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UP Diliman Arts and Culture Festival 2022


Kaalinsabay ng pagdiriwang ng Pambansang Buwan ng mga Sining, ginunita ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman ang ika-150 taong anibersaryo ng kamatayan nina Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, at Fr. Jacinto Zamora, mas kilala bilang GomBurZa, sa pamamagitan ng UP Diliman Arts and Culture Festival 2022 na pinamagatang “kaMALAYAn: Pamana ng GomBurZa @ 150.”

Ang mahalagang bahaging ito ng kasaysayang Pilipino na naganap noong 1872 ay maaaring ituring bilang isang historical turning point – isang pangyayaring nagsilbing mitsa ng kamalayang Pilipino at nasyonalismo – na hahantong sa Rebolusyong 1896. Para sa mga historyador, maaaring ituring ang danas at sinapit ng GomBurZa bilang ugat ng diwang makabayang nagsilbing artikulasyon ng kawalang-hustisya sa lipunang kolonyal. Hindi malayong nagsilbing punla rin ang diwang ito sa mga prinsipyo ng Kilusang Propaganda sa ika-19 dantaon, gayundin sa Katipunan na pinangunahan ni Andres Bonifacio.



Sa malawakang pagtingin sa kasaysayan, mula sa panahon ng pananakop ng mga Espanyol tungo sa mga kalupitan at kalabisan ng Batas Militar ng diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos noong 1972 hanggang sa kasalukuyan, masasabing patuloy at higit pang lumalakas ang alingawngaw ng mga hinaing ukol sa hustisya at pagkakapantay-pantay sa lipunan, ang pangangailangan ng marangal at makataong pamamahala, at mga katanungan ukol sa kondisyon ng Pilipino bilang tao at bilang mamamayan.

Nilalayon ng UP Diliman Arts and Culture Festival 2022 na pag-aralan at pagnilayan ang mga konsepto ng kamalayang Pilipino at ang mga nakapaloob na diwa ng ALAY, MALÁY, at LAYA sa salitang “kaMALAYAn.” Itinampok sa pagdiriwang ang mga proyektong pansining at pangkultura na umuugnay sa karanasang Pilipino sa konteksto ng pandemya, at mga isyung panlipunan na bumabalot sa ating bayan.

Ang UP Diliman Arts and Culture Festival 2022 Omnibus Program ay maaaring i-download sa:

OMNIBUS PROGRAM






Sound Art Installation and Virtual Exhibit: ATANG, a sound prayer
WEBINAR: Sining at Kamalayang Pilipino
Talastasan sa Kasaysayan Webinar Series: Philippine Nationalism Beyond 1872
UP Diliman Kanlungan Talk Series, Episode 3: Kababaihan, Sining Pilipino, at Komunidad
BAGUMBAYAN: Stories of Place and Identity
Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law
Malikhaing Programa: Sa Mahal Kong Bayan
Bulwagan ng Mga Bayani: Alay, Alaala, at Pagpupugay sa mga Bayani ng Pilipinas
HIMIGSIKAN sa Jingle Magazine: Malayang Tipaan at Kuwentuhan

IBA PANG MGA INISYATIBA

Ang mga sumusunod ay ilan pang mga inisyatiba ng mga organisasyon ng mga estudyante at ibang yunit sa UP Diliman na tumutugon sa tema ng 2022 UPD Buwan ng mga Sining at Kultura na “kaMALAYAn : Pamana ng GomBurZa @ 150.”


UP College of Architecture—Living in the Philippines: Realizing Identity from Different Disciplinal Perspectives
UP Department of Linguistics—Lexicon Unpacked: Alay, malay, laya


Talastasan sa Kasaysayan Webinar Series: Philippine Nationalism Beyond 1872

21 and 28 February, 7 and 14 March 2022 | UPD Department of History (Zoom and Facebook Live)

The notion that events of 1872 played an integral role in the development of Philippine nationalism has remained an undisputed claim amongst scholars. Writing in 1999, renowned historian John Schumacher privileged the relevance of 1872 in the history of the Filipino nation:

“Here the foundation for the future development of Filipino nationalism was laid. With the tragic failure to obtain Filipino rights within the Spanish framework, and the execution or nullification of the leaders of the Filipino clergy, the initiative would pass to another generation.”

Indeed, the succeeding generation composed of the young propagandists of Rizal’s time would take the helm in the fight for reforms and usher in a period now widely recognized as having birthed the nation.
2022 marks the 150th anniversary of the Cavite Mutiny and the execution of the three priests, Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora. These historical events in 1872 remain significant for the lasting effects it has had on the narrative of a Filipino nation grappling against the yokes of colonialism and its contribution in developing and enriching nationalist discourses in Philippine studies. As such, this milestone provides an opportune occasion to look back and retell the story of who we are as a nation and take stock of how (and perhaps even why) the telling of our nation’s story has changed over time.

