Book reading, signing, Q&A with Jessica Zafra
JESSICA Zafra will host a reading, signing, and question-and-answer (Q&A) for her first novel The Age of Umbrage at Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig on Nov. 5, 4 p.m. “I spent three decades figuring out how to write a novel, did the actual writing in three months, then published it in 2020 at the height of lockdown. We couldn’t do an in-person book launch then, so we’re doing it now,” Ms. Zafra wrote in a Facebook post. Register at bit.ly/JZ-EventReg. The first 20 buyers get a free limited edition Twisted25 notebook.
Ang Dakilang Teatro ng Daigdig back on-stage
ANG DAKILANG Teatro ng Daigdig, the Filipino adaptation of the 1634 play El gran teatro del mundo (The Great Theater of the World) by the Spanish Golden Age poet and playwright Pedro Calderon de la Barca, will be brought back on stage beginning Nov. 4 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Directed by Nonon Padilla, the full-length production is the Filipino translation of George de Jesus III, which seamlessly incorporates the 1967 one-act play Hoy, Boyet by Filipino playwright, lyricist, psychic, journalist, and portraitist Tony Perez. First performed in 2019 by students from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Ang Dakilang Teatro Ng Daigdig is an allegorical depiction that follows the Catholic Church doctrine that unravels the essence of man’s existence and impermanence. The restaging features performances by Frank Rivera, Sherry Lara, Jannah Baniasia, Kyle Confesor, Sarah Garcia, Karl Caminade, Karel Coldenhoff, Stacy Abarca, Dani Idea, John Anthony Peñaranda, and Elijah Mendoza. There will be performances from Nov. 4 to 13. Tickets are available for P500 at the CCP Box Office (8832-3704, 8832-1125 local 1409) and TicketWorld (8891-9999, 0917-550-6997, 0999-954-5922) or visit https://bit.ly/Ticketworld-CCPxCSBDakilangTeatroNgDaigdig. Students, senior citizens, and Persons with Disabilities are entitled to a 20% discount.
Alsons holds Mindanao Art Festival
DAVAO City-based property developer Alsons Development and Investment Corp. (Alsons Dev) is hosting Mindanao Art 2022 at The Club at Northtown in Cabantian, Davao City until Nov. 5. Now in its fourth year, this year’s event — spearheaded by Lawig-Diwa, Inc., in partnership with Alsons Dev and supported by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Committee on Art Galleries — features over a thousand works by almost 500 artists from 32 galleries in the Davao Region, Sarangani, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro, and Iligan. With the theme “Aligned and Interconnected,” Mindanao Art 2022 aims to showcase Mindanao’s culture through art and help broaden the public’s access to the works of some of the island’s brightest talents. Tickets to Mindanao Art 2022 are available at several outlets, including Poblacion Market Central, priced at P100 for adults and P75 for students. For more information, visit mindanaoart.org/.
Fil-Canadian artist holds exhibit at ArtistSpace
ARTISTSPACE presents “MARAVILLA: Visions of a Filipino-Canadian Artist,” a solo exhibition of works by Filipino-Canadian Chito Maravilla. It will be on view from Nov. 8 to 22 at the ArtistSpace, located at the Ground Level, Ayala Museum Annex, Makati Ave. corner De La Rosa St., Greenbelt Park, Makati City. Mr. Maravilla’s paintings and illustrations are a documentation of his perceptions, his perspectives, of his life, whether rendered in a surreal whimsical manner, or as simple, tangible impressions of wonder.
CCP holds children’s multi-arts festival
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) presents the Children’s Biennale 2022: BALANGÁW, A Colorful Multi-Arts Festival For Kids which runs until Nov. 20. During the festival, various artists and groups will offer free/pay-what-you-can onsite and online festivities for children under the themes Kultura (Culture), Kalikasan (Nature) and Kalinga (Nurture). The activities are Biyaheng Balangaw, the world premiere launch of Himig Himbing: Mga Heleng Atin, and a mix of performances, workshops, and conversations featuring singer Bayang Barrios and Naliyagan Band, Anima Tierra, the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines, Sanghiyas Pangkat Mananayaw, Mang Lalakbay, Ony Carcamo, Candy Pangilinan, and Xian Lim, and screenings of Prinsipe Bahaghari, MALA-Ibong Adarna, PETA’s Rated PG and Kun Maupay Man It Panahon on Nov. 11 to 13. The virtual Balangaw will stream at the CCP Facebook page on Nov. 6 to 20.
