Nat’l Arts Month fetes Filipino expressions of ‘truth, valor’
February may be the month of love for the lovelorn, Valentine’s Day and all that jazz, but for the major cultural organizations, February is National Arts Month.
And the theme of this year’s nationwide activities is “Ani ng Sining: Katotohanan at Giting” (Art’s Harvest: Truth and Valor).
This was announced at a recent press conference and stakeholders’ launch of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), held at Centro ng Turismo in historic Intramuros, Manila.
Guest of honor was Catriona Gray (Miss Universe 2018), who has been NCCA Arts ambassador for seven years now
All that matters
Gray had a message for artists who innovate but feel that their work is not appreciated: “Even if your work is not celebrated in social media, not shared by 100 people, the fact that you birthed and created something new is all that matters.”
She added, “My love for our arts and culture was not something I was born to, due to my mixed heritage. It was something that was grown, learned, and embodied.”
The seven lively arts of the NCCA are dance, dramatic arts, film, music, literary arts and visual arts.
Speakers at the media event included Eric Zerrudo, the new NCCA chair and executive director; deputy executive director Marichu Tellano; and commissioner Lordinio Vergara.
Among the performers were Las Cuerdas de Angono, soprano Gretta Campo, Phi Palmos caparisoned as drag queen Delia D., and the Adamson University Chorale.
Nationwide festivities
The three major island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao will be represented in the celebrations. Specifically, these will take place in Manila, Los Baños, Laguna; Palo, Leyte; and Butuan City and Davao City.
Arts Month officially opens on Feb. 1 at Rizal Park in Manila, and will focus on national identity and the diversity of Philippine arts and culture. A “lampara” (lamp, symbolizing light) will be passed around ceremonially, and there will be a parade representing the seven arts.
Performers include the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Singers, UST Salinggawi, Philippine Ballet Theater, and LGBTQ+ community artists.
From Feb. 18 to Feb. 20, activities in Luzon shift to Los Baños, Laguna, highlighting the dramatic arts and architecture and the allied arts. There will be art workshops, discussions, and performances in the venues Art Center and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
Climate justice
The theme for the celebration in Palo, Leyte, is “Climate Justice.” The discussions opened on Jan. 12 with a symposium, attended by some 150 multisectoral participants who tackled climate justice and its relevance to art and culture.
The symposium ended with a workshop that helped to create programs for the event on Feb. 18.
“Peace and Access” is the theme of the Butuan festivities, to be held Feb. 12 to Feb. 14 and Feb. 24 to Feb. 26, underscoring the roles dance, music, and film play in promoting inclusion, dialogue, and lasting peace. There will be performances, including a dramatization by Balangay Repertory Theater of ancient Butuanon stories.
In visual arts, “Positivity 6,” will showcase the works of Butuanon and Caraganon artists.
In Davao City, the two-day program (Feb. 20 to Feb. 21) will focus on the region’s choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, teachers and students, to be climaxed by a multimedia presentation. The theme is “The Nation, The People, and Peace.”
‘Art Fri-Dates’
An innovation in Arts Month is “Art Fri-Dates,” a weekly platform for artists and cultural workers from the seven art forms to demonstrate their creativity through performances and workshops.
These will be held in all Fridays of February in Pasay City, Metro Manila; Angono, Rizal (Feb. 6); Bulacan (Feb. 13); Biñan City, Laguna (Feb. 20); Quezon Province (Feb. 27); and Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila (March 6).
The closing ceremonies, “Ani ng Dangal,” will be held at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila on Feb. 27.
“Art inspires, art uplifts,” declared Gray.
(For updates, call paio@ncca.gov.ph 0945-7885698.)
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