CCP caps anniversary with light and sound show
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) officially closes its 50th anniversary celebration with a light and sound show on Sept. 16, 7 p.m., at its Main Building façade and front lawn. On Sept. 8, 2019, CCP officially celebrated its golden year as an institution. The plan was to hold several activities covering various art and culture fields and cap the celebration with Luces, a light and sound show which would reincarnate Sinag: Festival of Radiance. However, due to the ongoing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the year-long festivities came to a halt. The 10-minute show is an exploration of light, projection and sound using the iconic building’s facade as the canvas. The project hopes to represent the role that the arts and culture played in the Past, Present and Future, encapsulating the CCP’s 50 years and ushering in the next 50 years with new, aggressive, and better programs and plans. Archival footage and digital recordings will provide visual narration to highlight each decade of the CCP. The projected images will feature CCP’s excellence in the fields of performing, literary, visual and multi-media arts, along with its continuing partnership with its regional network. The CCP partners with Panasonic, who provides the 22K and 31K ANSI lumens laser projectors. The show will have a pre-show program, which will be streamed live on the CCP official Facebook page, CCP Online YouTube channel and Vimeo. The pre-activity features recorded greetings from arts and culture personalities, welcome remarks from CCP officials, trailers and previews of upcoming CCP events. At 7 p.m., the online show will switch to remote live feed and real-time on-site stream of the show at the CCP Front Lawn. There will be a second live on-site projection at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph). Follow the CCP social media accounts in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more updates.
Book of essays on Dulaang Sibol launched
CONCEIVED more than a decade ago, the book Alalahanin: Our Memories of Dulaang Sibol is a collection of essays commemorating the Ateneo de Manila High School’s celebrated drama group, Dulaang Sibol. The book was a project initiated by Dr. Jojo Mendoza back in 2006 to mark Sibol’s 50th anniversary. Assisted by Kix Samson, he was able to solicit a remarkable selection of more than 30 essays from such notables as Paul Dumol, Noel Trinidad, Dr. Fernando Hofileña, and Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ. The essays were well-written, interesting, and heartfelt. However, the logistics of publishing a coffee-table book proved daunting, and the project was not completed. The final published book is the same collection of essays updated with additional material including dozens of archival photos. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic quarantines which delayed publication by about two months, the book came out a few days after Sibol Director Onofre Pagsanghan’s 93rd birthday on June 12th. In a pandemic where face masks and social distancing are mandatory, the old concept of a book launch with a live audience and the author signing books was not possible, and even illegal. But prospective readers were willing to cooperate with the unusual demands of ordering, paying for, and picking up books during a pandemic. On Aug. 22, the Ateneo Gate 1 and the Grade School driveway served as the venue for the book launch following the protocol set up for the contactless pick up of school materials for Grade School students. Simultaneous with the physical launch and pick-up of books was an online program, with notable Sibol alumni — Gelo Favis, Gerry Duran, Jing Olaguer, Jonny Salvador, and Igo Gonzales, Jimmy Hofileña, Paola Deles, Lionel Valdellon and Cholo Mallillin, and Mhel Garrido — performing musical numbers, as well as one comedy skit, and also short video greetings from those who contributed essays. Four authors read excerpts from their essays. Mr. Pagsanghan also gave a video greeting. Alalahanin: Our Memories of Dulaang Sibol is now available on the Ateneo University Press Stores on Shopee and Lazada. The book costs 800 pesos each. Net proceeds will go to Mr. Pagsanghan’s dream project, the Sibol Hesus School Foundation, which provides supplementary education to prepare public school students for high school, and grants high school scholarships for carefully selected students. A public launch of the book is scheduled on Radyo Katipunan on Sept. 19, 10 a.m.
Kaida Contemporary presents two exhibits
KAIDA Contemporary opened two exhibits, Neck of the Woods and Shift, on Sept. 13. Neck of the Woods is a group exhibit featuring works by Renz Baluyot, Ralph Barrientos, Sydney Bautista, Cian Dayrit, Timmy Harn, Veronica Lazo, Tekla Tamoria, Marija Vicente, and FAKE zine. Meanwhile, Shift features the works of Elijah Santiago and Shalimar Gonzaga. The exhibits run until Sept. 28. Physical viewing of the works may be done at the gallery from Sept. 15 onwards. Kaida Contemporary is located at 45 Scout Madriñan St., South Triangle, Quezon City. For inquiries, contact the gallery at kaida529@yahoo.com.ph, 8463-5859 and 0927-929-7129.
