Sketch of the National Museum of the Philippines – Iloilo by Matthieu GonzalezAbout 60 people visited the National Museum of the Philippines – Iloilo for a MuseumSketchmeet on August 21st. This was the largest turnout Iloilo City Sketchers has had thus far.Typically, our sketchwalks were no more than 10 people. But this recent event drew in quite acrowd:We had kids with parents, high schoolers and college students, licensed architects, full-timeartists, teachers, engineers, a pastor, a couple of business owners, and more. Sketchers at the museum’s outdoor area. Photo by Frezielle LaynoWe credit our partners at NMP-Iloilo for making this possible, going as far as providing artmaterials to museum visitors who wanted to try their hand at on-location sketching.And the fact that we’re doing this in an iconic piece of Ilonggo history made the sketchmeet allthe more special!Built in 1911, the building once served as the Iloilo Provincial Jail until 2006, when prisonoperations stopped and were transferred to a new facility in the town of Pototan.The structure underwent renovation and was converted into a museum in 2016, the same yearthat it was declared an Important Cultural Property “for its exceptional architectural, cultural, andhistorical value.”Today, the museum houses two permanent exhibitions, one dedicated to Western Visayas’habol weaving tradition and a geology and paleontology section.There was a brief talk on the museum’s history, artifact collection, and visitor guidelines bySupervising Administrative Officer Maricyn De Los Santos, followed by an introduction to urbansketching.Introduction to the museum’s history, collections, and guidelines for visitors.After that, everyone spread out to find their ideal spots. Some participants chose to stay indoorsto sketch the displays in the museum’s galleries. They were only allowed to use pencils andpens inside the galleries, while watercolors were allowed in the atrium area and outdoor spaces.Art installation sketch by Hannah Marie Celso A sketch of the museum’s skylight in gouache by Marcel JaudianOthers went outside to sketch the building’s exterior. At the museum’s outdoor park, they sat onbanigs (Philippine handwoven mats) provided by the staff while some brought foldable chairs.Plus, we had fair weather the entire morning. It was hot outside, but it was breezy. We spent anhour and a half sketching, although in retrospect, we could’ve extended the sketchmeet an hourmore.Exterior sketch in ink by Danice Joy Dichosa Outdoor pencil sketch by Mitch Danisse AlmajoStill, it was quite a sight to see a diverse group of people spanning different age groups,professions, and backgrounds coming together to tell visual stories in any way they can.Not bad for our first sketchmeet. The next one is on August 31st at Plaza Libertad.Will we break our current attendance record? Maybe. But one thing’s for sure: this museumsketchmeet has got a lot of people interested.Participants of the Museum Sketchmeet posing for a photo with the staff of the NationalMuseum of the Philippines – IloiloThrowdown!The post Sketchmeet at the National Museum of the Philippines – Iloilo appeared first on Urban Sketchers.