Raymond Lauchengco is selling the art pieces he has created to raise funds for live event workers who are currently out of jobs due to the lockdown.
The singer-actor shared the news on Instagram, saying the new coronavirus disease pandemic (Covid-19) has been a surreal time for him.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day, I would do an exhibit on social media of things I made, during a pandemic and lockdown,” he said.
“After seeing the suggestions to do so, I thought about it, but felt that an exhibit would be meaningless unless I paid it forward,” Lauchengco added.
It's funny how things can turn around, just like that. I never intended to sell any of the pieces I made in the last two-and-a-half months. After seeing the suggestions to do so, I thought about it, but felt that an exhibit would be meaningless unless I paid it forward. By God's grace, IKIGAI has generated over P70,000 in proceeds and donations from some generous friends, as inquiries and pledges continue to come in. These funds will be turned over to the National Live Events Coalition. They are intended to help the more vulnerable members of the live event industry of which I am a part. These colleagues and friends of mine in production are the unsung heroes of live events: carpenters, painters, electricians, drivers, utility boys. They build the sets and stages you see at shows. They risk life and limb climbing scaffolds to hang lights and speakers. They work round-the-clock during setup, get a few quick hours of sleep while the event is ongoing, then do it all over again at tear-down when the show is over. Then there are the freelancers: stage managers, audio and video technicians, lighting and sound designers, production managers and assistants, writers, directors, and the list goes on and on. There would be no shows if not for these people. But these days, there are no shows. Like most of us, they have families that depend on them. Like all of us, their worlds have been turned upside down by this pandemic. My heartfelt thanks to those who took up the cause by purchasing exhibit pieces, or made donations. @ayenlaurel21 and @fjlaurel @beejrocha and Weng Beth Malcolm Christine Ong @sup_my1994 @anjlauchengco and @llauchengco @jing_elizan @heymiarocha / @sotruenaturals @msleasalonga May you be blessed beyond measure! IKIGAI remains available for viewing at https://www.raymondlauchengco.com/collections/ikigai Purchases and donations can still be made. 'Edison' (in this photo) is no longer for sale. I've decided to keep this, but that's for another story.
A post shared by Raymond Lauchengco (@raymondlauchengco) on
May 27, 2020 at 1:55am PDT
Raymond shared that proceeds of his exhibit “Ikigai” would go to the National Live Events Coalition, a group of painters, carpenters, electricians, stage managers, and other workers who make live performances possible.
With some pieces being sold at P35,000, Raymond shared that Ikigai had generated over P70,000 donations from pledges and friends as of Wednesday.
One notable buyer of his artwork was Lea Salonga herself.
When @msleasalonga messaged me to ask if there were any pieces left in the exhibit, and a little later said she wanted to purchase these two, I fell off my chair! By the time I managed to type a response, my head was still spinning so I spelled her name with an 'h', which I know she doesn't like (to put it mildly), then I made one grammatical error after another. It was as if my fingers were stammering. But I think the Filipino word for stammer describes it better in this case. Utal. Na-utal si Lauchengco. It makes no difference that I've known Lea since I was twelve years old, having shared the stage with her as her brother in 'The Sound of Music', and a few other plays and musicals. When you correspond with a person with that kind of talent, even if it is just online, any familiarity you may have goes down the drain. I was completely star struck. I think this may have started when I flew to London to watch her in Miss Saigon, which earned her both an Olivier and a Tony award. But what I think sealed the deal and put me on fan mode forever and ever is when my wife and I watched her on Broadway as Erzulie, the goddess of love, in the musical 'Once on This Island' about three years ago. I have seen other beautiful versions of that musical, and even played Daniel opposite Ayen Laurel's Timoune in one of them. Seeing it staged the way it was on Broadway was just so enthralling that when Lea sang 'Human Heart', Mia and I totally lost it! I suppose that making two pieces in my exhibit whose inspiration came from memories of watching that show, and whose titles are lifted from it, are a dead giveaway of how I still think of that heartwarming musical that my wife and I watched on a freezing December evening, and that voice. That mesmerizing Lea Salonga voice. Well, Lea (without an H!), Timoune and Once On This Island now belong to you. And I couldn't be happier.
A post shared by Raymond Lauchengco (@raymondlauchengco) on
May 28, 2020 at 5:10pm PDT
“My heartfelt thanks to those who took up the cause by purchasing exhibit pieces, or made donations,” Raymond said.
For inquiries, simply go to this link . – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News
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