Aprille P. Tijam

Biography

Aprille P. Tijam is the Associate Director and Head of Exhibitions and Collections at Ayala Museum, a division of Ayala Foundation, Inc., where she has served since 2004. She oversees exhibitions, local and international loans, institutional partnerships, and long-term development planning. She also manages the Collections Management Programs of both Ayala Museum and the BPI Art Collections, and has led numerous art initiatives and travelling exhibitions across the Philippines.

Notably, she served as Exhibition Manager and courier for Fernando Zóbel: Contrapuntos at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017), project-managed Philippine loans for the Zóbel: The Future of the Past at the Museo del Prado (2022–2023), and coordinated the Philippine and Spanish loans for this same exhibition presented at Ayala Museum (2024-2025) and its final iteration Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential at the National Gallery Singapore (2025). She likewise managed the Philippine loans for the exhibitions Manila Galleon: From Asia to the Americas (2023–2024) at the Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore and Somos Pacifico: The Acapulco-Manila Galleon (2025-2026) at the Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City.

Aprille holds a BA in Philippine Arts from the University of the Philippines–Manila and has worked with both private and government museums since 1994, gaining experience across education, exhibitions, public relations, and collections. She leads collections-based learning and accessibility initiatives at Ayala Museum and has conducted international research on the Fernando Zóbel Collection donation to the British Museum-Department of Prints and Drawings, supported by grants from the British Council-Connections Through Culture Programme and British Museum-International Training Programme.  The results of this research were presented in the exhibition Finding Zóbel Prints, held at the Ayala Museum–Fernando Zóbel Gallery (April-August 2025). The exhibition was accompanied by a publication of the same title. Her article, Finding Zóbel Prints, was also published in the peer-reviewed journal Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia, issued by the Ateneo de Manila University School of Humanities.

She is one of twelve international fellows in the Reimagining the British Museum–International Working Group (2022–2025) and a recent graduate of the Emerging Ayala Group Leaders Program. An active ICOM member since 2008, she served on the ICOM Philippines Board from 2019 to 2021 and was recently re-elected to the Board. She also currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation.

Aprille has received multiple international fellowships and training grants from ICOM, ICCROM, the Getty Foundation, the British Museum, the British Council, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, and SEAMEO-SPAFA.

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme Aprille was based in the Department of Asia and her partner placement was spent at Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums in Newcastle.

In 2019 participants were asked to plan and propose a temporary exhibition around an object from the Museum’s collection working within the theme of journeys. Aprille worked with Diana Mohamed Ahmed Digna (Sudan) on her Object in focus project. Their exhibition proposal was titled Life After Death: treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur.

Aprille’s place on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.

Legacy Projects
In 2022 & 2024 Aprille was awarded two ITP Research Grants to continue her research on Fernando Zobel as art patron and the Spanish printmakers from the Museo de Arte Abstracto Espanol, Cuenca.

In November 2023 Aprille participated in an ITP legacy project attending the Museums Association Conference held in Newcastle-Gateshead. With fellows from Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Turkey, Aprille attended a programme structured around the 3-day MA Conference on The Power of Museums.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 7 (2020), Your collection in focus: Carroza by Fernando Zobel
ITP Newsletter Issue 7 (2020), Bulletin Board
ITP Newsletter Issue 8 (2021) Ethical use of digital images in Ayala Museum’s virtual programme
ITP Newsletter Issue 8 (2021) Bulletin Board
ITP Newsletter Issue 9 (2022) Visible storage at Ayala Museum offers access and sustainability programmes
ITP Newsletter Issue 10 (2023) Zobel. The Future of the Past; Digital Gallery at Ayala Museum and Bulletin Board
ITP Newsletter Issue 11 (2024) Diorama dialogue at Ayala Museum; Ayala Museum in the Philippines celebrates 50th year anniversary and Bulletin Board

ITP Newsletter Issue 12 (2025) Accessibility and Inclusion: Access Programmes at Ayala Museum

Continued Dialogue
Aprille is now part of the Reimagining the British Museum International Working Group (IWG) which has invited international museum and cultural heritage experts to collaborate with the Museum and support the development of outline briefs for new suites of permanent galleries at the British Museum through online monthly meetings and workshops in London.