With that in mind, the UPD Department of History intends to hold a series of four webinars to be held weekly and scheduled from February to March 2022. While the first lecture will provide the initial springboard by providing the context and narrating the events of 1872, the following three lectures will open up new discussions about Philippine nationalism, considering that significant strides have been made since 1872.

The topics and speakers for these webinars are listed below:

Webinar#1 (21 February 2022, 2:30-4:00 PM, via Zoom)
“Colonialism and Decolonisation: Global Context, Origin and Trajectory of Filipino Nationalism”
Speaker: Floro C. Quibuyen, PhD
Founding President, Research Institute for Sustainable Alternatives

Watch here


Webinar#2 (28 February 2022, 5:00-6:30 PM, via Zoom)
“Constructing Place in the Philippine Revolution: Asia and Transnational Malayness in the Philippine political imagination”
Speaker: Nicole CuUnjieng-Aboitiz, PhD
University of Cambridge Research Fellow

Cancelled


Webinar#3 (7 March 2022, 2:30-4:00 PM, via Zoom)
“Filipinoness: Land, Descent, and Inclusion in the National Community”
Speaker: Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr, PhD
Professor, Ateneo de Manila University

Watch here


Webinar#4 (14 March 2022, 2:30-4:00 PM, via Zoom)
“Napapagitna si Dagat”: Homesickness among Filipino Propagandists in the 19th Century
Speaker: Rhodalyn C. Wani-Obias
Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines Diliman

Watch here


The webinar is organized by the UP Department of History, represented by its Chair, Prof. Neil Martial R. Santillan, PhD.

Bagumbayan: Stories of Place and Identity
(National Conference on the 150th Anniversary of the GomBurZa Execution)

CSSP Folklore Studies Program (Zoom and Facebook Live)
9 March 2022 : 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
10 March 2022 : 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Watch the webinar through the links below:

Day 1 - AM session

Day 1 - PM session

Day 2

“Executed in Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February 1872.”

Thus did Rizal memorialize Frs. Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora in the dedication of his second novel, El Filibusterismo, to the three priests. It is significant that he wanted to recall the place of their historic death where 24 years later he too would offer his life for the country. Bagumbayan, renamed the Luneta because of its geographic shape resembling a crescent moon or “luna”, is also popular as the Rizal Park, in honor of our national hero. His death lent the place not only its name but also its identity, henceforth associated with freedom. When the country celebrates Independence Day on June 12, the flag-raising ritual in the Luneta gets more prominent attention than Kawit where the flag was first raised. This is part of the national memory and meaning-making of the place that derives from the events that took place there.

There is a dynamic interaction between the event and its location: the incident that happens in a particular setting becomes part of its story. The event becomes intimately associated with the place and its story gives memory and identity to the space. The stories that people tell of a place reveal the meaning and significance they attach to the location, bind them to a particular place, and bring the place to life. It is thus an active and living history that shapes the identity not only of the place but also of its people.

Using Bagumbayan as an active and living site of a national story, the conference interrogates the other places where a community has stories that continue to be told. Places as repositories of remembered events become important cultural markers that promote the connections among the community, their history, and their hopes. The physical space thus comes to represent the site of the past event being made relevant to the world at present to signify what they value and idealize.

This national conference uses the GomBurZa execution in Bagumbayan to document the stories of places that communities hold in their collective memories. These stories vary in time and content and scope, as they recall events from various historical periods and of various deeds whether factual or supernatural. They are cultural markers that make the physical landscape alive. Through these stories of place, community, and national identities are brought to the fore.

The CSSP Folklore Studies Program through this national conference seeks to reach out to other scholars and academics primarily from other constituent universities of the UP System to strengthen the folklore network and cultural scholarship within the University. The conference will be open to the public. Panels:

Stories of Places of Courage and Heroism
Stories of Places of Supernatural Beliefs
Stories of Ancestral Domains
The Sacred Digital Space
Spaces and Identities
Symbolic Landscapes & Heritage Studies
Festivals, Celebrations and Commemorations
Local Transformations and Resistance

The project is organized by the CSSP Folklore Studies Program led by ​​​​Prof. Jesus Federico C. Hernandez.

