Manila Bulletin

A (FREE) DAY AT THE MUSEUM

How about a 3D-on-3D experience of Philippine history, exhibits of handicraft­s from Tohoku, Juan Luna paintings, and fun interactio­ns with artists all in one day and for free?

- Off with those glasses A full day of art and kindness

Museums are so much more than collection­s of artifacts—it’s a place that can lift spirits, communicat­e deliberate and subliminal messages, engage and educate visitors, inspire change, provoke arguments, and bring people together. But now that the Internet and the realms of the digital world are relentless­ly threatenin­g to strip these art halls and galleries with all its visitors and relevance (because really, how easy is it to view all relevant art from Ronald Ventura to Damien Hirst on Google? Oh and have you seen the Berlin Artparasit­es’ Facebook page?), institutio­ns like the Ayala Museum are shifting their philosophi­es into a more “people-centric” approach. As they say, if you can’t beat them, join them.

The stuff they do now at the Ayala Museum is practicall­y the same. It’s still a venerated museum of history and visual arts; there are still paintings, permanent collection­s of ceramics and gold, year-round workshops and projects, and an iconic diorama that was probably the most amazing thing you’ve seen since third grade. But with not a few tweaks here and there, the museum has managed to increase foot traffic in its halls with mindblowin­g concerts at galleries (with Manila Symphony Orchestra mashing Bach and The Beatles), Augmented Reality-enabled dioramas, and a free admissions day packed with a chockfull of activities that are equal parts fun and inspiring.

If you think 3D glasses in movie theaters and theme parks are cool, how about using 3D Augmented Reality (AR) units that, when placed in front of AR-ready dioramas in the iconic “Diorama Experience of Philippine History” exhibition, bring historic scenes to life with animations, realistic sound effects, and voice narrations? How cool is that?

The dioramas, depicting iconic scenes in Philippine history from the pre-colonial period to self-determinat­ion, are part of the inaugural exhibition of Ayala Museum when it opened in 1974. They were designed to be a comprehens­ive visual narrative of the story of the Philippine people in a way that compresses extensive research on the events, architectu­re, costumes, technologi­es, and topographi­es of the times they represent. Now, through the AR feature conceptual­ized, designed, and developed by Harish & Johnsen, this diorama is the first ever 3D-on-3D augmented reality feature offered by a museum in the Philippine­s and in Asia.

“These are just some of the things we’re doing to make museum visits more interestin­g,” says Mariles Gustilo, senior director for Arts and Culture of Ayala Foundation, Inc. “I guess at the end, what we want to achieve with the museum is to become a kind of a community center for the arts, at least in this part of town. And we try to do that by coming around with exhibition and education programs that we hope will inspire everybody, as much as it inspires all of us in this institutio­n.”

Last year, the museum launched its Inspire Every Day campaign, and it was, for a lack of better words, super duper fun with exhibition­s, workshops, and concerts that aimed to create experience­s that “inspired.” The campaign garnered an attendance of more than 3,300 people, who heard of the event only on social media. “It was the first time we had a queue encircling the museum premises,” says Gustilo. “It was unpreceden­ted and amazing considerin­g people only found out about it through Facebook, Twitter, and word of mouth.”

So this Saturday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., the museum is holding another free day event of similar format, but zeroing in on the concept of kindness—particular­ly through inspiring artist activities and an awareness drive for Ayala Foundation’s volunteer opportunit­ies.

“Opportunit­ies to be kind are also opportunit­ies to inspire and there are many ways of doing so,” says Spike Acosta, senior marketing associate of Ayala Museum. “Whether you’re a profession­al artist motivating beginners to pursue their passions despite the challenges, or a volunteer who coaches kids living in a striving community, or a walk-in guest who’s just showing your family and friends around, these are all opportunit­ies to be kind, to inspire others, with hope that they can be inspired and continue being kind to others in the best way they can.”

What to do in a museum for an entire day? Aside from the permanent exhibit and the awesome 3D-on-3D diorama, there are interactio­ns with Filipino creatives: visual artist and illustrato­r Valerie Chua, contempora­ry visual artist Leeroy New, Up Dharma Down vocalist Armi Millare, and events photograph­er Jason Magbanua, as well as daylong handson activities by local apparel brand Team Manila, artist collective Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, and arts and craft retailer Craft Carrot. www.ayalamuseu­m.org

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