juloct06 UPdate

The quadrangle in front of the Carillon debuted as the newest performance venue on campus in February, which marked UPD’s Arts and Culture month. Aptly called the Arts Hub, the area is bounded by Ylanan Road on the west, the Film Institute on the east, Magsaysay Street on the north, and Osmeña Street on the south.

The Arts Hub is the initial step towards developing an integrated University Arts Complex (UAC) that will serve as the venue to foreground UPD as a visual, performing and literary arts hub.

An integral component of the Cao Administration’s 10-point action plan for UPD, the development of the UAC is spearheaded by Prof. Rubén D. F. Defeo, in his capacity as Director of the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA) and the Diliman Information Office (DIO).

“The Arts Complex will put an umbrella structure for all the art-related activities, groupings and disciplines on campus. This will serve as a concrete symbol of the comprehensive arts program that the Cao Administration implements to strengthen the expertise of the faculty and students in the Arts and Humanities Cluster,” Defeo said. The Hub is managed by OICA.

To celebrate Diliman Month, concerts, dance performances and exhibitions, workshops and film showings were scheduled to highlight the new venue. All events were open to the public and free of charge.

The Arts Hub made its debut as a performing venue on February 1, with a parade of floats produced by the College of Fine Arts (CFA) and a concert by the College of Music’s UP Symphonic Band, under the baton of Prof.

Two regular OICA events were redesigned to suit the arts month: Music in the Air and Himigsikan sa Lagun.

Music in the Air involved musical performances by talents of the College of Music (CM) and was staged on four Thursday evenings. Among the performers were: the UP Symphonic Band, which opened the Diliman Month on February 1; two world-acclaimed choral groups, the UP Concert Chorus (Feb. 8) and the UP Madrigal Singers (Feb. 15); and the UP Jazz Orchestra (Feb. 22).

Himigsikan sa Lagun is an outdoor concert held at the UP Lagoon on Sundays during the regular semester. This year, the activity was moved to the Arts Hub. Featured performers for the activity were: the Brass Quintet and a guitar, flute and violin trio (Feb. 4); the UP Jazz Friends (Feb. 11); Majam (Feb. 18); and the UP Jazz Ensemble (Feb. 25).

A new activity was introduced—Cinema al Fresco, which featured movies shot at or about UPD. The activity was a joint project of OICA and the College of Mass Communication.

The initial film screened was Moral, which was produced in 1982. It tells the story of four college girls at UPD and what happens when when they attempt to live the lives of liberated young females. The other films screened were: Diliman (Feb. 9); Mangarap Ka (Feb. 16); and outstanding films by UP Film students on Feb. 23.

The much awaited yearly performance of Kontra-Gapi, UPD’s ultimate gamelan ensemble, was also moved to the Arts Hub. Sponsored by OICA, the show as been described as a total audio visual experience in itself—with gongs, drums, singing, chanting, dancing, and clapping. It has enticed audiences both here and abroad for its distinctly Southeast Asian touch.

Two dance performances were also staged. The first, “Igal, Dance of the Southern Seas,” was a lecture-demonstration on the Sama Dilaut’s Igal dance tradition. It featured a brief introduction on the five dances from the Sulu Archipelago, video clips from the field and kulintang performances. The activity was organized by Dr. Matthew Santamaria and the Asian Center and was held on Feb. 6.

The other activity was “Pangalay and Related Dance Cultures by the AlunAlun Dance Circle,” held on Feb. 19. The activity featured a lecture and demonstration on the pangalay dance style, which is said to have the richest movement vocabulary among the ethnic dances in the country. Ligaya Amilbangsa led the dance demonstration.

Another CFA activity was held at the venue. “A Portfolio Celebrating a New Millenium of Printmaking Exhibition” was staged at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery of the UP Film Institute. Curated by CFA professor Reynaldo L. Concepcion, the exhibit was a tribute to renowned printmaker Robert Blackburn, who established the Printmaking Workshop in New York City. It featured works of artists who were mentored by Blackburn, one of whom was CFA alumnus Leonore R. S. Lim, who is now based in New York. Concepcion, who earned a Master of Fine Arts at Pratt Institute in New York, was a student when the Institute conferred upon Blackburn an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

To close the month-long activities at the Arts Hub, CFA conducted a repeat of the Art Workshop for Children on February 28. The workshop had three integral components: storytelling, music and visuals. Melody Lemorca, a professional storyteller, read to some 30 students of the UP Integrated School the story “ Mr. Beetle’s Many Rooms.” After the session, music professor Joy Timbol worked with the children to produce music and sounds to accompany the story. Meanwhile, CFA students assisted the students in the production of props, sets and costumes. The workshop was concluded with a re-telling of the same story, this time as a full presentation complete with music, dialogue, sounds, sets and costumes. The activity was coordinated by CFA College Secretary Ruben de Jesus.

The Arts Hub is born