Lexicon Unpacked: Alay, malay, laya
UP Department of Linguistics

17 Marso, 2-4PM | UP Department of Linguistics Facebook page and YouTube channel

Watch the webinar here

Ang mga linggwistik na yunit sa leksikon ng mananalita ng isang wika ay naglalaman ng mayamang impormasyong nabuo at pinanday ng kasaysayan at kultura; at ito ay masisipat at masusuri sa pamamagitan ng iba’t ibang metodolohiyang nagsisilbing balangkas ng makaagham na pag-aaral ng wika.

Sa gayon, maaaral hindi lamang ang kasalukuyang gamit o denotasyon ng terminolohiya, kundi maging ang kasaysayan at kontekstong nakapaligid sa itinakdang kahulugan at katuturan ng mga terminolohiyang ito.

Sinasabing lalong napaigting ang kamalayan ng mga Pilipino sa kanilang identidad bilang bayang dapat lumaya mula sa mga dayuhang mananakop nang ialay ng GomBurZa ang kanilang buhay noong 1872. Bilang ambag sa paggunita sa 150 taon ng pagkamartir ng GomBurZa at bahagi ng paunang aktibidad para sa pagdiriwang ng sentenaryo ng UP Departamento ng Linggwistiks, pasisinayaan ang kauna-unahang Lexicon Unpacked, isang serye ng webinar/lektura na nakatuon sa malaliman at malawakang pagtalakay sa mga terminolohiyang itinuturing na mahalaga sa kasaysayan at kultura ng pamayanang gumagamit nito.

Para sa unang instalasyon ng Lexicon Unpacked, hihimayin ang tatlong konseptong malay, alay, at laya mula sa lente ng iba’t ibang lapit na ginagamit sa linggwistiks gaya ng mga sumusunod: diachronic linguistics, metaphor studies, natural semantic metalanguage (NSM), discourse analysis, ethnolinguistics, at semantic frames analysis. Ang mga resulta ng mga kolaboratibong pananaliksik ay inaasahang makapag-aambag sa pagdalumat sa tatlong konsepto na may pagbibigay-diin sa pagpapakahulugan bilang resulta ng kolektibong karanasan, kasaysayan, at kultura ng pamayanang gumagamit nito.

Living in the Philippines: Realizing Identity Through Different Disciplinal Perspectives

7 Marso, 2-5PM | UP Diliman College of Architecture Facebook Page


Watch the livestream here

This is a roundtable discussion among academic peers from the College of Architecture, the College of Home Economics, the College of Human Kinetics, the College of Science, and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy of the University of the Philippines Diliman. They will share their particular insights about living in our country, exploring through conversation how different facets of Philippine life become part of our collective identity. The aim of these discussions will be to find intersections and parallels among different spheres of interest with the hope of forming the beginnings of a multi-disciplinary research agenda.

HIMIGSIKAN sa Jingle Magazine: Malayang Tipaan at Kuwentuhan

25 Marso, 5PM | UPD-OICA YouTube channel

Featured Guests

Monster RX93.1's The Radio 1 Show: Campus Highlights interview

JINGLE Music Magazine started as a fanzine borne out of two musically-inclined brothers’ desire to produce a songbook/chordbook that had correct lyrics and chords (after experiencing erroneous foreign materials in the local market). Through the years, it evolved not only into a bestselling magazine, but also an inclusive platform for emerging music artists, critics, writers, poets, cartoonists, and music fanatics during the 70s, 80s and early 90s.

While JINGLE Music Magazine was established in 1970, its subsequent print issues in the early years of Martial Law had related effects and unexpected purposes. The early years of Martial Law in the Philippines was an inescapable signpost; hence JINGLE continued and even broadened its unconventional approach in featuring socio-political commentaries through songs, prose and poetry, narratives, jokes, letters, comics, cartoons, etc. JINGLE Music Magazine, through its music and artists, can also inspire the UP community to be always responsive (malay) and willing to serve (alay) for the emancipation (laya) of our nation.

“JINGLE may have started as a music magazine but it had evolved into a public sphere that upheld ‘malayang pagpapahayag at pamamahayag’ in response to the needs of the times. In its unconventional (and often irreverent) approach, it served as an alternative medium during the Martial Law regime when Philippine media was muzzled and freedom of expression was clamped down. Ayon sa mga naratibo, sa kakaiba nitong malikhaing pamamaraan, naging bahagi ang JINGLE nang pagpapalaganap at pagsulong ng kamalayan tungkol sa kalayaan,” diin ni Eric Guillermo, bunso sa pamilyang publisher ng JMM at music editor nito sa mahabang panahon.

