Masterpieces from the Lopez Museum and Library will be brought to Iloilo City for a set of exhibits starting this November, featuring works from some of the most prominent Filipino painters like Fernando Amorsolo, Juan Luna, and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo.

Since the museum’s establishment in 1960, it will be the first time that its items will be exhibited outside its own premises.

They will be showcased in the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas Main Building, which once served as the old city hall and a structure donated by the late Fernando Lopez.

"It has come full circle. These masterpieces will pay homage to the building donated by the late Fernando Lopez,” former Senator Franklin Drilon said. "Bringing these masterpieces to Iloilo will help place Iloilo on the arts, culture, and heritage map. This exhibit will attract art enthusiasts and historians from across the country and beyond.”

The museum’s executives worked closely with him, the Iloilo City Government, and UPV who signed a tripartite agreement on May 20 at the Iloilo City Hall.

"We've always wanted to do this. Any opportunity to give back, that we can help with, we always want it,” Lopez Group Foundation, Inc. President and Executive Director Mercedes Lopez-Vargas stated.

"It will create a buzz for Iloilo as a hub for a lot of cultural enrichment activities," she added.

The first cycle of exhibits will run from November 2024 to April 2025, followed by another cycle from November 2025 to April 2026.

Inaugurated in 1960, the Lopez Museum and Library is the oldest privately owned and managed museum and library specializing in Philippine material.