Gray urges students to invest in and elevate the arts
NCCA to launch NAM 2024 in Rizal High School on Feb 23
MISS Universe 2018 Catriona Gray has urged students to invest in arts and develop whatever unique skills and talents they have as the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) celebrates National Arts Month (NAM) this February and beyond, particularly in schools and universities.
Gray extended the “hand of invitation” as arts ambassador for the NCCA, the de facto Department of Culture and the Arts.
NCCA will celebrate Filipino ingenuity and artistic ability with the launch of NAM 2024 in Rizal High School, Pasig City, on Feb. 23, 2024. With the theme “Ani ng Sining, Bayang Malikhain,” NAM 2024 outlines the notion that the bountiful harvest of a Filipino creative nation is derived from the collective human imagination, not just individual aspirations.
Rizal High School in Pasig City is an inspired choice for the launching, NCCA Public Affairs and Information Office head Rene Napeñas told The Manila Times during the media conference at the Metropolitan Theater on January 23.
“Rizal High School has the largest population of 14,000 among public high schools in the Philippines, and there can be no other venue where the objectives of NAM to conserve, promote, and popularize Filipino artistic creations is fervently upheld [as the launch] will feature a diverse array of performances, immersive workshops, and engaging talks meant to empower the young minds attending the Art Fair,” Napeñas said.
NCCA Executive Director Oscar Casaysay said art is the language of education, which was seconded by National Committee on Dramatic Arts (NCDA) head Eduardo Perez.
He said that the NCCA and the Department of Education, a member of the commission, are working to get the Commission of Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority on board because “these are the government agencies that can bring ... people to know about our history, our culture [through the arts] so we know what and who we are as Filipinos.”
“The role of arts in education is really to make us more human. It moves us from the inaesthetic to the aesthetic . ... If arts [are] removed from education, it’s also removing a big part of a child’s being; that’s why [the arts] have to be inculcated from childhood [and pursued even until old age],” National Committee on Music head Arvin Manuel Villalon said.
Arts ambassador
In her fourth year as Arts ambassador, Gray spoke with much inspiration and asserted her advocacy of the arts.
“I think it was last year at the same celebration that I said, ‘Let us treat this Arts Month as a love letter to our beloved country.’ This year, I’d like to add something. Let us extend the hand of invitation as we celebrate Arts Month this year,” Gray said.
“What do I mean by that? I think I’m not alone in having this perception that sometimes the arts are discouraged in that when families want their children to pursue a certain course, sometimes the arts are said to be not something that prospers you or gives you a sure security in the future that you want,” she said.
Gray said art is a “vessel that is not contained in the pages of a book” but provides the chance to share our history and culture in a universal way, enabling people from other nations to learn and appreciate the unique characteristics that characterize who we are as a people and as a country.
“Art is deeply personal; it speaks volumes about who you are as a person. And when we come together to appreciate art, we also celebrate it, and therefore we elevate it. We appreciate the discipline, the skill, the accumulation of talent, the dedication to craft and the expression of art,” she said.
The media launch saw NCCA Chairman Victorino Manalo and officials and heads of the Subcommission on the Arts (SCA) — Deputy Executive Directors Marichu Tellano and Bernan Joseph Corpuz, Subcommission heads Mahar Sulayman “Butch” Ibañez (Cinema), Cathe Desiree Nadal (Architecture and Allied Arts), Lordinio Vergara (Dance), Niles Jordan Breis (Literary Arts), and Dennis Montera (Visual Arts) — giving talks on their respective turf.
Jules Guiang hosted the media launch with performances by Banda Kawayan Pilipinas, Kammerchor Manila, University of the East (UE) Silanganan Dance Troupe, and Angela Ken.
Aside from the gathering on February 23 in Rizal High School, celebrations are scheduled on February 24 in Los Baños, Laguna; February 29 at Laguna Sports Complex in Santa Cruz; March 2 in Cebu; March 5 to 7 in Ormoc City, Leyte; March 8 at City Museum of Zamboanga; March 15 in General Santos City, South Cotabato; and March 22 in Batangas.
NAM was declared in 1991 by Presidential Proclamation 683 issued by President Corazon Aquino.
Visit www.ncca.gov.ph or the NCCA Facebook page for more information.