UE Buklod Sining Pays Tribute to Philippine Cinema Through PeliKULAY

UE BUKLOD SINING PAYS TRIBUTE TO PHILIPPINE CINEMA:

PeliKULAY, a 21st Anniversary Painting Exhibition

BUKLOD SINING: a group of artists promoting social consciousness formation through the creative arts and aiming to raise the bar of excellence in the field of arts with the support of the Buklod Alumni Society and the University of the East.

The biggest and oldest art group of University of the East lists among its alumni internationally acclaimed painter and performance artists like Ronaldo Ruiz, Rolando Ventura, and Jonet Carpio, award-winning filmmaker Richard Legaspi, PLDT Directory Painting Competition grand champions Ronnie Tres Reyes and Armando Flaviano, International CG Society gold medalist Reynan Sanchez as well as 2010 Shell National Art Competition awardees Ace Aquino and Rossini Grace Reyes, to name a few. Furthermore, it is the only organization which gave UE the back-to-back grand prize at the Department of Tourism Lantern Competition and the first UE Caloocan student organization which co-organized an International Performance Art Exposition last 2006 with more than 10 performance artists around the world who participated in the project entitled UGNAYAN. 

After creating and co-sponsoring outstanding local and international projects for the UEnian Fine Arts students for more than two decades, once again Buklod Sining Organization: The Emblem of UEnian Artistry is organizing its 21st anniversary art show in conjunction with the alumni society this coming February 1-18, 2011, 6:00 PM at Philam Life Center for the Arts, United Nations Avenue, Ermita Manila with the theme PeliKULAY: Buklod Sining Tribute to Philippine Cinema.

The Art Show will give homage to the immense contributions of different Filipino actors from different generations. The art exhibit will showcase the students, alumni and guest artists' opus in painting, sculpture, digital arts and photography. The tribute to local cinema was spearheaded by Buklod Alumni Society Chairman Ronwell Jason Legaspi Bacani as a number one fan of Philippine Cinema from the golden age to the modern times, from silent movies to talkies, from black and white to color, from mainstream to indie, from Paraluman to Angel Locsin and from silver screen to canvas. 

Through this, young Buklod Sining artists will be au fait with the contributions of talented Filipino actors and the value of cinema as art. It is also an avenue in connecting with our parents' experiences in watching films of Fernando Poe Jr., the comedy King Dolphy, Tito, Vic and Joey, Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos in major cinema houses in Metro Manila like Clover Theatre, Luneta Cinema and Odeon. Some of the student exhibitors were guided by their parents in choosing their subject matter. Meanwhile, Buklod Sining advisers headed by Prof. Edgardo Garcia and Prof. Ellen Villanueva led them in choosing the applicable style, composition and medium according to their talents and abilities.

On the opening day, internationally acclaimed painter and performance artist Ronaldo Ruiz will open our eyes into the unparallel world of performance art. There will also be an open screening of award-winning experimental and narrative short films of Richard Soriano Legaspi. Moreover, Buklod Sining will introduce the first-ever recipients of the BUKLOD Sininglangan Awards and Buklod Sining Lifetime Achievement Awards, respectively. The said recognition will be given to members for the pride and accolade they contribute to the organization both locally and internationally in the field of arts. This would not be an easy task for the alumni committee to choose who will be the 2011 awardees.

Participating artists in the big event are Leonardo Uy, Romano Macaisa, Edgardo Garcia, Ronwell Bacani, Richard Legaspi, Benay Reyes, Max Balatbat and student members of BUKLOD SINING UE.

PeliKULAY would not be possible without the help of major sponsors Philam Life Center for the Arts, University of the East, Buklod Alumni Society, Anino.net, Artrix Design and Prints, Agimat: Sining at Kulturang Pinoy, Red Room Productions, and HYDROconceptualus Design Solution.

Check out the web blog of Buklod Sining Organization is www.buklodsining.wordpress.com for more information and the profile of the participating artists.

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Philippine International Arts Festival 2011 This February

This February 2011, the Philippines marks 20 years of celebrating National Arts Month through a month-long fete, the Philippine International Arts Festival (PIAF). The festival’s impressive lineup of activities is designed to further Philippine art and the Filipino’s regard for local arts and culture. The celebration is organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) Subcommission for the Arts, headed by Commissioner Ricardo de Ungria. The subcommission comprises the seven arts, architecture, cinema, dance, literature, music, theater, and visual arts.

PIAF’s tagline is “Ani ng Sining,” and the celebration will indeed prove to be a harvest for the arts. Thousands of local artists and cultural workers will gather all over the Philippines for the biggest artistic celebration to date. Joining in the festivities are artists from Japan, Lithuania, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates. Celebrations will be all over the archipelago, with four foci, National Capital Region, Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon.

