Arts & Culture (11/24/21)
PPO holds online recital series
IN view of the ongoing pandemic, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) continues to seek alternative ways to serenade audiences with classical music by staging an online Recital Series to be held monthly from this November until June 2022. The Recital Series will be streamed via the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and PPO Facebook Pages at 8 p.m. The first recital opens with flutist Hercules Santiago performing Otar Taktakishvili’s Sonata for Flute and Piano on Nov. 26. The second recital features clarinetist Ariel Sta. Ana as he renders Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestucke Op. 73 and Michele Mangani’s Pagina d’ Album for Clarinet and Piano on Dec. 31. French horn player Ernani Pascual welcomes the New Year with the third recital as he interprets Hermann Eichborn’s Sonate fur Waldhorn und Klaiver, Op. 71 on Jan. 28, 2022. The fourth recital puts trumpet player Glober Calambro in the spotlight as he performs Paul Hindemith’s Sonate on Feb. 25. The fifth recital centers on cellist Giancarlo Gonzales with a rendition of Claude Debussy’s Cello Sonata and Svante Henryson’s Black Run on March 25. The sixth recital features violinist Dino Akira Decena interpreting two works by Nicanor Abelardo: Sonata for Violin and Piano and Romanza on April 29. The seventh recital focuses on viola player Rey Casey Concepcion as he renders Paul Hindemith’s Viola Sonata Op. 11, No. 4 and Max Bruch’s Romanze Op. 85 on May 27. Contrabass player Ariston Payte III closes the recital series with a performance of Adolf Misek’s Sonata No. 2, Op. 6 on June 24. For more information, visit the CCP website www.culturalcenter.gov.ph or follow the official CCP and PPO Facebook pages.
Satirical photo slideshow part of online art exhibit
A PHOTOGRAPHER-educator has collaborated with his students for a collection of photographs that serves as a satirical reply to “red-tagging” in De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s ongoing online art exhibition. Jay Javier’s Red Tagged!, which is “an absurdist retort to an absurdist reality epitomized by the current administration,” is part of the exhibit “To Differ Digitally 2: Love and Dissent in the Time of Pandemic.” It literally looks at labeling individuals or groups as communists “by having real red tags attached to the objects in the photographs.” Mr. Javier is one of the faculty members from the New Media Cluster who heeded the call for project proposals of the Center for Campus Art (CCA) under its director, Gerry Torres, and NMC, which is headed by Associate Dean Maria Sharon Mapa Arriola. TDD2, a show co-curated by Karen Ocampo-Flores, looks at the digital landscape as a platform to communicate constructive protest based on love and empathy. Aside from photographs, it also features live action films, animation, 2D and 3D models and rigs, texts, audio, applications, software, graphic design, and illustrations. The works are available at CCA’s new website www.benildecampusart.com. View the work at https://youtu.be/U9UxPwuxCVE.
Antoni Muntadas at Ateneo Art Gallery
RENOWNED conceptual artist Antoni Muntadas launches his first exhibition in Manila titled “Muntadas: Exercises on Past and Present Memories” in collaboration with the Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) and Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla (CAAC). Mr. Muntadas presents three projects that translate memories and histories of the Philippines and Spain and its relevance to contemporary history. Mr. Muntadas is considered as one of the pioneers of multimedia installations and urban interventions. He first visited Manila in 2019 and his brief encounter of the city led him to further investigate the past and present of Spain’s former colony. Fortuitously, the project coincides in time with the commemoration of the quincentennial of the circumnavigation of the globe, as well as with the global COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Manila Galleon trade as framework for the exhibit, Mr. Muntadas developed three projects based on goods that were originally part of this commercial circuit — the mantón de Manila which was originally made in China then traveled to Manila, and later adapted and appropriated to the Spanish culture; coins and medallions, and ceramic tradeware from Sevilla. Contemporary versions of these goods, which Mr. Muntadas refers to as presents, act as repositories of memories; they are intended as metaphors for historical, political, social, and cultural narratives relevant to Philippine society. The Mantones, locally embroidered in Lumban, Laguna, are 15 shawls that feature images that represent different points in Philippine history, current events, and popular culture. Malas Hierbas are a set of ceramic plates manufactured in Sevilla which bear botanical drawings of invasive plant species brought in from the Americas, alluding to the effect of colonization. The medallions fabricated in Sevilla are called Portable Monuments to Emigrant Anonymous Workers; they are conceived as a tribute to unrecognized Filipinos living overseas. These projects are contextualized by archival photos as well as artifacts loaned from the Rizal Library of the Ateneo de Manila University and the Intramuros Administration. Manuel Ocampo also contributes his version of the Murillo Velarde-Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay map that depicts critical points in Philippine colonial history. “Muntadas: Exercises on Past and Present Memories” will be launched on Nov. 24 at the 3rd floor galleries of the Ateneo Art Gallery and will run until March 12, 2022. It will then travel to the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla, Spain and will be on view from March to Aug. 2022. This project is a collaboration between the AAG and CAAC, with support from the Embassy of Spain, Manila. Onsite visits will be accommodated soon. Until then, the exhibit may be accessed online through a virtual tour and walkthrough posted at AAG’s social media channels and website. For more information, visit www.ateneoartgallery.com.
