Launch of Anthology of European Speculative Fiction
THE European Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC) Philippines, and Anvil Publishing will officially launch Haka: European Speculative Fiction in Filipino on Nov. 28, 2 p.m., at Instituto Cervantes branch at the Plaza San Luis Complex, Intramuros, Manila. The book, an anthology of 16 pieces of speculative fiction from seasoned writers across Europe, was compiled by Julie Nováková and former Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Olša, Jr. and translated in Filipino by Susanna Borrero and Louise Lopez. The collection includes stories about getting trapped in a space-time continuum, heroes bringing deviation back into the world, and living two extra hours each day but with bitter consequences. The anthology has an introduction by Julie Nováková and features the works of Peter Schattschneider, Ian Watson, Hanuš Seiner, Richard Ipsen, Johanna Sinisalo, Aliette de Bodard, Michalis Manolios, Péter Lengyel, Francesco Verso and Francesco Mantovani, Tais Teng, Stanislaw Lem, Pedro Cipriano, Zuzana Stožická, Bojan Ekselenski, Sofía Rhei, and Bertil Falk. It is the third book in the series spearheaded by EUNIC Manila, following Layag: European Classics in Filipino (2017) and Agos: Modern European Writers in Filipino (2018). The book will be available for P250 at select National Book Store branches, and online through www.anvilpublishing.com and www.national bookstore.com.
Artist groups collaborate for children’s rights
THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development (CANVAS) and Black CANVAS present “Batang Karapat-Dapat,” a Mini-Festival on the Rights of the Child, on Nov. 20-23 at various CCP venues. This multi-arts event brings together various artists from different fields to promote the rights of children and to mark the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The highlight of this mini-festival is a storytelling collaboration performance entitled Mga Kuwentong Karapat-Dapat on Nov. 20 and 23, 2 p.m. Three CANVAS-published stories (Tahan Na, Tahanan, Nadia and the Blue Stars, and Inang Kalikasan’s Bad Hair Day) will come to life in the form of shadowplay, dance and music, focusing on the value of home, society and environment. Free admission to the shows and strictly by reservation only. For inquiries, please check the website and social media accounts of CCP, CANVAS and Black CANVAS.
A night of guitar music
Y SPACE at the Yuchengco Museum, The Guitar Friends, and Gitara Manila present ENCORE! Iconic Pieces of the Classical Guitar featuring performances by Duo Manila (Monching Carpio and Dr. Ivar Fojas); the beneficiaries of the Maestro Jose Valdez Guitar Scholarship Fund, Aaron Aguila, Edel Mark Bitao, Bea Rose Cena, Leandro Ong, and Iqui Vinculado, the PWU Guitar Ensemble, and the St. Scholastica’s College Guitar Ensemble. The concert will be on Nov. 21, 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost P700 (Regular), P500 (Seniors and PWDs), and P300 (students, YGC employees and embassy employees in RCBC Plaza). For tickets and reservations, contact yspace@yuchengcomuseum.org or call 8889-1234.
Jose Tence Ruiz at Kaida
ONGOING at Kaida Contemporary until Nov. 25 is potahMATIC, a solo exhibition by Jose Tence Ruiz. According to an exhibit description, the exhibit serves as a release valve for the frustration caused by the situation in the country. Kaida Contemporary is located at 45 Scout Madriñan St., South Triangle, Quezon City.
Anita Magsaysay-Ho works for the home
AFTER SEVERAL successful collections of art objects for the home by Filipino artists BenCab, Al Perez, Paulina Luz Sotto, Fernando Amorsolo and Arturo Luz, Rustan’s present “Offerings,” a collection of mementoes and objects for the home featuring the work of Anita Magsaysay-Ho. The collection includes art that Magsaysay-Ho painted on three plates during the period she lived in Tokyo, reproduced in limited edition by Bernardaud. Other pieces in the collection include artwork applied onto boxes, and drawings embroidered on cushion covers and napkins. The collection also includes giclee reproductions of selected artwork on paper. There will be a collection of Christmas and stationary cards, with images celebrating the Christmas season. “Offerings,” is available at the 4th Floor of Rustan’s Makati. Beginning January, the collection will be available at Rustan’s Alabang Town Center, Gateway, Shangri-La Plaza, and Cebu. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the collection will be donated to the Anita Magsaysay-Ho Foundation which provides scholarships to deserving students and supports organizations promoting art and culture.
