In celebration of National Arts Month, La Consolacion College Bacolod stands as a cornerstone of creative life in Bacolod and across Negros. For more than six decades, its former Architecture, Fine Arts, and Engineering (ARFIEN) department, now the School of Architecture, Fine Arts, and Interior Design (SARFAID), has produced generations of artists, architects, and designers whose work shapes how the region sees itself and how it is seen by the world.
As the only institution in the area offering comprehensive programs in fine arts and architecture, LCC SARFAID continues to nurture aspiring creatives who add color, meaning, and cultural continuity to an ever-evolving regional story.
Inside its studios, the future is drafted before it is built. Scale models hint at new skylines. Interiors reinterpret local materials. Canvases preserve fleeting street scenes. Students move between drafting tables and digital screens, carrying ideas that will one day shape the spaces people inhabit and the images they remember.
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| From hands-on learning to digital rendering, LCC students are honed to bring sensibility and intention to their designs. |
When the college opened its architecture and fine arts programs in 1962 under founding dean Perfecto Marzoña, Bacolod was transitioning from a sugar economy into an expanding urban center. The program began with five students and a conviction that the city should be designed by people who understood its character and heritage. Today, that belief continues to guide projects rooted in climate, culture, and community.
To study at LCC is to learn how to see with purpose.
Students begin with charcoal, paper, and drafting pens before advancing to digital rendering and three-dimensional modeling. The progression is intentional. Skill sharpens observation. Observation develops sensitivity. Sensibility gives design meaning.
Dean Architect Vincent Raymund Alovera reminds students that innovation must remain human-centered. “The human touch in the arts cannot be replaced,” he says. “AI has no heart, no empathy, no soul.” In studios where graphite dust meets the glow of screens, students learn that design without empathy is surface, while design grounded in human experience becomes culture.
That philosophy extends beyond the classroom. Students document roadside stores glowing at dusk, jeepneys paused in traffic, and subdivisions rising where cane fields once stretched. Their work records a city in transition and preserves moments that might otherwise disappear. Larissa Pacheco, head of the Fine Arts Department, explains that drawing from life trains students to observe not only form but meaning, allowing them to capture the character of a subject rather than just its appearance.
Interior design students reinterpret Negrense textiles, woodwork, and indigenous materials into contemporary spaces. Architecture students design for tropical climate, ventilation, and resilience while responding to heritage structures and evolving urban needs. Even the rhythm and optimism of the MassKara Festival surfaces through color and movement rather than literal imagery. Pacheco notes that students are encouraged to translate cultural identity into design language rather than replicate symbols, ensuring that heritage remains living and adaptable.
Study tours to nearby Silay immerse students in ancestral homes where Capiz windows, ventanillas, and wide eaves illustrate climate responsive design long before it became a modern principle. These encounters reinforce a central truth: LCC itself forms part of the region’s heritage, safeguarding design knowledge while preparing students to reinterpret it for contemporary life.
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| Dean Ar. Vincent Raymund Alovera, PhD, EdD., Interior Design Program Head Idr. Rachel Jutare, Architecture Program Head Ar. Gary Peter Bello, MSArch, Fine Arts Program Head Larissa Pacheco, MBA, MFA |
The college’s legacy is visible not through a single monument but through the people it has formed. LCC graduates contribute to architecture, visual arts, heritage conservation, product design, and cultural work across Negros and beyond, carrying with them a design language shaped by sensitivity to place and community.
Among its distinguished alumni are internationally recognized artists, award-winning designers, and cultural pioneers.
World-renowned contemporary artist Charlie Co, a leading figure in the Black Artists in Asia movement, is known for surrealist works that offer sharp social commentary. Social realist master Nunelucio Alvarado brought global attention to Negros through his powerful depictions of sakadas and received the CCP Thirteen Artists Award. Artist Ely Santiago created the original MassKara Festival logo and coined both its name and enduring slogan.
In architecture, Jennifer Benedicto-Iral made history as the first woman to top the national architecture licensure examinations, while Perfecto Marzoña laid the academic foundation that continues to guide the program.
A new generation carries this legacy forward. 2023 graduate Chad Gabrielle Tanutan won first place in the Men’s Shoe Individual Category at the 13th International Footwear Design Competition in Guangzhou, China. Contemporary artists Daryl Feril, Janine Ledesma, Hilario Romeo “H.R.” Campos III, and Guen Decena shape the region’s visual culture through exhibitions, commissions, and collaborations. Campos, a practicing architect at Frasso Inc., balances structural design with narrative-driven paintings at the Orange Project, while Decena, a CCP Thirteen Artists Awardee, continues to mentor LCC students. Architect Francis de los Reyes of Frasso Inc., known for sustainable urbanism, designed the upcoming ARFIEN building on San Juan Street, a model of climate-resilient architecture with vertical sun baffles and energy-efficient lighting.
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The colors of Bacolod will never fade as long as LCC keeps its youth dreaming in color.
Pacheco observes a shift in how creative careers are viewed. “There are more opportunities for creatives today,” she says, noting that industries increasingly rely on visual storytelling and cultural branding. Within Bacolod, that recognition translates into livelihood. LCC-trained creatives exhibit, design, teach, and collaborate across industries linked to tourism, heritage, and cultural identity. Students and alumni regularly mount exhibitions at the Art District, where they engage with fellow artists, curators, and collectors, strengthening ties between emerging and established creatives.
At LCC, creativity is not a fragile pursuit. It is a working language.
Students gain early professional exposure through practicums and internships, encountering real clients and real constraints. Local, national, and international exposure trips broaden their understanding of design contexts and professional standards. The classroom becomes a bridge rather than a bubble, preparing graduates to work across cultures and disciplines.
As evening settles over the Bacolod Public Plaza and the silhouette of San Sebastian Cathedral darkens against the sky, the city feels both familiar and unfinished. Somewhere above the busy streets, an LCC student is sketching what comes next.
La Consolacion College Bacolod is more than a school. It is a heritage institution, a creative engine, and a living archive of artistry embedded in the region’s daily life.
For those who dream in color, LCC is proof that the arts are not only alive—they are a pulse, a promise, and a path for students to shape the world they imagine.
For course offerings and program information, visit lccbacolod.edu.ph.
Article by: Liway Espina
Photos by: Bem Cortez