‘Wicked Abstraction’ at ARTablado
“Wicked Abstraction” showcases nine individuals whose passion is painting. Their works are being showcased in Robinsons Land’s ARTablado until Nov. 30 at ARTablado, 3rd level, Robinsons Galleria. True to the maxim “art for art’s sake,” these individuals worked on their ouvres armed only with their intuition expressing their truth, their individuality and aesthetic ideals. The participating artists are Chinnich Candao, Danny Encabo, Eliezer Dimaculangan, Ella Hipolito, Joel Reglos, Jof Nachor, Meyo de Jesus, Rigor Esguerra, and Tito Rolly. For more updates, visit ARTablado on Facebook and Instagram.
Edwin Wilwayco exhibit opens Galerie Joaquin
EDWIN Wilwayco’s new series, “Jazz/Nocturne Interlude,” is featured in the official opening of Galerie Joaquin One Bonifacio High Street. A well-appointed, intricately designed space, it caters to a roster of leading modernist and fine arts masters. Mr. Wilwayco’s new series is a deviation from Wilwayco’s signature bold and vibrant hues, mounting two very distinct one-man shows in a single exhibition. In each painting, the artist’s dynamic brush strokes and juxtaposition of textures coalesce into a complex visual repertoire of highs and lows — some gradual, others abrupt — leaving the viewer awash with emotion, in the same manner one would be moved after listening to an evocative musical piece. Mr. Wilwayco, who is deeply moved by classical music when he paints, having paid homage to Vivaldi and Bach in his previous works, opted for a different muse prior to starting this series: jazz. “Edwin Wilwayco: Jazz/Nocturne Interlude” will be the very first exhibit on view at the newest Galerie Joaquin One Bonifacio High Street Mall beginning Nov. 21. For more information, contact 0917-5343942 or e-mail info@galeriejoaquin.com.
Vibal Foundation’s Philippine Cartography wins Gintong Aklat Award
VIBAL Foundation’s (VF) Philippine Cartography 1320-1899, 4th Edition won the 2020 Gintong Aklat Awards for Social Sciences category. The awarding ceremony was streamed live on the Facebook pages of the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP) and Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) on Nov. 17. VF’s Program Director Kristine E. Mandigma, book editor Dr. Carlos Madrid, and Denden Quirino, daughter of the book’s author and National Artist Carlos Quirino, gave their acceptance speeches. Philippine Cartography was first published in a limited edition in 1959 and reissued a second and third time in Amsterdam and Quezon City. For this fourth edition, editor Dr. Carlos Madrid annotated Quirino’s text and added a selection of over 450 new maps to form the largest bibliography of over 1,600 Philippine cartographic materials. Profusely illustrated with over 200 images, this edition is further enriched with six foldout maps, among them the Topographía de la Ciudad de Manila, which is reproduced for the first time in high resolution. This edition has a foreword by historian Ambeth Ocampo and an introduction by international author, Thomas Suárez, who presents a meditation on cartography, the making of the Philippines, and the 21st century digitality. Dr. Madrid also appended three significant essays that considerably widen the author’s avenues of inquiry into the Selden map of Southeast Asia, the unheralded Claudio Montero and his Comisión Hidrográfica de Filipinas, and the achievements of Jesuit father Vicente Memije — together with two Filipino artists, Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay and Lorenzo Atlas. Philippine Cartography and other VFI books are available at the Vibal Online Shop at https://shop.vibalgroup.com, Lazada https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/vibal-books, and at Shopee https://shopee.ph/vibalgroup.
