NCCA spearheads National Arts Month 2015, bestows Ani ng Dangal

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), led by its chairman Felipe M. de Leon Jr. and OIC-executive director Adelina M. Suemith, is gearing up for the celebration of National Arts Month (NAM) this February with the theme “Pride of Place.” 

The NCCA has been leading the celebration of NAM every February since the signing of Presidential Proclamation 683 in 1991. 

Instead of holding the Philippine Arts Festival (PAF) in celebration of NAM which the NCCA has been holding for several years now, the national government agency for arts and culture is spurring local government units, schools and non-government organizations to mount events in their communities for the celebration, promoting “local culture and arts scene and featuring the talents, performances and creativity of the many artists and arts groups in the seven arts.”

The activities and events are spread out from Luzon to Mindanao, comprising performances, exhibits and workshops. Several projects are festivals of different art forms, involving several activities.

Opening and Closing Ceremony

This year, the opening program will be held the whole afternoon of February 1, 2015, at the Rizal Park’s Open-Air Auditorium in Manila. Visitors can join the pocket workshops on drawing and caricature-making while short films and documentaries on Filipino architecture will be shown in the afternoon. 

In the evening, people will be able to watch performances of Novo Concertante, Sinukwan Kapampangan Performing Arts, Xtreme Dancers from South Cotabato and Halili Cruz School of Ballet. An excerpt of a komedya, an old Filipino theater form, will be mounted as well as a balatagsan, the Tagalog poetic “joust,” and a modern rap session, at the Concert at the Park venue of Rizal Park, in partnership with the National Parks Development Committee.

On the other hand, the closing ceremony will also be at the same venue on February 28, 2015 at 6 p.m. featuring performances by Novo Concertante, Sinukwan Kapampangan Performing Arts, Xtreme Dancers, A Team and guests representing the different arts. All Saturdays and Sundays of February will also be filled with performances at the same venue.

Ani ng Dangal

The NCCA’s NAM celebration will be highlighted by the Ani ni Dangal awards, which will happen on February 12, 2015, at 6 p.m., at the Old Senate Hall of the National Museum of the Philippines. It will be headlined by iconic actress and politician, Gov. Vilma Santos, who won the Best Actress trophy at the 2014 Dhaka International Film Festival for the Jeffrey Jeturian film Ekstra.

The Ani ng Dangal (meaning, harvest of honors) Awards recognizes artists, cultural workers and works that have earned international awards and accolades during the past year. Santos lead the more than 50 2015 awardees including Leonardo Katigbak of ABS-CBN and GMA News TV’s Bayan Ko in the broadcast arts; Siege Ledesma’s Shift, Jun Lana, Ronnie Quizon, Mikhail Red, Pamela Reyes’s Rekorder, Patricia Evangelista’s The Barber of Guiuan, Lav Diaz, Will Fredo and Ida Tiongson’s In Nominee Matris, Hazel Tapales Orencio, Jake Cuenca, Joel Lamangan’s Kamkam, Liza Diño, Allen Dizon, Diane Ventura, Mark Justen Aguillon, Nerissa Picadizo, Francis Xavier Pasion’s Bwaya, Roberto Reyes Ang’s TNT, Carlo Obispo’s Purok 7, Sandy Talag, Eduardo Roy Jr.’s Quick Change and Miggs Cuaderno for cinema; 

Halili Cruz Ballet Company, A Team, Xtreme Dancers, Johnny Sustantivo Villanueva, Kayleen Mae Ortiz and Margaret Chua Lao, and Miguel Leopoldo Ignacio for dance; Sophia Marie Lee for the literary arts; Lloyd Edisonne Judilla Montebon, Novo Concertante Manila Choir, Saint Louie University Glee Club, Alvin Paulin and Aleron Choir for music; 

Ronnie Dayo, Robert John Cabagnot, Glenn Isaac, Mario Cardenas, Kenneth Cobonpue, Jophel Botero Ybiosa, Gina Meneses, Phoebelyn Gullunan, Jamille Blanca Aguilar, James Singlador, Danilo Victoriano, Ruston Banal, Trisha Co Reyes, Justen Paul Tolentino, Jamia Mei Tolentino, Jesus Ramos Tejada and Maria Angelica Tejada for visual arts.

Exhibition

Photos of the awardees’ trophies, clippings and ephemera will be featured at the Ani ng Dangal exhibit, which will be unveiled at the event. The exhibit will also be mounted at the SM North Edsa from Feb. 13 to 20, SM Megamall from Feb. 21 to 27, and at the Rizal Park at Feb. 28.  

For more details, contact Rene Sanchez Napeñas, head of the NCCA Public Affairs and Information Office (PAIO) at 0928-5081057 or 527-5529. E-mail us at ncca.paio@gmail.com or visit our website at www.ncca.gov.ph.

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