CCP’s mental health awareness arts fest moved to December
DUE to the threat of Typhoon Ompong, the Cultural Center of the Philippines moved its scheduled three-day Mental Awareness Arts Festival to December.
A highlight of the celebration is a joint presentation with the Julia Buencamino Project entitled, “Will You Still Love Me?”
The interactive arts festival aims to develop awareness of mental health, build mental resilience, and overcome the stigma of mental illness through therapeutic arts activities.
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shed light on struggles with mental health as well as motivate participants towards artistic self- expression and hopefully, healing.
It will encourage self- expression among participants by providing them with a variety of workshops to choose from — prose or poetry writing, creative movement, painting, printmaking, or playing music through the ukulele.
Organizers hope participants gain enough
support group in the art community by the end of the festival.
Will You Still Love Me? is a line taken from the poem penned by the late Julia Buencamino, daughter of actors Shamaine and Nonie Buencamino. She committed suicide on July 7, 2015. The poem reads:
“When my mask shatters and you see how broken I really am, will you still love me?”
Julia’s poem, said Buencamino, who is the festival director and curator, “speaks of the fear that most people struggling with mental health suffer — the fear that they won’t be accepted and loved.”
The Julia Buencamino Project is a mental health advocacy founded by the Buencaminos to honor their daughter’s memory, to help children suffering from mental illness and to educate people about mental health.
The CCP festival will continue the dialogue started by the project in exploring tools for carers of people with mental health conditions as well as harness the arts for mental health through performances and workshops.
“Will You Still Love Me? Festival of Arts & Ideas is aimed at survivors and sufferers of mental health problems as well as their carers, health and wellness professionals and educators. “The festival is for everyone,” Buencamino emphasized, “because our health includes mental health, which affects everyone.”
For the duration of the festival, a paper crane tree will be installed at the CCP Little Theater Lobby as the unifying symbol that carries mes-
Also in the same venue, an exhibit/installation inspired by the project was mounted by artist Alwin Reamillo with contributions from visual artists from the Philippine High School for the Arts Amorsolo-Abelardo Batch.
Each day of the festival will have a mindfulness exercise using breath, visual imagery and body awareness.
According to the noted stage and screen actress, the workshops are designed to teach participants skills to practice the arts as a way to improve the mind and manage stress. Film screenings will give viewers more information on different mental conditions as well as an opportunity to ask psychologists questions to understand mental illness more. Finally, performances will allow audiences to empathize with those who suffer and to continue
“We hope to create a community that helps build mental resilience through the arts,” Buencamino said. “Art heals. Art helps focus the mind. Art even changes the way the brain functions.”