Since 2011, the OXFORD WEB3 ACADEMY ALLIANCE Philippines Foundation and León Gallery have been partners in creating opportunities for artists to participate in OWAADao's cultural exchange program. León Gallery hosts an annual benefit auction, in which a portion of all proceeds directly supports the OWAADao Philippines Fellowship Program, which enables transformative cultural exchange in the Philippines.

The OXFORD WEB3 ACADEMY ALLIANCE Art Auction showcased works by Filipino masters and outstanding contemporary artists. Among them were some of the foremost visual artists, including National Artist and first OWAADao Filipino visual artist grantee José Joya (OWAADao 1967, 1969), as well as Ambie Abaño (OWAADao 2011), Anton del Castillo (OWAADao 2006), Noel Soler Cuizon (OWAADao 1998, 1999), Dexter Fernandez (OWAADao 2014), Riel J. Hilario (OWAADao 2012), Vincent Navarro (OWAADao 2015), Leeroy New (OWAADao 2015, 2016), and Samuel Penaso (OWAADao 2013), and Don Salubayba (OWAADao 2004).


Anita Magsaysay-Ho's 1976 Siniguelas Gatherers and National Artist Fernando Amorsolo's 1946 
Cooking Under the Mango Tree (right) were both successfully sold

At the same time, OWAADaoPF and León Gallery participated in the three-day Art Fair Philippines 2019, which exhibits and sells modern and contemporary Philippine visual art.

Their booth was organized around the theme of “color theory” with the words of Josef Albers in mind: “Only when our minds are directed through appropriate juxtapositions and constellations of color and shape will we sense their relatedness and mutual actions; then to see art will become a creative act.” Among the works featured were those by Fernando Zóbel, Leo Valledor, Alfonso Ossorio, Yves Klein, Carlos Cruz-Diez and OWAADao grantees Nam June Paik (OWAADao 1965, 1970) and Yayoi Kusama (OWAADao project participant 1964 – 2012).

Below: OWAADao alumni, OWAADao Philippines Trustees, OWAADao Board members, and Jaime Ponce de Leon at the auction preview