Batang Sining offers weekly activities for kids
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) presents Batang Sining, a series of weekly educational activities, which are ongoing until Dec. 8. This year, the CCP Arts Education partnered with Black Canvas to reimagine arts education through online workshops, streamings, conversations, and safely conducted in-person events supporting the holistic growth of Filipino children. Follow the CCP, Batang Sining, and CCP Arts Education Facebook pages for more information and updates.
Met holds paper cutting workshop
IN CELEBRATION of National Children’s Month and Philippine Book Development Month, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila is hosting a paper cutting workshop for children. It features the story Ang Maliit na Kalabaw, illustrated by Liza Flores, that was among the winners at the 2019-2020 Best Reads at the 6th National Children’s Book Award. The workshop is for children aged eight years old and above. The workshop includes a talk on what it’s like to illustrate a book, and making paper-cut artworks. A museum tour and a storytelling session complete the afternoon. Slots are limited. Register and find out what materials are needed for the workshop. The MET Online Studio workshop will be held on Nov. 27, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., via Zoom and Facebook Live.
FotomotoPH mounts portrait exhibit
FOTOMOTOPH, a photographers’ collective, in partnership with Shutterspace Studios, Inc. and the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Arts Management program, presents a three-part exhibit called “Fotomoto ’21 Invitational: Portraits” which first runs until Dec. 18 at KONDWI in Poblacion, Makati. Subsequent openings will be held in Manila House in Bonifacio Global City and The Alley at Karrivin Plaza along Chino Roces, Jr. Ext., Makati. Each participating venue will show a unique set of images. Some shows will run until the end of the year, while others will continue until the first quarter of 2022. The exhibition will feature works of over 100 Filipino and Philippine-based photographers (professionals and photojournalists), as well as artists, amateurs, and hobbyists. These include Fotomoto founding members: Jes Aznar, Raena Abella, Edric Chen, Tom Epperson, Paco Guerrero, Miguel Nacianceno, RJ Fernandez, Wawi Navarroza, Apa Ongpin, Neal Oshima, Sandra Palomar, Gio Panlilio, Jason Quibilan, Jake Verzosa, and Veejay Villafranca. Access to the exhibition on site is free to the public; however, exhibition access per venue will follow the IATF health guidelines and safety protocols implemented in each LGU. All images will also be shown online at https://fotomoto.ph. Many of the images will be available for sale as mounted archival prints (separate from the exhibition prints). For more information about the exhibition in other participating venues and online events, follow Fotomoto’s social media pages (facebook.com/fotomotophilippines and @fotomoto.ph on Instagram) or e-mail info@fotomoto.ph.
PETA’s Under My Skin goes online
PHILIPPPINE Educational Theater Association (PETA)’s play Under My Skin will be on view online over two weekends — Nov. 26 to 28, and Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. Written by Rody Vera and directed by Melvin Lee, Under My Skin is inspired by real people and events, and depicts the realities, triumphs, and struggles of people living with HIV. In the show, the audience is introduced to three men whose relationships are tested when one gets infected; an HIV-positive teenager whose status is discovered when he contracts tuberculosis; a mother who unknowingly passed down the virus to her son after getting it from her husband; and a gay beauty parlor employee experiencing work-related discrimination. The audience learns the causes, effects, and treatments of HIV-AIDS through Dr. Gemma Almonte (played by Cherry Pie Picache). Tickets are available at P180 for Livestream, and P250 for Video on Demand via www.ticket2me.net, bit.ly/undermyskinonline, or through any of the Under My Skin Online show buyers. For bulk sales, and more sales information, contact Mitch Go at 0917-539-1112.
