Steps Dance Studio releases film

EVERY year during Christmas, the Steps Dance Studio holds performances at the Ayala Malls. This year, however, things have to be done a little differently. In partnership with Ayala Malls and a creative team including director Madge Reyes and choreographer James Laforteza, Steps Dance Studio launches a dance film to support local dancers and uplift mall goers. Titled Happy, the dance film begins with a mall maintenance staff falling asleep on a chair in an empty cinema. Next thing he knows, he’s surrounded by Ayala Malls’ lush greenery and is joined by a group of young jazz dancers as they move along, performing at other areas of the mall. The maintenance staff soon wakes up from his dream. The song accompanying the dance film is Ryan Cayabyab’s original composition “It’s Gonna Be a Happy Day,” performed by Reese Lansangan. Watch Happy on Facebook at https://fb.watch/2aK4a84bQb/ . Watch the official video for “It’s Gonna Be a Happy Day” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1y-paG_mpQ&feature=youtu.be.

Group show at the BenCab Museum

THE BENCAB Museum caps the year with RE:VIEW 2020, a group exhibition by 45 artists — including Antipas Delotavo and BenCab, Charlie Co, Jason Moss, Mark Justiniani, Welbart Slowhands, Max Balatbat, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, and Abi Dionisio — working in diverse styles from figurative to non-figurative, and showing a wide range of subject matter and techniques. RE:VIEW 2020 will be on view at BenCab Museum’s Gallery Indigo from Dec. 12 to Feb. 7, 2021 The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5  p.m. For inquiries,send an e-mail to bencabartfoundation@gmail.com.

‘20/20’ caps Pinto Museum’s year

PINTO Art Museum caps the year with the group exhibit “20/20,” which opened on Dec. 6 at the contemporary art museum’s recently inaugurated Gallery 7. The selling exhibition features the works of some of the most highly regarded Filipino artists — from the emerging to the established. 20/20 touches upon a wide variety of subject matter, but with most of the works contemplating on the external and internal conditions brought about by the pandemic, the consequent lockdown, and the emergent “new normal.” The painters were asked to project their visions onto a 20 x 20-inch canvas as a way to engage with the show conceptually and to respond with a sense of balance and scale to what has been a tumultuous year. One of the special thrusts of the exhibition is to highlight sculptural works, which also needed to subscribe to the 20-inch height/width/length prescription. With over 100 artists participating, with each of them presenting their unique take on our collective struggle, “20/20” — curated by Ferdie Montemayor — inflects a clarity of vision and purpose to how we face the possibilities of the future. Pinto Art Museum is at 1 Sierra Madre St., Grand Heights Subdivision, Antipolo City. For inquiries on the purchase of works and viewing of the exhibition, call at 8697-1015 or e-mail pintoartmuseum@yahoo.com.

CCP’s parol tradition continues

THIS year the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) heralds the holiday season with “Pasko 2020,” a display of Parul Sampernandu, which will light up the CCP’s Main Building Facade and the complex grounds from Dec. 10 to Jan. 3. The center upcycles the lanterns — which were originally designed by the Quiwa Family from San Fernando, Pampanga — after years of storage. With the health crisis and the aftermath of natural disasters that hit the country this year, the craftsmen from Pampanga have lost livelihood opportunities, is where the CCP comes in. They were engaged to improve on the eight-point star lanterns in the CCP’s keep and refresh their fascia with gold foil. A projection mapping by projection designer GA Fallarme complements the glimmering lanterns. Completing the whole experience will be the light and sound spectacle designed by Danilo Villanueva. In addition, a selection of short animation films from the Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula archives will be shown. The whole spectacle will be streamed live on the CCP Facebook page and other social media platforms. In this time of the pandemic, the CCP will hold its traditional Simbang Gabi online with the participation of parish churches in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The virtual Simbang Gabi will run from Dec. 15 to 23, 9 p.m. (Anticipated Masses, with replays the following morning) and on Dec. 16 to 24, 5 a.m. (Dawn Masses); culminating in a Christmas Eve Mass on Dec. 24, 8 p.m., and a Special Christmas Day Mass on Dec. 25, 10 a.m. Follow the official CCP Facebook and social media accounts to get the latest updates on the “Pasko 2020.” Visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph to know more about the CCP and its programs.

Silverlens holds 3 live show, one online

THE YEAR-ender show of Silverlens’ Online Viewing Room features two iconic series by Chiang Mai-based artist Mit Jai Inn. “Junta Monochromes” (2016) and “Beautiful Futures” (2018) were made and shown in Bangkok amidst a backdrop of political drama and student protests  — movements that are now more active than ever. In a year of global turbulence, it is good to reflect on histories that give us hope. The show runs until Dec. 23. Meanwhile, the gallery has three shows ongoing until Dec. 23. Currently installed in the gallery’s largest space are nine oil paintings and nine ceramic sculptures by Hanna Pettyjohn in a show called “In Medias Res.” Known for addressing themes, such as memory and migration in her works, these recent abstract pieces are highly referential to the artist’s personal history, as well as her creative process. Meanwhile, Dina Gadia features new acrylic paintings and signage in her latest show with the gallery, “Navigating the Abstract.” The artist’s latest body of work is linked to the disconcertion she experienced during the height of the global health crisis. Finally, at the gallery’s Front Room, Gregory Halili presents a new set of miniature oil paintings completed on capiz shells in “Glass Horizon.” These meticulously crafted works reveal the delicate nature of the artist’s practice, as well as display his recent meditations on the fragility of nature, human existence, and social order. These exhibitions can be viewed in person by appointment only, from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is at 2263 Don Chino Roces Ave. Ext., Makati City. For details and appointments, call 8816-0044 or 0917-587-4011, or e-mail info@silverlensgalleries.com.

2 new shows at MO_Space

AT MO_Space’s Main Gallery, Mariano Ching and Louie Cordero collaborate on a show called “Bat Soup Painters.” Both artists chose a parking lot in a town in Laguna, mid-way between their own homes during the pandemic, where they would meet up to swap paintings for the other to work on. Meanwhile, on view at Gallery 2 is “Come a little closer, Move a little far,” a three-person show featuring Keigh Cruz, Mai Saporsantos, and Ev Yu, with paintings that explore the measure of contemporary experience through figuration, landscape, narrative, and abstraction. “Bat Soup Painters” and “Come a little closer, Move a little far” are open for public viewing at MO_Space until Dec. 31. The gallery is open daily except for Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For  inquiries, call 8403-6620 or 0917-572-7970.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR