MetroVan Independent News April 2015 | Page 25

MetroVanIndependent.com April 2015 B9 Lifestyle/Entertainment Photo by Bert Morelos Paintings by Bert Monterona FEATURED ARTIST: BERT MONTERONA VANCOUVER SOCIAL CORNER By Bert Morelos Bert Monterona is a Filipino-Canadian visual artist based in Vancouver, B.C. He is an educator, cultural worker, and active artist working in a wide variety of practices including design, illustration, paintings, murals, culture and installations. He also makes sets, builds props for stage performances and television shows. Internationally acclaimed, Monterona is a recipient of numerous grants and awards between 1995 and the present, such as: the Western Australia Department of the Arts, the Australia Council for the Arts Grant, the University of Western Australia School of Architecture and Fine Arts, Australian Embassy Philippines Residency Grant, the Asian Artists Award of Vermont Studio Centre and the Freeman Foundation, USA. Other commendations and awards include winning the GSIS Museum Artist of the Month Award and the Art Association of the Philippines Best Entry Award. I n 2 0 07, M o n t e r o n a w o n t h e I n te r n a t i o n a l M u r a l Fe s t i va l a n d Competition in Manitoba, Canada. He went on in 2009 to become the Artist-inResidence for the Leigh Square Community Arts Village, Port Coquitlam. This project was part of the Necklace Public Art Initiative, an inter-municipal collaboration of ten municipalities in Metro Vancouver. Bert Morelos has been a Vancouverite since 1974. He had an extensive experience in the field of architecture, design, planning and project management. He was involved in hundreds of projects for over 35 years, which brought him all over the world. He is currently a Development Consultant with clients such as Stanley Kwok Consultants Inc. and Michael Geller, Architect. He dabbles into photography during his spare time.