The celebration per area will comprise workshops, exhibitions, forums, and performances and grand opening programs participated in by representatives of all the seven arts. The Grand Opening Program for the National Capital Region is slated for January 30 at Rizal Park in Manila. For Mindanao it will be at People’s Park in Davao City on February 6. Visayas will have its Grand Opening Program on February 13 at the Bacolod Provincial Capitol. And the Grand Opening Program for Luzon is on February 20 at Burnham Park in Baguio City. All four Grand Opening Programs will feature elaborate performances, exhibitions, and parades.


The Grand Opening Program for the National Capital Region is a day-long affair with workshops conducted by artists belonging to the seven arts kicking off the celebration. The workshops will then be followed by a Grand Parade participated in by various marching bands and dancing contingents from all over Metro Manila, local artists, National Artists, officials, and the NCCA’s two ambassadors, Boy Abunda and Dingdong Dantes.

The seven arts, represented by their respective NCCA National Committees, will be holding special activities in concordance with PIAF.  Like in the previous years, these activities are held in various locations and with touring components to further promote the arts in the whole archipelago.

Architecture

The Committee on Architecture and Allied Arts will be holding several exhibitions, conferences, and competitions to mark the celebration of PIAF 2011. The exhibitions revolve around various themes and topics from the morphology of Filipino buildings and colonial urbanism is the American development of Manila to architectural postcards and the relationship between architecture and fashion.

Cinema

The National Committee on Cinema is holding CinemaRehiyon 3. The festival features screenings and forums that focus on the artistic endeavors in cinema from the regions. To add further interest to the festival, films from Taiwan are set to be screened with the movies from the regions.

Dance

The National Committee on Dance will be presenting Sayaw Pinoy as its contribution to PIAF. Sayaw Pinoy, the longest-running Arts Month project and one of the most attended, has been part of the PIAF for the past eight years. This year’s project will be touring 21 key areas nationwide, with featured performances from Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei and Vietnam.

Literature

The National Committee on Literature is participating in PIAF via the literary arts festival, Taboan. Envisioned to gather some 80 national and international writers, Taboan Philippines International Writers Festival 2011 will be held in Davao City. The best writers of the country will compose the national delegation, while award-winning writers from Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore will be joining the international delegation. The Taboan components will include panel discussions, lectures, outreach and school visitation programs, a book fair, literary readings and performances, and the Taboan Awards.

Music

The National Committee on Music, will be staging Organik Muzik 3 in Manila, Davao, Puerto Princesa, and Dumaguete with the special participation of musicians from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Organik Muzik 3 is aimed at bringing a variety of cultural influences that are not readily accessible through the mass media to a broader and younger society. It will feature concert tours and workshops for local artists, students, and educators.

Theater

The National Committee on Dramatic Arts will be holding the fifth installment of Tanghal: University Theater Festival for PIAF. Tanghal is a gathering of university-based theaters and student artists nationwide. Tanghal 5’s main activities will be held in the Visayas, specifically Bacolod. The University of St. La Salle, Colegio San Agustin, and West Negros University will be the venues in Bacolod.

An added feature of this year’s Tanghal celebration is the first Manila International Monodrama Festival with delegates from Lithuania, United States of America, Cambodia, and Fujaira of the United Arab Emirates joining in.

Visual Arts

For the Committee on Visual Arts, the hub of celebration is Boracay, where they will hold the Philippine International Visual Arts Festival (PIVAF). This year’s visual arts festival will be focusing on the traditional Philippine tattoo art practices, methods, and designs.   Special events, exhibitions, and lectures will explore specialized tattoo topics such as the elaborate Pintados etchings, the delicate patterns of the Bontoc Igorot and the Kalinga and Ifugao people, and the unique designs of the T’bolis in Mindanao. As has been tradition for PIVAF, body painting will be one of the festival highlights. Guest artists from Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand will be participating in PIVAF 2011.

Although the core of PIVAF is in Boracay, there will be PIVAF activities in satellite venues all over the country. In Luzon, PIVAF will have events in Angono, Rizal and Isabela. In the Visayas, it will be in Cebu City. And in Mindanao, it will be in Davao City.

The annual celebration of National Arts Month came into being with Presidential Proclamation 683, in 1991, declaring February as National Arts Month. Since then the celebration has grown into the international artistic event that it is. The Philippine International Arts Festival is a grand celebration of the myriad wonders of Philippine arts and culture and is a testament to the synergistic nature of the arts as it blurs form, genre, and national boundaries to create new ways of expression.

The public is invited to participate in PIAF 2011. Given the large number of activities and locations, there is bound to be a PIAF event happening nearby.

