projects, including two books for young parents to help prepare their children for lifelong literacy and learning. Once completed, these books will also be printed and distributed in the millions.
Working on books that directly engage the public school system brings CANVAS closer to our vision for national development and cultural promotion, helping ensure that the stories we create continue to find their way into the hands of the children who need them most.
Tumba-Tumba Updates
Officially Opening in February 2027
Perhaps the biggest change over the past few months has not been physical construction of Tumba-Tumba, but our thinking. Rather than waiting until every building is complete, we are now focusing on opening the museum in phases, allowing children and families to begin enjoying the space much sooner while we continue to grow it over time.
Our immediate priorities include improvements to I Am the Explorer, visitor facilities, pathways, landscaping, and the overall experience for our first guests. The plan is to open Tumba-Tumba to a paying public by February 2027.
Capital Fundraising for the Main Exhibition Hall
In the meantime, we will be ramping up our capital fundraising efforts for the construction of I Am the Storyteller, the museum's main exhibition hall, which will eventually house around 200 storytelling artworks from our collection.
Our goal is to raise P60 million, and we are off to a promising start, having already secured a US$250,000 matching grant (a little over P15 million, or about 25% of our target).
If you have ideas, introductions, or would like to become more involved in this effort, I would love to hear from you.
We are looking particularly for partners, legacy donors, and individuals or organizations interested in making a transformational gift. We are also open to exploring naming opportunities for major contributions.
Below are our architects’ renders for Tumba-Tumba. Libre managinip! Hehe.
Learning from Germany
Last June 30 to July 15, CANVAS curator Jaime Pacena and I spent two weeks in Germany courtesy of a grant from the German government, visiting children's museums, cultural institutions, and creative communities.
The purpose of the trip is both simple and ambitious: to find a cultural institution that could become CANVAS’ long-term partner as we build the Tumba-Tumba Children’s Museum of Philippine Art.
The trip is part of Germany’s effort to strengthen cultural relationships with organizations in countries that have not traditionally been the focus of German cultural cooperation. If all goes well, we hope to identify one museum whose vision closely matches ours. Together, we would then attempt to design a four-year program of artistic collaboration that would be proposed to, and if successful supported by up to 400,000 euros annually in German funding from 2027 to 2031.
We met with colleagues from institutions such as Labyrinth Kindermuseum in Berlin, MACHmit!, ANOHA, GRIMMWELT in Kassel, and many others. We also explored creative districts, artist-run spaces, and museum programs that are helping redefine how children experience art, culture, and learning.
In the end, we decided on pursuing further explorations for a possible longer-term partnership with Labyrinth Kindermuseum, a Berlin-based children’s museum known for immersive, hands-on exhibitions that encourage learning through play, exploration, and creativity.
They are also very interested and excited to work with us for the next 4-year phase of the grant. As our next step, they will be visiting us here in the Philippines in September to see and learn more about our projects and programs, and we will also have a 2-day workshop to iron out the proposal.
Second, more than twenty institutions and art spaces from different parts of the world also expressed interest in participating as satellite partners. Groups in Indonesia, Taiwan, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Latvia, and Cyprus have begun organizing their own exhibitions and activities connected to the Biennale theme and brand. We will be working with them in the coming months to document the fruits of their participation.
In the Philippines, several institutions and universities — including the Ateneo Art Gallery, BenCab Museum, UP College of Fine Arts, and Asia Pacific College — have also indicated interest in participating in the broader conversation.
The Biennale will continue running until July, with installations, exhibitions, and public activities gradually unfolding over the coming months.
In the weeks and months leading up to the Biennale launch, we spent considerable time preparing the site and completing several improvements. Existing works were restored or cleaned, including murals and installations that had weathered the previous rainy season. At the same time, new elements were added to the grounds.
Among these additions is a community mural, designed and painted by artists from Ang Illustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK), Project Barako — a Batangas-based artist collective — and schoolchildren from Ibaan.
