Arts&Culture (04/05/23)

CASA San Miguel presents Haydn’s Seven Last Words

IT HAS been an annual tradition of violinist Coke Bolipata and the Pundaquit Virtuosi to present Joseph Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ during Holy Week since 1993. This year it will be held on Good Friday, April 7, at 5 p.m., at CASA San Miguel, Evangelista St., Barangay San Miguel, in San Antonio, Zambales. To reserve tickets, call 0907-082-6692 or 0917-838-2752 or send a message via Facebook and Instagram @casa.sanmiguel.zamblaes.

Stations of the Cross at Capitol Commons

FOR the Catholic faithful who want to do the Stations of the Cross, Capitol Commons has provided a space for them to reflect on their faith. Capitol Commons will have the 14 Stations of the Cross spread out over the Park from April 4 to 9. The Stations of the Cross is a Catholic tradition of prayerful meditation on Good Friday. The faithful commemorate the Passion of Christ at 14 stations that have pictures or carvings of these events. This devotion is done by individuals, families and groups as they visit and pray at each station depicting Christ’s journey, from the time He is condemned to death to when He is crucified, and finally put inside a sepulcher.

Women in arts at the CCP touring exhibit

WHO and what defines women’s image? These are the questions that are explored in the touring exhibit of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), titled “Woman: Thesis and Antithesis”. Curated by Yuchengco Museum director Jeannie Javelosa, the exhibit features artworks that highlight women as subject matter and celebrate women artists amidst the evident gender divide in the field of visual arts in the Philippines. The exhibit is divided into two sections: the Women in Society collections displayed at the ground floor, and the Women Expressions exhibited at the third floor of Yuchengco Museum. The exhibit is part of the CCP touring exhibit series and also marks its first collaboration with the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City. The exhibit runs until June 24 at the Yuchengco Museum located at the RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala Avenue and Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue in Makati City. Visiting schedule is Monday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance fee for adults is P100, with a discounted price of P50 for students, seniors, and PWDs. Free admission days are April 29, May 20, and June 24, when there are public programs. On April 29, 3 p.m., there will be an open dialogue on the history of the CCP Visual Arts Collection, as written in the 2018 publication Cultural Cache, and its current status as the CCP 21AM Collection.  On May 20, 3 p.m., there will be a forum of art educators will converse on how the image of the woman is portrayed by artists across different periods in Philippine art history and in different mediums. Using the works featured in the exhibition, guests will discuss common themes and depictions in relation to gender representation in art. Selected Thirteen Artists Awards women recipients, who foreground woman and womanhood as subject matter, will gather on June 24, 3 p.m., to talk about generational differences in artmaking and expressions of the feminine.  For more information on the exhibit, check out the official CCP and CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division Facebook accounts.

PPO holds final concert of 38th season

THE RESIDENT and associate conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) Herminigildo Ranera takes the dais and performs with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) for the finale concert of its 38th concert season on April 28, 8 p.m., at the CCP Live at the Metropolitan Theater. The PPO, under his baton, will premiere his very own music, the Lola Basyang Miniature Suite, alongside with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Christoph Willibald Gluck’s L’espoir renait dans mon ame from Orphee et Eurydice, and Gaetano Donizetti’s Prendi, per me sei libero from L’elisir d’amore. The CCP resident orchestra continues its repertoire for its season’s Concert VIII with Gioacchino Rossini’s Si, ritrovarla io giuro from La Cenerentola, Georges Bizet’s Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante from Carmen, and Gaetano Donizetti’s Quio! Vous m’aimez? from La fille du regiment, and Antonin Dvorak Symphony no. 9, op. 95, E minor (“from the New World”). The PPO shares the stage with young singers, soprano Mheco Joy Manlangit and tenor Radnel Del Rio Ofalsa. Dubbed Metamorphosis, the 38th concert series serves as the battleground for the five shortlisted conductors vying for the musical director position. Tickets for the concert range in price from P500 to P1,500. For inquiries and tickets, call CCP Box Office at 8832-3704 or e-mail customercare@culturalcenter.gov.ph.

Nayong Pilipino opens exhibit in Tarlac

THE NAYONG Pilipino Foundation (NPF), in partnership with the Tarlac Provincial Government, opened the Nayon sa Diwa: Bringing Cultural Communities Closer to the Heart exhibit at the Diwa ng Tarlac Museum, on March 30. This marks the Foundation’s first exhibit outside of Metro Manila. The exhibit displays items from different communities in the country. It also highlights the works of the Abelling Aeta(s) who display their traditional items. The exhibit is part of the NPF’s Travelling Museum Project, an initiative meant to bring culture and heritage closer to the public. The exhibit is open to the public for free at Diwa ng Tarlac, Tarlac City from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the last week of May.

Silverlens now represents Syjuco, Anading, Havini

SILVERLENS gallery has announced that it is now representing the artists Stephanie Syjuco, Poklong Anading, and Taloi Havini. Dedicated to representing Southeast Asian Diaspora artists, Silverlens continues to increase global awareness and access to the narratives and histories of these artists and this region. In 2024, Ms. Syjuco will present a solo exhibition at Silverlens Manila, while Ms. Havini will hold her first-ever exhibition with Silverlens in its New York location. Mr. Anading will hold an Online Viewing Room presentation with the gallery later this year.

Wandering wings at Artablado

WHILE interested in art since childhood, Nathaniel San Pedro instead took a Bachelor of Science in psychology and started working in the corporate world as a recruitment specialist. Now, the artist is back on his chosen path as Robinsons Land ARTablado presents Nathaniel San Pedro’s latest exhibition titled “Wanderers: Exhibition of Diverse Beauty of Philippine Birds,” on view until April 15 at the ARTablado space in Robinsons Galleria. “For two years, I got serious in art and thoroughly studied painting,” he says. “I came to know the basics of painting, the process of paint application, the mixing of tonal values of paints, the combination of colors and right proportion of drawings. I took up an associate degree in fine arts at Global Knowledge in Boni, Mandaluyong City. I tried to study and enhance my painting skill even while working in the corporate world. After studying the basics in oil painting, the rest was self-taught…” Mr. San Pedro had his first solo exhibition in 2020 which was about the passion and journey of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. The idea for his follow-up show began when he received a Christmas gift: a book titled Birds of the Philippines. Awe-struck by the variety and beauty of the winged creatures we have in our country, birds became a symbol for the artist, of how beauty in this world is becoming truly fleeting because of how humans are destroying the environment. According to the artist, his art serves a greater purpose: an eye-opener for people to start taking care of the world we live in and all the creatures we share it with.