Brenda Fajardo (February 18, 1940 – September 14, 2024) was a Filipino art teacher, visual artist, and printmaker. Her work centered on

social issues A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

women's issues Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern societies are patriarchal—th ...

, and the colonial history of the Philippines, with focus on the "aesthetics of poverty and the art of the people". She was a

professor Emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

in the department of Art Studies at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

Early life and education

Fajardo was born in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

on February 18, 1940. Originally interested in becoming a professional dancer, she was diagnosed with

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

at the age of 14. Her mother then suggested she take art lessons under Filipina artist Araceli Dans. Fajardo earned a degree in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

from the

University of the Philippines Los Baños The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; ), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay in the province of Laguna, some 65 kilo ...

in 1959, followed by her MS in

art education Visual arts education is the area of learning that is based upon the kind of art that one can see, visual arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practi ...

at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. Upon returning to the Philippines, Fajardo taught art education throughout the early 1960s. She later earned her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Philippine Studies from the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

Career

Fajardo was described as a "visual artist and educator who brings local folk culture to the international forefront" and a "pioneer of the craft of Philippine

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

". She has produced work focusing on both the Philippine diaspora and

Philippine epic poetry Philippine epic poetry is the body of epic poetry in Philippine literature. Filipino epic poetry is considered to be the highest point of development for Philippine folk literature, encompassing narratives that recount the adventures of trib ...

. Fajardo is best known for her

tarot card Tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking ca ...

series, which examines Philippine history,

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, and

. Critics have cited her use of tarot cards to provide commentary on the Philippines' struggles "with socio-political issues, colonial history, and ongoing poverty"; whereas tarot cards are intended to reveal the future, Fajardo's work uses them to examine the past. Art critic Alice Guillermo called Fajardo the "high priestess of tarot". Fajardo co-founded the Philippine Art Educators Association (PAEA) in 1967 whose purpose is to train teachers on how to better teach art within the school system. Observing how art education in the Philippines was primarily focused in training students for art production, Fajardo advocated for teaching traditional Filipino "folk art" and better exploring the "Philippine identity" through art. Fajardo's works have been exhibited internationally, including

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and in her native

Santa Cruz, Laguna Santa Cruz, officially the Municipality of Santa Cruz (), is a municipality and capital of the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 123,574 people. Santa Cruz is situated on the banks of the ...

. In the late 1990s, Fajardo was the

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the Vargas Museum.

Death

Fajardo died on September 14, 2024, at the age of 84.

Awards and honors

*In 1992, Fajardo received the Thirteen Artists award from the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) established to preserve, develop and promote Arts in the Philippines, arts and Culture of the Philippines, culture in the Philippines.Presid ...

*In 1998, Fajardo received the Centennial Award for the Arts also from the Cultural Center of the Philippines *In 2012, Fajardo was awarded the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining award for Visual Arts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fajardo, Brenda 1940 births 2024 deaths Academic staff of the University of the Philippines Diliman Filipino art educators Filipino artists Filipino women artists Filipino women curators Filipino printmakers University of the Philippines Diliman alumni University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Women printmakers People from Laguna (province)

Early life and education

Career

Death

Awards and honors

See also

References