Silvana Ancellotti-Diaz | Galleria Duemila (Part 1)

Women's History Month 2022

Dear Friends of Magazine 43,

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Magazine 43 proudly puts the spotlight on one of the most highly respected women in art in the Philippines, and across the globe—A woman who is more than just a visionary, but a developer of ideas, and with her strong passion, drive, and experience gives the artists’ creations a home.

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Can you tell us about your journey in art?  

1970 My name is Silvana Ancellotti-Diaz. I am an Italian by birth,  from the city of Mantua; a well-known cultural city in Lombardy  region. I spent my adolescent years in Brescia; a city full of  cultural activities.  

 Art was an interest that I developed in my youth, nurtured by  my mother who brought me and my two siblings to see art  exhibits, like the Futurists, in various vacation localities. As a  student, I was always exposed to cultural events in theatre and  museums. Art & Culture were just all around me in Italy. You  never had to go far to find these experiences.  

I came to the Philippines as an Alitalia stewardess, and met my  husband, Ramon Diaz.  

1971 We got married 6 months after and I came to live in Manila,  Philippines.  

1974 My husband Ramon Diaz, invited his sister, Isabel Diaz, who  lived and was an artist in New York to exhibit in the Philippines.  She was a recipient of many awards in America and even until  today I have the honor of representing her to many of her local  clients.  

At that time, I was tasked to look for a gallery for her exhibition.  Miladay Art Center, a well-known art gallery at that time, in a  major Commercial Center accepted the exhibit. The exhibit of  Isabel Diaz turned out to be a success and it sold out!  Mr. Dayrit, the owner of Miladay, asked me if I was interested to  work for the gallery and I accepted.  

The first artists I met were Justin Nuyda; abstract artist, Onib  Olmedo; expressionist, Rodolfo Samonte; printmaker and  graphic artist. These meetings started my most invigorating  interactions in the Philippine Art scene. 

I was invited by Justin Nuyda to join the Saturday Group, who  meet every Saturday at Taza de Oro Coffee shop in Roxas  Boulevard in Manila. In 1968, the Saturday Group started as a  group of four friends with great interest in the art:  

Mr. H. R. Ocampo – painter, today a National Artist Mr. Antonio Quintos - lawyer and art patron  

Mr. Enrique Velasquez had a shop of art materials and a  patron of the artists  

Mr. Alfredo Roces - journalist, who was writing for the  Manila Times and about art exhibits.  

This group of friends were going around the galleries and  meeting with artists, and to have a feeling of how the art scene  was developing. The Saturday Group expanded and other  artists and intellectuals of different fields joined to discuss the  art market in Manila and various events. In 1972, Martial Law  was declared by President Marcos.  

By the time I was introduced in the group, it was already very  established. The group was composed then by the most  modern artists of that time like: H. R. Ocampo, Cesar Legaspi,  Eduardo Castrillo, Ben Cabrera, Solomon Saprid, Ang Kiukok,  Vicente Manansala, Onib Olmedo, Justin Nuyda, poet and  artistic Leo Benesa, Paul Zafaralla, Eric Torres and many more.  Today, these artists and intellectuals have formed the modern  foundations of Philippine Art.  

This was the foundation of my introduction to Philippine Art, a  relationship with the very Masters of Philippine Art – an  unforgettable friendship that has indelibly imprinted unto my  very soul and memories. Theirs was an unselfish dedication to  help young artists to find a voice to express themselves and I  believe that by 2022, I find that this dedication to artists has been my voice as well. 

What led to the establishment of Galleria Duemila?  

Galleria Duemila means Gallery of the Twentieth Century, and was  founded in 1975 out of “desperation.” By 1975, Miladay Art Center was  closed because of the higher rent and by that time, I was so enamoured by  my job that I went crying to my father-in-law, Mr. Jaime Diaz, who was  moved by my despair and then gave me some capital to start a gallery.  The capital was augmented by my friend, Cristina Pagaspas. We became  partners. I was tasked to organize exhibits, she was the marketer. This  partnership lasted only for 1 year. Then she preferred to retire, so the  whole programming and running of Galleria Duemila was left to me.  

As a woman, what empowers you the most?  

As a woman, what empowers me the most is to develop my own ideas, my  goals and Vision, to be free in deciding and to be fully independent. It is  from this knowledge and experience that I work with artists, galleries and  other institutions.