For more details on the activities and schedules, contact PIAF Media Director and NCCA-Public Affairs and Information Office (PAIO) Head, Rene Sanchez Napenas at (632)527-2192 or 0928-508-1057, or PIAF Deputy Festival Manager, Vanessa Nicolas at 0918-6380412.  Email us at ncca.paio@gmail.com.

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RP Gears Up For Arts Fest 2011

The Philippine International Arts Festival (PIAF) is set to wow the country yet again as it unveils “Ani ng Sining” on February 2011 in celebration of the National Arts Month. Now on its 20th year, the country’s biggest arts festival will gather thousands of artists all over the country to further promote the Filipino culture in the seven arts.

Preparations are already under way for the country’s biggest art festival with four grand openings slated to take place in the National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Elaborate performances and exhibitions will be staged for the said openings in celebration of the Filipino arts.

With lectures, conferences, exhibitions and performances slated to tour nationwide, the PIAF is promising a meaningful and fruitful celebration on the month of hearts in the hopes of instilling the richness of Philippine tradition to our countrymen as well as to tap undiscovered talents. Joining the roster of local artists are international delegates invited to grace the festive celebration to forge deeper understanding and stronger cultural relationships through collaborative performances and outreach projects in different parts of the country.

The Committee on Architecture and Allied Arts will be staging multi-venue lectures and exhibits for the “archi[types/text] 2011” which will be highlighted by the environmentally-related Sand Constructions in Boracay. Also, exhibits that will tackle the morphology of Filipino Buildings, the Colonial Urbanism and Architecture during the American Period, fashion and architecture, architectural postcards and cinema houses will be staged. Architect Gerard Lico, Ph.D. vice head of the committee leads the nationwide exhibition tours and seminars. Respected architects from Southeast Asia will be joining the roster of local architects to tackle Sustainable Tropical Architecture.

The National Committee on Dance, led by Shirley Halili-Cruz, will be presenting Sayaw Pinoy as its contribution to the National Arts Month celebration. This has been part of the PIAF for the past eight years and the Sayaw Pinoy 2011 will be touring 21 key areas nationwide, with featured performances from Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei and Vietnam.

“Tanghal: 5th University Theater Festival” will be gathering university-based theaters and student artists nationwide. Undertaken by the National Committee on Dramatic Arts, led by Dr. Glecy Atienza with Ma. Lourdes Josefa Lopez, Tanghal will be having its opening at the University of St. La Salle, Colegio San Agustin and West Negros University in Bacolod. An added feature of this year’s celebration will be the Monodrama Manila with delegates from Lithuania, Japan, and Fujaira of UAE joining in. Monodrama Manila will be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, from 8- 13 February 2011. It will feature the ancient tragedy, "Antigone" by esteemed theater actor Birute Mar of the Lithuanian National Drama Theater performing back-to-back with the literary masterpiece on war of the contemporary milieu, "Miracle in Rwanda" by internationally renowned Filipina African American theater actor Leslie Lewis-Sword, and "Memory of Pain and Joy" Mahmoud Abu Alaabas of U.A.E. Other performances include some of the best representative Filipino Monodramas by seasoned actors, directors and playwrights. Also, a Cambodian Circus was invited to further hype up the theater flagship project.

Envisioned to gather 80 national and international writers, the Taboan Philippines International Writers Festival 2011 will be moving to Davao City, following its successful run in Cebu earlier this year. The best writers of the country will compose the national delegation while award-winning foreign writers from Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore will be joining the international delegation. Accordingly, the Taboan components will include panel discussions, lectures, outreach and school visitation programs, book fair, literary readings and performances and the Taboan Awards. The Taboan 2011 is undertaken by the Committee on Literary Arts headed by Arts Sub-Commissioner and PIAF Festival Director Ricardo de Ungria.

The Committee on Music, led by musician Joey Ayala, will be staging Organik Muzik 3 in Manila, Davao, Puerto Princesa and Cebu with the special participation of musicians from Vietnam and Indonesia. Organik Muzik 3 is aimed at “bringing a variety of cultural influences that are not readily accessible through the mass media to a broader and younger society” and will be featuring concert tours and workshops for local artists, students and educators.

With NAM 2010’s success following closely behind, this year’s CinemaRehiyon 3 of the Committee on Cinema will again be restaged with more regional films tapped to join the event. In addition, award-winning filmmakers from Indonesia are set to join the roster of the young and talented Filipino filmmakers in this CinemaRehiyon 3.

