Textiles at Yuchengco Museum
TWO EXHIBITS focusing on the textiles of Mindanao are opening on Sept. 23 at the Yuchengco Museum. Origins and Translations: Mindanao Tapestry and Silken Courts: The Maranao Malong Garments of Identity and Continuity highlight the weaving and ornamentation traditions of the Maranao, Bagobo, B’laan, Kaulo, Mandaya, Subanen, and T’boli ethno-linguistic groups. The exhibitions are curated by Floy Quintos. Also featured are couture by the Davao Fashion and Design Council Foundation, Inc., who were inspired by these traditions. The Yuchengco Museum is at the RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Senator Gil J. Puyat Aves., Makati City.
Philippine Ballet Theater’s The Merry Widow
NOW ON its 31st season, Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT) will feature The Merry Widow, featuring Irene Kim Abrogena and Veronica Atienza alternating in the lead role. Guest artist Martin Buczcko from Germany tackles the male lead role. Choreographed by artistic director Ronilo Jaynario. The Merry Widow will have performances on Sept. 30, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Oct. 1, 3 p.m., at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo in the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City. Matinee tickets are P1,000 and P1,500. Evening show tickets are P1,500 and P2,000.
Celebrating a National Artist
THE 100th birth anniversary of National Artist for Music Jose Maceda is being marked by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the University of the Philippines Center for Ethnomusicology, and will include the exhibition Attitude of the Mind at the Bulwagang Juan Luna and a special restaging of Maceda’s 1971 piece, Cassettes 100. The exhibit will open on Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m., and will be followed by the Cassettes 100 performance at the Main Theater Lobby at 6 p.m. Artworks were specifically commissioned for Attitude of the Mind, from Ricky Francisco, Leo Abaya, Ringo Bunoan, Tad Ermitaño, experimental musicians Malek Lopez and Arvin Nogueras, and Prof. Chris Brown. The exhibit, curated by Dayang Yraola, will run until Dec. 3 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.
Exhibits at Silverlens
AN EXHIBIT of works by Bernardo Pacquing, and another called Wonder featuring works by Mark Andy Garcia will open at Silverlens today at 6 p.m. They will be on view until Oct. 21 at Silverlens, Lapanday Center, 2263 Don Chino Roces Ave. Ext., Makati City.
Group show at Artery
BENDING THE CIRCUIT OF MACHINE LOGIC, an exhibit of works by Clarence Chun, Beejay Esber, and Arvin Flores will run from Sept. 23 to Oct. 14. The works dismantle the conventional fantasy of a future ruled by perfection and the ideal, and instead picture a fluctuating world consisting of hybridized natures both robotic and organic. The gallery is located at 102 P. Tuazon Blvd., Cubao, Quezon City.
Dance group launches Bahay ni Kuya
THE Ramon Obusan Folkloric Foundation, Inc., through its performing arm the Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, and in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Arts Education arm, launches Bahay ni Kuya – home of Philippine Folk Heritage and Learning Resource Center of the National Artist for Dance Ramon Arevalo Obusan – today. Bahay ni Kuya is located at 094 Road 4, CAA Housing Area Pildera II, NAIA, Pasay City. It will operate to revive, safeguard, preserve and make the National Artist’s collections readily accessible, and provide service to the cultural education needs of artists, youths, students, scholars, teachers and arts enthusiasts. For more information, contact the CCP’s Cultural Management Division/Arts Education Department at 832-1125 local 1710 or check the Web site http://artseducation.culturalcenter.gov.ph.
Takatak at the Met
THE Metropolitan Museum of Manila presents the Takatak Project on Sept. 30, 2 p.m. Facilitated by Mary Velmonte, the workshop/lecture will tackle this popular Filipino toy – which reflects the simplicity and creativity of local artists – from wood carving to papier-mâché, and down to its decorative painting. The workshop fee is P700 inclusive of museum access, workshop kit, two taka horses, and a guided tour. Meanwhile, there are several ongoing shows, starting with Faces and Phases in Turbulence, which is on view until Sept. 23 at the Galeriya Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Faces and Phases in Turbulence looks to the discourse of social realist works through the Met’s collection. In reframing its collective significance, correlations can be drawn from this current age of uncertainty and injustice, with the political and economic turmoil that took place after the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos that ended in 1986. Ongoing until Oct. 28 is Distinct Refinements: Painting from the Provinces which is on view at the Tall Galleries, and The Philippine Contemporary: To Scale the Past and the Possible, featuring an extensive selection of almost 200 artworks from National Artists and contemporary artists. For details, e-mail info@metmuseum.ph or call 708-7829. The Metropolitan Museum of Manila is at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Blvd., Malate, Manila.
NCCA extends translator prize deadline
THE National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) extends the call for the Translator’s Prize to Oct. 31. Dubbed “Gawad Rolando Tinio sa Pagsasalin,” the award – open to all Filipino citizens of legal age – seeks to gather manuscripts of works in different literary forms translated into Filipino. For this year, translation entries for three categories are open: epics, short stories, and poetry. The award is P250,000 which will compensate for the year-long work allotted for the translation. For the complete guidelines, call the Cultural Dissemination Section through numbers 527-2192 and look for Corinnah Anne Olazo.
Theater for young adults
TANGHALANG ATENEO opens its 39th Season: Performing Change with Guelan Varela-Luarca’s adaptation of Edgar Calabia Samar’s award-winning play Si Janus Silang at ang Labanang Manananggal-Mambabarang, based on the Janus Silang book series. Performances will be on Sept. 20-23, 26-30, Oct. 3-7, 10-14, and 17-21 at 7:30 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 2:30 p.m. at the Ateneo de Manila’s Black Box Theater. Guelan Varela-Luarca directs theater veterans Jenny Jamora, Carlo Vergara, Renante Bustamante, and Xander Soriano alongside Tanghalang Ateneo’s actors. For details, call Chloe Fabul (0998-984-3127).
H.R. Ocampo work auction highlight
THE LAST work by National Artist Hernando R. Ocampo (1911-1978), Mga Kiti, created in the final year of his life, will be the highlight of Salcedo Auctions’ The Well-Appointed Life auction at The Peninsula Manila’s Rigodon Ballroom on Sept. 23 and 24. The 500 lots up for bid at the auction are now in a preview exhibit at the hotel’s 3rd floor gallery until Sept. 23. Created in 1978, Mga Kiti is one of only two monumental-sized Ocampo artworks, and the only one in private hands, the other being the Genesis tapestry curtain at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Mga Kiti is three feet high and 30 feet wide. For inquiries, e-mail info@salcedoauctions.com or call 659-4094, 823-0956, 0917-894-6550.
