National arts month to be celebrated in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao

THE National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the prime government agency for culture and the arts, will lead in the festive celebration of National Arts Month (NAM) this February 2018. This year, the NAM celebration will carry the theme “Ani ng Sining, Alab ng Sining.”

The NCCA—led by its chairman National Artist for literature Virgilio S. Almario, executive director Rico S. Pableo and deputy executive director Marichu Tellano—will be organizing numerous events in the island clusters of the country, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, which will be headlined by the flagship projects of the seven national committees of the Subcommission for the Arts (SCA)—Architecture and Allied Arts, Cinema, Dance, Dramatic Arts, Literary Arts, Music, and Visual Arts.

For architecture and allied arts, “Loob at Labas: Talakayan at Pagpaparangya” will include forums and exhibits on Philippine architecture, to held in Ilocos and Baguio from February 12 to 17; in Nueva Ecija from February 19 to 23; in Batangas from the February 26 to March 2; in Iloilo from March 5 to 9; and General Santos from March 12 to 16.

Cinema’s banner event will be Cinema Rehiyon, a festival of regional films, will be screened in multiple sites in the National Capital Region. Presented in partnership with ActiVista, Cinema Rehiyon will happen from February 25 to March 1.

The National Committee on Dance will mount its flagship project Sayaw Pinoy, its long-running touring dance concert series, which will feature about 40 dance groups and will be held in about 40 venues around the country, such as schools, public parks, plazas, malls, and even in local LGU halls. The Sayaw Pinoy itinerary includes Capiz, South Cotabato, Baguio, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Pampanga, Batangas, and the National Capital Region.

Tampok is National Committee on Dramatic Arts’ flagship project, three days of convergences in the regions to gather and document the pioneers and key theater practitioners of many localities. Workshops and performances will also be conducted, in places such as Baguio from the February 15 to 17; Bacolod from the February 23 to 25; and NCR and ARMM from the February 26 to 28.

National Committee on Literary Arts’ Maartext comprises literary festivals which include poetry and theatrical performances, and by interactions with critics, writers, and other cultural workers. Maartext will be in Bicol on the February 1, 11, 15, 16, 24, 25 and 28; Baguio on the February 15 and 22; Tacloban City on February 16, 20, 22, 23, 26 and 2; Pampanga on Febraury 22 and 23; Cebu on February 23 and 24; and Aklan on February 27 and 28.

MusiKapuluan will feature serenatas or dialogues between two or more bands with different styles. Lectures and workshops will also be conducted. MusiKapuluan will be at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on February 25; in Catbalogan, Cebu, and Siliman University and Dumaguete on February 22 and 24; and Davao City by the end of February.

The Philippine Visual Arts Festival (PVAF) which will be held in the city of Santiago, Isabela, in February. There will be street art exhibitions, street murals, workshops, and art appreciation talks.

Celebrate Philippine culture and the arts this February.

For inquiries, please contact Rene Napeñas, head of the Public Affairs and Information Section of the NCCA, through 527-2192 loc 208, or through the email address ncca.paio@gmail.com. You may also log on to www.ncca.gov.ph for more information.