Child prodigy Worth Lodriga, the Philippines’ 9-year-old “Little Picasso”, visited Puerto Princesa City recently to reach out to less fortunate kids his age to inspire them to get creative and learn the importance of art in gaining useful life skills.
Lodriga visited Sunday and had a charity art workshop at the San Jose Elementary School in Barangay San Jose on invitation by the city government and support by Aziza Paradise Hotel.
Puerto Princesa City is the first stop of Lodriga’s workshop, a part of his dream to set up a charity project that would provide art workshops to poor children.
“Ang suwerte ng Palawan kasi ito ang una naming napili para sa kanyang charity, in fact, we are planning to go back para makabuo ng organization. Basta lined up areas are Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, and Bacolod. Nakakatuwa kasi at the age of nine ay ganoon na lang ang puso niya pagdating sa art. Ang sabi nya sa akin gusto niya tumulong sa mga bata who also want to learn, but they lack the materials,” architect Wendy Lodriga , who is also an artist, said on Monday.
In an interview with Worth, he said his goal is to encourage children like him to explore art until they discover their talent.
“Keep drawing, be proud to be a Filipino. Art is for everyone,” he said.
Worth was dubbed the country’s Little Picasso after winning the 7-Star Artist Award of the Junior Picasso 2016 and 2018 art contests. He is popular for making Filipino pride the centerpiece of his artworks in international competitions.
Apart from the Junior Picasso, Worth has won also won in other international competitions, including the 2017 Airtime Watertime International Flotation Suit Design Contest in Santa Barbara, California; the Frogs Are Green International Art Contest 2016 in New Jersey, and the Mars Society in Colorado.
He is also the youngest member of the Philippine Pastel Association (PPA) and Art Expands.
Her mother, Wendy said Worth started painting at the age of two and received training to further hone his skills. Eventually, competed and got various local and national awards.
Wendy said her son once became a target of bullying in school. To help him recover, she had to quit her job and aspired to become the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) president in his school so she could keep eyes on him.
“Na-bully siya, ayaw na niyang mag-aral kasi ganoon ang nangyari sa kanya. I decide to quit my job and I even ran as PTA president para mabantayan ko siya. It helped para maka-recover siya. Simula noon he started joining different competitions na,” she said.
One of Worth’s artworks is the Philippine Culture Series of 5 Filipino traditions entitled “Sipag at Tiyaga, Harana, Kabiak, Bunga, and Mag-anak”.
