Sol Alquizar

Marisol Alquizar was born on April 11, 1979, in Bacolod City, Philippines, to Lila (Tabujara) and Gonzalo Reyes Alquizar Jr., who worked as a land surveyor. Marisol has Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Filipino ancestry. Her mother grew up in the province of Cauayan Negros Occidental, and her father grew up in the city of Bacolod. Marisol would spend her childhood half in the city and half in the province at her grandparent's farm. Marisol is a self-made artist. At the age of 3, she would spend her time at the office of her grandfather collecting comic strips from the newspaper, making crafts, painting, and drawing. She got inspired by the works of by Gary Larson, Mira Fujita, Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. She likes to do artworks with humor and absurdity. Her artworks are mainly into surrealism and would often relate it to the environment or food and imperfections of an individual. Her interest in helping people and volunteering for the environment was an influence from her grandfather who was doing charity work as the president of Lions Club at that time. She teaches art to children and she is also an adult leader to a marine conservation camp in Danjugan Island. In 2010 she started to have an interest in natural architecture by learning eco-construction with the process of wattle and daub and she would travel to various places in the Philippines to teach. Together with her friend Kaila Ledesma-Trebol, they co-founded Mud House Building Philippines under Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation, Inc. (PRRCFI). The Earth Chapel they made in the campus of The University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos was very successful and received an award for Green Building and Energy Conservation from Neri Satur Environmental Heroes. She conceptualized Mudmonkeys Cafe and Grill. It is an artistic resto bar that caters artists and performers to hang out, exhibit their works, share their talents and perform. "All my work, my effort, my interests are to help people. It makes me happy and contented in life.", she said. She became the president of Art Association of Bacolod-Negros (AAB) in 2013 and festival director of the 3rd Artekalye Festival in 2014. She keeps on teaching mud house building focusing on local community empowerment, including the Indigenous People of Salvador Benedicto (Negros Ata Bukidnon Development Project) who already adopted eco-construction on their own to build shelters and continues to provide eco-construction consultancy on other projects in other parts of the Philippines (Luzon, Mindanao). Still expanding knowledge in eco-construction by learning other techniques in Norway - straw bale, ancient carpentry or stavverk. Now based in Oslo and active as a volunteer in various music festivals and humanitarian work.