Help send students to school with your love for coffee and art
There are several reasons why assistant director of Fundacion Sansó Tenie Santos thinks people don’t enter the museum. One, she says, is because it sounds like an embassy. The word “fundacion” doesn’t exactly illustrate a place with art. But in reality, Fundacion Sansó is a not-for-profit institution that preserves and promotes the work of multi-awarded visual artist Juvenal Sansó.
Two, people think there’s a hefty entrance fee, when in fact it’s been free to enter for a while now. And three, it’s tucked on an incline along V. Cruz Street in San Juan—away from the main throughways of the city.
New look, new purpose
In an effort to draw more people in to enjoy the museum and spread awareness on their many art-related advocacies, the property has gone through a renovation. Where Cafe Sansó used to be stands a brighter, light-filled glasshouse, amusingly called Scholarsip. The new cafe’s name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to its dedication in their fine arts students scholarship program and art grants.
“The coffee shop actually makes the art and museum less intimidating,” Santos explains. “I think this space actually helped us reach out to more people. It became friendlier. Some people think that museums are only for people who can afford to buy the artwork.”
Scholarsip also offers a great reason to enter Fundacion Sansó and see some art—with a coffee in hand. Yardstick provides their beans and also trained their current staff. Michelin-recognized pies from Purple Yam in New York are also available locally. Think buko nipa ube pie and panutsa cashew pie for example.
That’s in line with “staying true to our advocacy of supporting local producers, Scholarsip proudly features carefully selected products from across the Philippines,” according to the cafe.
A tribute to where it all began
Interior designer Rachelle Medina designed the more-than-100-square meter space that houses Scholarsip, the museum shop, a reading nook, and a gallery dedicated to emerging artists.
“It was actually a very simple renovation project on a shoestring. I retained a lot of the old built-ins and furniture of the former cafe and added new display areas for the relocated museum,” Medina says. “Fundacion Sansó director Ricky Francisco requested a glasshouse-type of space for the gallery area, and so we knocked out one wall to open up the space and make it look more bright.”
There were two conditions given by their landlord when they undertook the renovation to build Scholarsip—not to remove any of the original load-bearing pillars and not to cut down any of the trees. So instead of banishing an old caimito tree behind a wall, it is encased in glass for everyone to see. “These trees are playgrounds for cats that live here and Sansó was a cat lover,” shares Santos.
“I call it ‘the friendly tree’ and I love how it casts dappled shadows onto the library and gallery space,” Medina adds.
Supporting the arts, one sip at a time
Proceeds from the museum shop and the cafe make up for most of the funding for Fundacion Sansó’s advocacy programs. These include scholarships, art grants, and ensuring free public access to the museum’s exhibitions.
“Since 2019, based on our archives, the museum was able to give out almost P20 million to the art community. So that is the impact of Fundacion Sansó in the last 10 years,” Santos reveals. “There’s a notion that if you’re a museum most of your funding comes from donations. [But] for us, it’s different since we’re a small museum. The biggest contributor for our funding is the museum shop, which is about 48.6 percent. Donations only make up two percent.”
With the opening of Scholarsip, people are able to enjoy a cup of coffee or a refreshing glass of Tsaa Laya tea, while helping a young student finish school, one cup at a time. “If you buy a mug from the museum shop or one cup of coffee, we get to help more young students and more young artists. They deserve to actually have a fair chance,” Santos says.
Guests also have access to the reading nook, which is a mini-library and a gallery of emerging artists (currently showing artworks by their new batch of graduates from Bulacan State University). The gallery changes every so often and gives diners something new to discover and enjoy.
Scholarsip is a welcome addition to the vibrant neighborhood of San Juan. Although already brimming with coffee shops, Scholarsip is one where you can enjoy great coffee, see an art exhibit, and help fund scholarships and cultural programs, all in one.