Exhibit on Martial Law victims on view
THE MANY faces who fought for freedom at the time of Martial Law are honored through Ang Tanda-Tanda Mo Na, Sinungaling Ka Pa Rin!, an exhibit of hand-sketched portraits of victims at the De La Salle University (DLSU) College of Law Rufino Campus. The large-scale artworks were produced by the young student-artists from The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Fashion Design and Merchandising and Production Design Programs. The exhibit is on public view until Nov. 30 at the DLSU College of Law, Rufino Campus, 38th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
Mo-Space exhibits
OPENING ON Nov. 23 and on view until Dec. 31 at Mo-Space’s Main Gallery is In Retrospect, featuring works by José Santos III, and Blanch to Sweeten by Pam Yan Santos at Gallery 2. As he reaches 50 years of age, José Santos III reflects on his career as an artist through the scope of his past exhibitions in and out of the country in In Retrospect. Meanwhile, Santos unceasingly captures the banal, the personal, and the domestic with the quintessential wit in her works. The gallery, located at MOs Design, Bonifacio High Street, BGC, Taguig, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
NAMCYA finals start next week
THE National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) has been the home of talented young Filipino artists for almost 50 years. The second half of the year for NAMCYA was filled with competitions not just in Metro Manila but all over the Philippines. Semi-finals round started on Aug. 30 in Metro Manila and continued in Visayas and Mindanao for the whole month of September. At the same time, NAMCYA also offered Traditional Music Workshop free for all the teachers in the area which they call “Mentoring the Mentors.” The National Finals Competition runs from Nov. 26 to 29 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Three concerts will happen afterwards. The Concert for Solo Winners will be held at CCP on Nov. 30 alongside the Traditional Music and Rondalla Outreach Concert at the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium’s Labs Kita Sabado program. The Concert of Winners will be on Dec. 1. The Finals Competition and the concerts will be open to the public and all free of charge. Claim tickets for the Finals Competition and the concerts at CCP’s lobby. For details contact the NAMCYA Secretariat at 8836-4928, or visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/NAMCYA.
Passerby at Galleria
ROBINSONS GALLERIA presents Passerby, the first collective exhibit of Art Smart Teachers at the Mall’s Veranda, Level 3, which is on view until Nov. 30. The exhibit is about the different insights that the artists have gained from their individual experiences as a “passerby.” The 10 participating artists are Aubrey Decleodt, Jade Alfonso, Kaye Gorospe, Mandy Micaller, Marte Goyon, Thyra Batiancilla, Ron Mariñas, Summer de Guia, Eunice Vergara, and Alice Anatan.
Virgin Labfest goes to CDO
VIRGIN Labfest (VLF), the festival of “unpublished, unstaged, untested and untried” plays, brings its unang puga (first run) to Cagayan de Oro City from Dec. 4 to 7. This will be the first time the VLF ventures out of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and into the regions to reach a wider audience. Co-presented by the CCP and the Liceo de Cagayan University, the “Extra Virgin Labfest” will feature nine one-act works, which were selected from the manuscripts submitted by regional playwrights. Presented on Dec. 4, 7 p.m., are back-to-back performances of Dominique Beatrice T. La Victoria’s Ang Bata sa Drum (about a young boy who finds comfort inside a drum after he is punished by his father), which will be directed by Tat Soriano, and Maynard Manansala’s Dalawang Gabi (two separate encounters between a middle-aged teacher and her former student), directed by Hobart Savior. Presented on Dec. 5, are Gil Nambatac’s Si Balaw ug ang Lablab sa Palawpaw (foreign invaders disturb the lives of an indigenous community), directed by Roland Rivera; Darren Bendanillo’s Banga (the story of a refugee as she attempts to cross a checkpoint manned by a brutish soldier), directed by Zip Mercado de Guzman; and Norman Isla’s Daang Papunta, Daang Pabalik (two siblings are caught in a rift between the military and the rebels), directed by Pepito Sumayan. To be presented on Dec. 6 are Mario Lendel Barinque’s Ang Mga Babae sa Kusina (a househelp who remembers the children she had raised in her last hours on earth), directed by Denise ‘Honey’ Aguilar and Jesus Christopher Salon; Jim Raborar’s Bulan (five teachers try to break a curse), directed by Tat Soriano; and Aldren Alferez’s Crystal Clear (a teacher tries to clear her name), directed by Maia Poblete. To be presented on Dec. 7 are Angelo Dabbay’s Pultahan (a confused man struggles to open a door that does not budge), directed by Hobart Savior and Kenneth Sabijon; Reil Benedict Obinque’s Act of Contrition (a young man who confronts a priest after past trauma), directed by Anito Librando and Jet Paclar; and Karlwinn Paitan’s Unsay Koneksyon sa Iring (after stray cats enter their home, a minor accident leads the family to reveal their secrets), directed by Felimon Blanco.