For the Committee on Visual Arts led by Egai Fernandez, Boracay remains to be a strategic location for the Philippine International Visual Arts Festival (PIVAF) with its successful launch for the past NAM celebration. The PIVAF11 will be expanding the NAM celebration by adding in more satellite venues, namely Isabela and Angono in Luzon, Cebu in Visayas and Davao in Mindanao. This year’s visual arts festival will be focusing on the traditional Philippine tattoo art practices, methods and designs with lectures on specialized topics such as the elaborate Pintados etchings, the delicate patterns of the Bontoc Igorot and the Kalinga and Ifugao people and the unique designs of the T’bolis in Mindanao. Guest artists from Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Thailand will be participating in the PIVAF 2011.

The National Arts Month is annually celebrated as per Presidential Proclamation 683 in 1991 declaring February as the National Arts Month. Accordingly, it is known as “a time for nationalism and pride in being a Filipino” through carefully planned events for the preservation and enrichment of the Filipino expression in the seven arts.

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Ani ng Sine Film Festival

ANI NG SINE FILM FESTIVAL

National Commission for Culture and the Arts' Ani ng Sine Film Festival to be held at the Cultural Center of the Phiippines' Dream theater from February 1 to 5, 2011. Ani ng Sine, which will feature all the Cinemalaya films from year 2008 to 2010, is part of the Philippine International Arts Festival.

Admission is FREE.

For more info, contact Louella Suque at louella.suque@live.com or 0929-1234-928.

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A Tour of The Basilica of San Sebastian and Environs

A Tour of The Basilica of San Sebastian and Environs A study tour of the all-steel church and nearby points of interest Organized by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines Saturday, February 5, 2011 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Fee for Members: Php 1,100.00 Fee for Non-members: Php 1,200.00 *The fee includes the cost of transportation, entrance fees and a simple lunch Built in 1891, San Sebastian Basilica in Quiapo, Manila is the only all-steel building in the country, and only one of a few all-steel churches in the world. The steel was forged in Belgian foundries (by the same holding company that produced the Orient Express), and shipped to Manila. The basilica is now severely corroding. Over 36 kilos of steel parts have already fallen from corrosion. An international team of conservators, structural engineers, corrosion scientists, metallurgists, architects, historians, have banded together to study the basilica's problems and find solutions to prolong the lifespan of this building. Historical conservationist Ms. Tina Paterno will talk about the Church's history and current preservation efforts. 10:00 Leave meeting place of Sanctuario de San Antonio Church in Forbes Park, Makati City 11:00 Arrive at La Gota de Leche building on Sergio Loyola Street for a brief tour of this historic restored structure. 11:30 Arrive at the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista. A tour of the historic home followed by a simple lunch of Quiapo area specialties. 12:30 Short walk to San Sebastian Church via R. Hidalgo, one of Quiapo's well-known streets, stopping by some old structures. 1:00 Arrive at San Sebastian. Tour of the church and belfry (a walk up some winding and narrow stairs), for those so inclined. 2:30 Back to Sanctuario de San Antonio in Makati. For more Museum Foundation events and activities please visit our website at http://museumfoundationph.org/news/

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Beyond the 13th Zodiac Forum at Yuchengco Museum

Beyond the 13th Zodiac Forum

on January 28 at Yuchengco Museum

Astrologers Resti Santiago, Henry Palacios, and museum curator Jeannie Javelosa discuss recent findings on Ophiuchus the 13th sign, the zodiac, and how it affects our personality and daily life.

The Yuchengco Museum’s theme of Bridging Cultures has always fostered exchange. Culture and its many expressions, such as dynamic and evolving worldviews, have always been a bridge to foster a deeper understanding between peoples. In all its exhibits and events, the Yuchengco Museum has defined itself not only as a place that showcases art and design, but also as a forum of exchange, debate, and education.

The Yuchengco Museum kicks off the year with a special lineup of quarterly talks and fora, the BRIDGING CULTURES: The World Views Forum Series. The first forum focuses on the recent media hype that dominated social media and garnered international news mentions—Ophiuchus, the “13th zodiac sign.” Earlier in January, American astronomer Parke Kunkle told NBC News that there is a 13th astrological sign, sending many into an astrological identity crisis. This pronouncement has also brought up more questions which only astrologers could answer.

On January 28, 2011, Friday, at 5 p.m., the science of astrology will be highlighted in Beyond the 13th Zodiac Sign: Making Astrology Work for You. Three astrologers—Resti Santiago, Henry Palacios, and museum curator Jeannie Javelosa—come together to discuss and share their views on this recent astronomical finding vis-à-vis astrological practice, the zodiac signs, and its implications on our personality and daily life. Other topics to be touched on include a brief history of astrology, things to focus on for one’s personality, and how astrology can help in today’s changing spiritual evolution.

Because seating is limited, interested participants may call the Yuchengco Museum at (02) 889-1234 to reserve a seat. Forum fee is P300, which includes museum admission. The Yuchengco Museum is located at RCBC Plaza, Corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati City. Visit our website at www.yuchengcomuseum.org.

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