Bert Monterona is a Filipino-Canadian visual artist living in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Monterona is actively involved as an educator, cultural worker, and active artist working in a wide variety of practices, including design, illustration, painting, murals, sculpture and installations. He also makes sets and builds props for stage performances and television shows.
Internationally acclaimed, Monterona is a recipient of numerous grants and residencies between 1995 and the present, including the Western Australia Department of the Arts and the Australia Council for the Arts Grant; the University of Western Australia School of Architecture and Fine Arts and Australian Embassy Philippines Residency Grant; and the Asian Artists Award of Vermont Studio Centre and the Freeman Foundation, U.S.A. Other commendations and awards include Finalist in the Philip Morris Group of Companies Annual Philippine and ASEAN Art Awards (1996,1997,1998,2000 & 2001) and winner of the GSIS Museum Artist of the Month Award and the Art Association of the Philippines Best Entry Award. In 2007, Monterona won the International Mural Festival and Competition in Manitoba, Canada. He went on in 2009 to become the Artist in Residence for the Mural Project of the Leigh Square Community Arts Village, City of Port Coquitlam. This project was part of the Necklace Public Art Initiative, an inter-municipal collaboration of ten municipalities in metro Vancouver. Bert is also a 2006 Recipient of British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) as international artist and granted a permanent resident status of the Province of British Columbia, Canada
He was the Regional Coordinator for Mindanao of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Republic of the Philippines from 1996-2001 and the founder and main visual arts facilitator of the Philippine Artists Network for Community Integrative Transformation of Migrante BC, Vancouver, Canada. As an artist-educator he has organized art workshops in schools and communities, for skills development, art-as- therapy and peace-building. Aside from his studio painting activities for galleries and art collectors, he is also active in social development advocacy work for non-governmental organizations and institutions by giving arts and cultural services for their education and information programs and campaigns. As a muralist, he has done large works about Peace based on Justice, Global warming and the Environment, Women and migrant workers and Indigenous people issues. Monterona’s art elevates social realities to aesthetic heights.
He just recently exhibited his Tapestry paintings in Gisors, France as guest artist during the GRAND BAZ’ ART International Art Festival and in Hong Kong at Jockey Club Creative Arts Center.
Ongoing solo exhibit “ All OUT PEACE NOT WAR” “ KALINAW HINDI DIGMAAN” February – October, 2018, National Museum Butuan, Philippines.