Arts&Culture (02/01/23)
Ballet Manila season opens with Romeo & Juliet
Ballet Manila’s 25th performance season — called “Of Hope and Homecoming” — begins with the world premiere of Martin Lawrence’s Romeo & Juliet on Feb. 18, 8 p.m., and Feb. 19, 5 p.m. Tickets are now on sale via Ticketworld at https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/.
Hop-on, hop-off museum tours
Part of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Pasinaya festival — a multi-arts festival to be held at the CCP Complex and other outdoor venues on Feb. 3 to 5, featuring hundreds of shows, workshops, and other activities in music, theater, dance, visual arts, film, and literature — is Paseo Museo, a hop-on, hop-off tour of 13 participating museums and galleries in Pasay and Manila slated on Feb. 4 and 5. This year, the CCP has five new partners — AIMS Museo Maritimo, the GSIS Museum, the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) School of Fine Arts & Design (SFAD) Jose Conrado Benitez (JCB) Gallery, Adamson University Art Gallery, and the Manila Clock Tower Museum. They join Pasinaya’s Paseo Museum regulars, including the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Anthropology, the National Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Casa Manila, Museo de Intramuros, Fort Santiago, and Museo Pambata. Paseo Museo, formerly Museum Mile, is held in partnership with the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, which provides shuttles that enable audiences to visit the participating museums and galleries. This year, there will be 15 vehicles that will ferry the Pasinaya Paseo Museo viewers to Routes A, B and C* (*Saturday only). The Pasinaya 2023: The CCP Open House Festival is an experience-all-you-can, pay-what-you-can event. For the show schedule, visit https://www.facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines/photos/a.586685618079693/5774171615997708/.
Samson et Dalila at MET on HD
The Cultural Center of the Philippines’ MET on HD program will present the New York Metropolitan Opera’s production of Samson et Dalila (Samson and Delilah) on Feb. 7, 5:30 p.m., at the cinemas of Greenbelt 3, Makati City. Considered as one of the best biblical epics, Samson et Dalila is brought to life with mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča and tenor Roberto Alagna. The regular ticket price is P450. Students who present their school ID at the Greenbelt 3 ticket counter will get a P100 discount as will young professionals who are 35 years old and below. Reserve a seat at bit.ly/SureSeatsSamsonEtDalila.
Digital poster tilt for National Heritage Month
THE National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) opens National Heritage Month 2023 with a digital poster competition. The contest is open to all Filipino citizens residing in the Philippines aged 18 to 25 years old at the time of application. The poster should be a visualization of the Heritage Month theme, “Heritage: Change and Continuity,” and must adhere to the objectives of the celebration. Register and submit entries through bit.ly/NHM2023DPCForm. For the complete guidelines, visit bit.ly/NHM2023DPCGuidelines. The downloadable files are available at bit.ly/NHM2023DPCFiles. The deadline of submissions is on Feb. 13.
‘Buklod’ at ARTablado
Each of the 11 artists featured in the “Buklod” exhibition — which will run from Feb. 1 to 15 at ARTablado in Robinsons Galleria — participated to create a show that can inspire every Filipino artist from newbies to experienced. “Buklod” features the abstract works of 11 artists, some of whom have “day jobs”, while the rest are either freelance artists or have bitten the bullet and have become full-time art practitioners. They are Jas Agbunag (a freelance graphic designer), Anton Aguas, Richard Apostol (a senior associate designer in a BPO firm), MarPolo Cabrera (an online writer and businessman), Meyo de Jesus, Rolly delos Santos, Ross del Rosario, Danny Encabo, Veejay Palcunan, Patrice Palisoc and Ronald “Doods” Pena. “Buklod Para sa Sining” is Robinsons Land ARTablado’s opening salvo for National Arts Month. Meyo de Jesus, Danny Encabo and Rolly de Jesus have mounted or participated in exhibitions at ARTablado in the past. MarPolo Cabrera is one of the very first artists featured in the Robinsons Land venue. The group spokesperson said that they are 11 artists with different approaches and takes on what constitutes abstract art and how to give a semblance of form to the non-figurative.
Murakami, Abloh, Condo works headline art exhibit
An exhibition of paintings and sculptures by some of the most prominent global names today, #artnow: The Poliform Collection of International Contemporary Art, will open on Feb. 10 at the 12F Gallery of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Design and Arts Campus. The showcase, which includes around 100 artworks, features globally influenced and culturally diverse artworks, including works by Takashi Murakami, the late Virgil Abloh, a Tracey Emin in neon, George Condo’s take on psychological cubism, a portrait by Grace Weaver, and a mysterious figure by Vojitech Kovarik. Completing the roster are Brian Calvin, Javier Calleja, Emma Cousin, Jonathan Edulheber, Camilla Engstrom, Tomoo Gokita, Bambou Gili, Jennifer Guidi, Ania Hobson, Jordy Kerwick, Tahnee Lonsdale, Mia Middleton, Tania Marmolejo, Nicolas Party, Charlie Roberts, Tom Sachs, Theo Viardin, Jess Valice and Mark Whalen. The pieces were collected over a decade by businessman Tim Tan, one of the owners of Poliform, a leading distributor of Italian furniture and lighting in the country. The show is produced by Benilde Center for Campus Art (CCA) and curated by Architect Gerry Torres. Inspired by the paintings and sculptures, the young student-artists of the Benilde Industrial Design Program explored the relationship and intersections between art and design as they conceptualized and created their own soft toys. The finished figures, which will also be on view at the exhibit, were conceptualized and created under the guidance of designer-educator Budji Tresvalles. The show will likewise host an Instagram competition with iconic KAWS vinyl figures as prizes. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/BenildeCampusArt. The exhibit will be on view from Feb. 10 until May 5 at the Design and Arts Campus, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, 950 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila