The Philippine Arts Festival 2012 Opens on Jan. 29
January 10, 2012
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the country’s prime agency for arts and culture, ushers in the National Arts Month (NAM) with a festive opening of the Philippine Arts Festival (PAF) on January 29, 2012.
The PAF is NCCA’s major event in celebration of (NAM). The opening will be at the Rizal Park, promising a fiesta atmosphere highlighted by a kite making workshop and kite flying, and sumptuous samplings of the seven arts.
This will serve as a launch pad for a month-long fete that emphasizes the artistry of the Filipino people. PAF comprises the flagship projects of the seven committees of the NCCA’s Subcommission on the Arts, comprising architecture, cinema, dance, literature, music, theater and the visual arts.
Under its chairman Felipe de Leon, Jr. and OIC-executive director Adelina Suemith, the NCCA has taken the theme “Tradition and Innovation” for the festival, which aims to further Philippine art and the Filipino’s regard for local arts and culture. PAF will comprise workshops, exhibitions, forums, performances and many more, participated in by representatives of all the seven arts and taking place all over the country. Numerous artists are expected to take part in this grand gathering.
The annual celebration of National Arts Month started with the signing of Presidential Proclamation 683, in 1991, declaring February as National Arts Month. Over the years, NCCA as well as private and government agencies organize events and activities to highlight the artistic brilliance of the Filipinos. In recent years, the NCCA has been organizing a festival that showcases the artistic harvest of Filipino talents for NAM.
This year’s PAF will emphasize traditional art forms and genres as well as contemporary ones. There will also be tributes to National Hero Jose Rizal. Closing the PAF is the Ani ng Dangal awarding ceremony as well as recognition of contemporary artists for their contributions.
For the whole month of February, expect the seven committees to present their projects, in which the public is invited to come.
