National Arts Month to be celebrated in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) will lead in the festive celebration of National Arts Month (NAM) this February.

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 Almario, executive director Rico Pableo and deputy executive director Marichu Tellano – will be organizing numerous events, 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 be held in Ilocos and Baguio from Feb. 12 to 17; in Nueva Ecija from Feb. 19 to 23; in Batangas from the Feb. 26 to Mar. 2; in Iloilo from Mar. 5 to 9; and General Santos from Mar. 12 to 16.

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

The National Committee on Dance will mount its flagship project Sayaw Pinoy, which will feature some 40 dance groups in 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 the 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 Baguio from the Feb. 15 to 17; Bacolod from the Feb. 23 to 25; and NCR and ARMM from the Feb. 26 to 28.

The National Committee on Literary Arts’ Maartext comprises literary festivals which include poetry and theatrical performances, and interactions with critics, writers, and other cultural workers.

Maartext will be in Bicol on the Feb. 11, 15, 16, 24, 25 and 28; Baguio on the Feb. 15 and 22; Tacloban City on Feb. 16, 20, 22, 23, 26 and Mar. 2; Pampanga on Feb. 22 and 23; Cebu on Feb. 23 and 24; and Aklan on Feb. 27 and 28.

MusiKapuluan will feature serenatas or dialogues between two or more bands with different styles.

Lectures and workshops will also be conducted at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Feb. 25; in Catbalogan, Cebu, and Silliman University and Dumaguete on Feb. 22 and 24; and Davao City by the end of February.

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