Bago City – National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), led by its chairman National Artist Virgilio S. Almario, Executive Director Rico S. Pableo, Jr., and Deputy Executive Director Marichu G. Tellano, opens the 2019 National Arts Month celebration in Bago City, Negros Occidental on February 1, 2019.
For its opening ceremony in Visayas, the host city has lined up workshops on Baybayin, calligraphy, photography, and upcycling art, alongside booths featuring hablon and banig weaving, face painting, mask making and henna tattooing, will ensue within the city coliseum and surrounding areas. There will also be performances on spoken word poetry and dance alongside features on Arts in public spaces. Bago City’s famed heritage house, Balay ni Tan Juan Museum, shall host an exhibit featuring the works of National Artists from the Visayas region.
In the afternoon, Bago City will witness the official declaration of the the Arts Month Opening in a ceremony set at the Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center. Bago City Mayor Nicholas M. Yulo is shall grace the festivities together with members of the Negros Cultural Foundation Inc., led by Mrs. Marilyn Gamboa. To be featured in the ceremonies are performances which will segue into the Sayaw Pinoy Visayas celebration with a number of notable dancers and dance groups joining.
As the Philippines’ leading government agency for arts and culture, the NCCA spearheads the celebration under the theme Ani ng Sining and is conceptualized under the aegis of NCCA’s Subcommission on the Arts (SCA), led by its commissioner Teddy Co. The name emphasizes the richness of artistic endeavors in the Philippines and the passion of Filipino artists and cultural workers.
The month-long Ani ng Sining will offer a wide array of events and activities aim at celebrating a bountiful harvest of Philippine arts as well as inspiring Filipinos to immerse in and appreciate the diversity of cultural expressions, insights and creativity.
Ani ng Sining: Philippine Arts Festival will be composed of the flagship projects of SCA’s seven national committees—Architecture, Cinema, Dance, Literary Arts, Music, Dramatic Arts and Visual Arts—which will be held in different venues all over the country.
Apart from the opening in Bago City, NCCA will also hold opening ceremonies for NAM in the National Capital Region (NCR), Luzon, and Mindanao. For NCR, Lucky Chinatown Mall in Binondo, Manila, will host the opening on February 3, while in Luzon, it will be in the municipality of Bagac in Bataan on February 11. Opening ceremonies will also be held in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, on February 15, for Mindanao.
For the whole of February, expect a plethora of activities such as exhibits, workshops, shows, concerts, lectures, tours and others happening in different parts of the country.
Architecture and Allied Arts
The National Committee on Architecture and Allied Arts, headed by Rogelio D. Caringal, will present “Loob at Labas: Talakayan at Pagpaparangya,” an exhibit and forum which will travel around the country to enhance appreciation and awareness on Philippine architecture. It will happen from February 22 to March 21.
Cinema
Headed by Teddy Co, the National Committee on Cinema will hold the eleventh installment of Cinema Rehiyon Film Festival, a non-competition film festival which highlights some of the best works in the regions. It will happen from February 23 to March 1 at Foundation University, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. The festival has been raising awareness on the efforts on and progress of filmmaking in the different regions, and providing platform for these films, most of which in local languages and showing culturally-rooted narratives, to be exhibited and appreciated by a wider audience. Over the years, Cinema Rehiyon has been held in different parts of the country. This year, it will be visiting select universities in Dumaguete City.
Dance
The National Committee on Dance, headed by Shirley Halili-Cruz, will once again amaze the public with the month-long traveling dance concert series “Sayaw Pinoy” in different parts of the country. The dance tour brings together different dance forms such as classical ballet, folk dance, contemporary and modern dance as the country’s top dance companies perform with the local dance troupes of host cities and municipalities. Showcasing the colorful tradition of dances and movements in the country and reaching out to the grassroots to discover new talents as well as connect to more Filipino dance artists, “Sayaw Pinoy” is the longest-running dance event and the most attended of NAM events.
Dramatic Arts
The National Committee on Dramatic Arts, headed by Rossana Q. Palm, will hold Tampok, convergences which aim to gather and document the pioneers and key theater practitioners in the regions. There will be performances, workshops and discussions. It will be held from February 27 to March 1 in Malabon (NCR); from February 26 to March 1 at University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna (Luzon); from February 28 to March 2 in Bohol (Visayas); and from March 2 to 4 in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental (Mindanao).
Literary Arts
The National Committee on Literary Arts, head by Dr. Hope S. Yu, NAMnamin, a convergence of food and literature. It will happen from February 25 to 27 at The Orchid Gardens, San Fernando, Pampanga, with a food trip on February 27 in Angeles City.
Music
The National Committee on Music, headed by Mauricia D. Borromeo, will hold Musicapuluan: Music of the Philippine Islands, a music festival with performances, lectures and workshops that will celebrate our local musics. It will be held in different venues—Baguio City on February 8; Catbalogan City, Samar, on February 1 and 8; and Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, on February 23.
Visual Arts
The National Committee on Visual Arts, headed by Edgar Talusan Fernandez, will mount the Philippine Visual Arts Festival in Manila from February 15 to 17. It will include workshops, art talks, exhibits and numerous activities that will highlight the works of visual artists around the country.
Ani ng Dangal
As a tradition now for several years, the NCCA’s NAM celebration will close with Ani ng Dangal awarding ceremonies. The Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors) Awards recognizes artists who have earned international awards and accolades during the past year. The ceremonies will be held on February 27 at the Diamond Hotel, in Manila.
The annual celebration of National Arts Month started with the signing of Presidential Proclamation 683, in 1991, declaring February as National Arts Month. Over the years, NCCA, as well as private and government agencies, has been organizing events and activities to highlight the artistic brilliance of the Filipinos.
The National Arts Month Artistic Committee is led by Subcommission on the Arts Commissioner and Head of the Cinema Committee Teddy Co; Shirley Halili-Cruz, Head of the National Committee on Dance; Dr. Hope Sabanpan-Yu, Head of the National Committee on Literary Arts; Ms. Rosanna Quesada-Palm, Head of the National Committee on Dramatic Arts; Architect Rogelio Caringal, Head of the National Committee on Architecture and the Allied Arts, Dr. Mauricia Borromeo, head of the Committee on Music; and Egai Talusan Fernandez, Head of the National Committee on Visual Arts.
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- National Arts Month 2019 (Philippine Arts Festival) Poster
- National Arts Month 2019 (Philippine Arts Festival) Streamer
For more details, please contact Mr. Rene Napeñas, head of the Public Affairs and Information Office, through 0928-5081057, 527-2192 local 625 or through email address ncca.paio@gmail.com. Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