CCP MET Opera Live presents Verdi’s La Traviata
THE CCP Met Opera in HD continues its season with the special screening of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata on Nov. 15, 5:30 p.m., at Greenbelt 3 Cinemas in Makati City. An opera in three acts with libretto in Italian by Francesco Maria Piave, La Traviata tells the story of the star-crossed lovers, courtesan Violetta and gentleman Alfredo Germont. Set in 1850 Paris, their love plays out amid the hypocrisy of upper-class fashionable society. Featuring a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons, in this production soprano Diana Damrau plays the tragic heroine Violetta, and tenor Juan Diego Flórez sings Alfredo. Baritone Quinn Kelsey plays Alfredo’s father who destroys their love. Tickets to the screening are at P450.
Walls Gallery’s ‘COLLABORARE’
FOR NEARLY 20 years, Walls Gallery has been discovering and supporting emerging Filipino artists. To help artists who are unable to exhibit their work in mainstream galleries, Walls Gallery opened its exhibit venue at The Triumph Square in 2018, and in 2019 held a series of six exhibits featuring different artists at Shangri-la Makati. The exhibits were so successful that arrangements were made to debut the “COLLABORARE” collection in 2020. But it had to be postponed due to the pandemic. This year, the gallery will unveil the collection on Nov. 18. “COLLABORARE” is a unique collection of mixed media artworks made in collaboration between emerging Filipino artists and the Negrense Volunteers for Change (NVC) Foundation, Inc.’s Artisans of Hope. The NVC Artisans of Hope have developed ingenious ways to upcycle materials like tiles and eggshells as design elements in their distinct mosaic products. A few years ago, they began to upcycle Nespresso capsules into their crafts as well. The exhibit opens Nov. 18, 6 p.m., at The Triumph Square Roofdeck, 1618 Quezon Ave, Quezon City. To reserve a slot, contact 0917-863-5778 or 0917-819-6483. Proceeds of the exhibit will support emerging Filipino artists, the Artisans of Hope Livelihood Workshop, and the Mingo Meals Nutrition Program of NVC Foundation. Learn more about NVC Foundation at www.nvcfoundation-ph.org/.
‘External Entrails’ at Silverlens New York
SILVERLENS New York presents “External Entrails,” an intergenerational group exhibition featuring all new works by Southeast Asian artists Nicole Coson, Corinne de San Jose, Bernardo Pacquing, and Arin Sunaryo. The exhibition will open on Nov. 16 and is the second show at Silverlens New York, following a successful inaugural opening in September. The exhibition links four intergenerational and mixed-gender artists who use abstraction to confront the precarious and uncertain state one experiences when bracing for impact. The exhibit will run until Jan. 7, 2023. Silverlens New York is located at 505 W 24th Street Chelsea, New York, USA. For information, visit infoNY@silverlensgalleries.com. The gallery is open Tuesdays to Saturdays (10 a.m. to 6.pm.).
Mula sa Buwan returns in December
AFTER ITS successful first run, the hit musical Mula sa Buwan returns for a two-weekend run on Dec. 2 to 11 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Circuit Makati. Based on Cyrano de Bergerac, the tale has been reimagined to feature young dreamers, fools, and misfits in 1940s Manila, thrust into a war that forces them to “grow up.” At the center of it all: the heartbreaking love story between Cyrano, Roxane, and Christian.
‘Lumayo Ka Man Sa Akin: HIV, My Love’ exhibit
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP) presents the venue grant exhibition “Lumayo Ka Man Sa Akin: HIV, My Love” by artist Isola, which runs until Dec. 11 at the CCP Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater Lobby). The exhibition is not only a reflection of the callousness of fate and the universe and how people judge them harshly, but also a celebration of life, an intimate and lifetime love affair with HIV. Isola, who is currently based in California for her MFA in Environmental Art and Social Practice, will be giving an online artist talk on Dec. 1, 6:30 p.m., for World AIDS Day. The exhibit is on view Tuesdays to Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on evenings with shows at the CCP Main Theater.
