ESPIAL: The Art of Noticing — Young Artists Illuminate Stigma, Identity, and Healing Through Art
The Gallery, Camp Neñada Community Center | October 5 – November 30, 2025 | Angono, Rizal
Angono, Rizal — The Camp Neñada Community Center, in partnership with the Culture and Arts Managers of the Philippines (CAMP) Pag-ayo, Inc., proudly opens its 4th major exhibition, ESPIAL: The Art of Noticing, featuring 14 young artists from the Regional Lead School for the Arts in Angono (RLSAA) under the youth collective SalinLaji. The exhibition is part of Angono’s 2025 Higantes Festival celebration and continues CAMP’s ongoing advocacy for #ArtForStigmaReduction and #ZeroStigmaPH.
“Espial,” meaning the act of watching or observing, serves as the exhibition’s lens into the often-silent struggles of mental health, sexuality, and self-identity. The works invite viewers to notice not only what is seen—but what is silenced by stigma.
Among the pieces, “To The One I Still Seek” by Miguel Andrei Alcasid reflects the longing for equal love and recognition within the LGBTQ+ community, while “Wrapped in Me” by Jorge Nicolai Baisan recalls the childhood joy of queer expression found in moments of imaginative play. Precious Belle Bataican’s “Transcendence” and Karl Cassidy Calsado’s “Elysium” speak of rebirth and the quiet resilience that emerges from struggle.
Meanwhile, “Fragments of Bloom” by Angelina Coppens and “Unsettled Polydipsia” by Jhenaya Custodio unravel the layered process of self-discovery and honesty, while Alyson Esguerra’s “The Powder Room” transforms isolation into intimacy—a metaphorical sanctuary where one faces their truest self.
Themes of love and identity continue in Ira Fuentiveros’s “If Love is a Sin” and Zamantha Eve Garcera’s “Temptation of Eve”, both exploring desire, judgment, and the courage to choose authenticity over shame. Angela Michaela Guieb’s “The Innocence of Intimacy” offers a soft counterpoint, portraying love in its purest and most affirming form.
Katrina Ocampo’s “Solace in Embracing Hue(s)” navigates the stages of self-acceptance—from realization to freedom—while Xyl Cid Paran’s “Unspoken Storms” delves into the suffocating weight of mental illness and societal indifference. Precious Juvilyn Torres’s “Echoes Fell Like Petals” tenderly depicts invisible pain hidden beneath beauty, and Razieli Rocette Valora’s “Sapphic Love” celebrates queer womanhood with pride and defiance.
Together, these works are powerful visual testimonies of youth navigating identity and emotion during a crucial stage of self-formation. In the context of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory, high school students face the stage of Identity vs. Role Confusion—a critical period for developing self-concept and belonging. Through ESPIAL, these young artists not only explore their own identities but also extend empathy to others walking similar paths.
More than an exhibition, ESPIAL represents CAMP’s vision of using the arts as Neutral Spaces—safe, stigma-free environments where difficult conversations about mental health, sexuality, and HIV can unfold without fear or prejudice.
Visitors are encouraged to explore the exhibit in person at The Gallery, Camp Neñada Community Center, 45 Manila East Road, Brgy. San Roque, Angono, Rizal, or to access the online exhibition catalogue via QR codes displayed online and on-site. Those inspired by the artworks may also support the young artists and the Art for Stigma Reduction movement by bidding on the featured works.
Through the eyes of SalinLaji, ESPIAL: The Art of Noticing invites everyone to see beyond stigma—to notice, to listen, and to understand. In doing so, we move closer to a more compassionate, stigma-free Philippines.
Exhibition Run: October 5 – November 30, 2025
Venue: The Gallery, Camp Neñada Community Center, 45 Manila East Road, Angono, Rizal
Partners: CAMP Pag-ayo, Inc. | LoveYourself Inc | Champion Community Centers | Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. | PROTECTS-UPSCALE Project
Facebook: Camp Neñada Community Center
#EspialExhibit #ZeroStigmaPH #ArtForStigmaReduction #CreativityForSocialChange #HigantesFestival