Functional sculptures, on from artist Plet Bolipata, and three on indefinite long-term loan from the family of the late sculptor Gerry Araos, have now been installed at Tumba-Tumba.
Additionally, a few dozen fairy house are now hiding in plain sight under the trees of Tumba-Tumba. We will be organizing pottery workshops regularly throughout the year in the hope that, eventually, hundreds of these tiny whimiscal sculptures will be found throughout the land, just waiting for visiting children to explore and find them.
In addition, several improvements were made to the site itself, including the installation of bamboo fencing in several areas — particularly near the entrance — as well as repair and restoration work on some of the permanent artworks on the property.
Tipon-Tipon sa Tumba-Tumba
The Biennale offerings at Tumba-Tumba were finally opened to the public on March 14 and 15, when Tipon-Tipon - a weekend of workshops, guided tours, games, and film screenings - was successfully held at our museum site in Ibaan, Batangas.
Opening ceremonies for Tipon-Tipon last March 14, 2026
Retelling the story of “Elias and His Trees” to children from nearby Ibaan barangays
Mindful Journaling session atop Kulandong at Tumba-Tumba
Postcard installation at Tumba-Tumba. Over 500 artists from 62 countries were represented.
Create postcards responding to the question: “If trees could talk, what would they say?”
Short environment-themed films by students of Asia Pacific College were shown inside our iconic “I Am the Explorer” hall.
Make your own camera obscura workshop with J Pacena
Outdoor Photography Using Your Smartphone Workshop with Ocs Alvarez
BOOKGIVING AND BOOK DEVELOPMENT
Bookgiving efforts continued, of course. For this quarter so far, we’ve given away 2,652 books directly to kids and to three libraries in Cavite, Batangas, Tarlac, Bataan, and Metro Manila.
OUR FIRST CHILDREN’S BOOK FOR THE YEAR!!!
Connected with the Biennale, we will launch “Kamusta, Kaibigan” — penned by multi-awarded author Russell Molina, with illustrations by Roel Obemio — on April 7 at 2pm at the National Museum. This is our first children’s book for the year, and will also serve as one of the National Museum’s satellite presentations for our Biennale.
The book, intended for children aged 4–7, is based on a gentle poem that unfolds as a conversation between a young child and a tree. Through this simple exchange, the story introduces themes of friendship, curiosity, and care for the natural world, offering a timely reflection on our relationship with the environment.
We hope to see you all there! 😊
BOOKS IN THE PIPELINE
Several new children’s book projects, many of them tied to partnerships with public institutions and corporate supporters, also moved forward.
CANVAS x DEPED x EDCOM
One of the most exciting collaborations, as you’re aware, involves two new books being developed with the Department of Education (DepEd) and EDCOM. These books are designed not primarily for parents, and the topics will focus on two areas that strongly influence a child’s ability to learn: early nutrition and early literacy.
To jumpstart the project, we organized a workshop last February at the National Museum, bringing together writers, illustrators, and subject experts provided by DepEd to begin shaping the content of these books.
The task ahead for all of us is to “kidify” all that research. Working with creatives, we hope to translate the graphs and studies into stories and activities that parents will actually read and use.
We will provide DepEd with camera-ready fully laid out full color files for the two books, which — if all goes well — will then be printed by DepEd for distribution to hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of parents and teachers throughout the country.
Meanwhile, several winning stories from our flagship Romeo Forbes Children’s Story Writing Competition are expected to be launched as full color books this year, including those that will showcase the artworks of Abi Dionisio, Tiffany Lafuente, Chad Montero, John Marin, Renee Avila, and June Digan.
On top of those, work has also begun on Safe Space 2.0: A Kid’s Guide to AI and Digital Wellness. This book will follow up on our earlier award-winning publication on data privacy for children, and will again be supported by Globe.
Together, these projects continue CANVAS’ long-standing effort to use storytelling and art as tools for learning, civic awareness, and public education.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Extension of Our National Museum Exhibition