The virtual concert reunites Filipino musicians who were influenced by the publication, and subsequently contributed to the birth of OPM. This includes Noel Cabangon, Lolita Carbon, (siblings) Lester and Becky Demetillo, Pol Galang and Chickoy Pura. Taking the format of a music talk show, this concert will also feature key participants that have contributed to the distinction of JINGLE as a material that became part of the lived experiences of its readers. Editors, resident writers and visual artists, contributors, the fans and Eric Guillermo (as owner and publisher) will be represented in the show through interviews interspersed with songs (chosen by the performers) that have become part of their collective memory with the magazine. This includes writers Juaniyo Arcellana and Edwin Pena Sallan, Allen Mercado, a fan and avid collector of the magazine; Roxlee and DengCoy Miel, visual artists; National Artist Ryan Cayabyab; Dr. Jimmuel Naval, award-winning writer and Dean of the College of Arts and Letters of U.P. Diliman. Howie Severino and Boni Ilagan anchor the show’s interviews while Krina Cayabyab is Himigsikan’s director.

This project is in partnership with the Guillermo family and the U.P. OICA as part of the commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the martyrdom of Gomburza during the U.P. Diliman Arts and Culture Festival 2022.founder of the magazine. The project is in partnership with the Guillermo family, who owned the JINGLE Magazine publications, which closed down in the early 1990s.

Bulwagan ng Mga Bayani: Alay, Alaala, at Pagpupugay sa mga Bayani ng Pilipinas

UP Asian Center Museum
Exhibit Launch, 21 March 2022 (Zoom)
Permanent Exhibit (ac.upd.edu.ph)
Videos (Asian Center Youtube Channel)

Learn more

In 1981, Apolinaria Masangkay, Soledad Borromeo-Buhler, and the other heirs of General Guillermo Masangkay, one of the original members of the Katipunan, donated to the Asian Center historical artifacts which previously belonged to General Masangkay. The items donated were 16 busts of Filipino national heroes made by the Graciano Nepomuceno, a renowned Filipino sculptor and santero (icon maker). Since then, the UP Asian Center became the home of these historical artifacts.

Due to logistical and physical constraints, these artifacts have been passed around, borrowed, and used in other activities in different units in UP. However, when returned to the Asian Center, it was buried in storage rooms. Recognizing and understanding the significance of these items in strengthening and solidifying Filipino heritage and identity, the Asian Center seeks to preserve, promote, and permanently exhibit these objects of artistic and cultural significance for public consumption.
In this regard, in line with the University of the Philippines Diliman’s celebration of the 2022 Arts and Culture Festival with the theme, kaMALAYAn: Pamana ng GomBurZa @ 150, the Asian Center will launch an exhibit titled Bulwagan ng mga Bayani: Alay, Alaala, at Pagpupugay sa mga Bayani ng Pilipinas. This project aims to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of Philippines national heroes and the roles they played in Philippine and Asian history. It seeks to deepen and expand our understanding of the Filipino identity through the following activities:

  1. The institution of the Asian Center Museum’s permanent exhibit featuring the busts of the three martyred priests, Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora and 13 other national heroes and an exhibit catalog
  2. An online launching and program featuring a lecture on GomBurZa, Graciano Nepomuceno, and performances by guest singers and artists

This will be a Permanent Exhibit at the UP Asian Center, Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota, Asian Cultural Center, and Asian Center website, ac.upd.edu.ph. Videos will be available on the Asian Center Youtube Channel.


The project is organized by Prof. Matthew Santamaria, PhD., of the UP Asian Center.

Malikhaing Programa: Sa Mahal Kong Bayan

18 Marso, 7:30pm | UP Oblation Plaza

Hybrid live/pre-recorded & livestream


Watch the event here

View Gallery

List of Artists & Performers

Nilalayon ng malikhaing programa na madalumat ang susun-susong temang kumakatawan sa Buwan ng Sining 2022. Ang okasyong ito, na kaakibat ng paglulunsad ng sining instalasyong Atang, ay nagsimula sa aktuwal na pagtatanghal ng ritwal ng atang, na isinagawa mismo ng mga manlilikha o ng isang babaylan. Ito ay simbolo at pagpapahayag ng pananampalataya, pag-asa, at lakas sa mga pinagdadaanan ng lahat bilang indibidwal at bilang sambayanan, sa kasalukuyan at sa hinaharap. Tampok din sa palatuntunan ang iba’t ibang anyo ng KAMALAYAN, ALAY, MALÁY, at LAYA: sa mahahalagang teksto ng gunita (GomBurZa, del Pilar, Rizal, atbp.), at samu’t saring pananaliksik na tinipon ng mga iskolar ng kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Sa pamamagitan ng mga pagtatanghal ng musika at sayaw, inaasahang maantig at mapukaw ng malikhaing programa ang puso at isip upang HUWAG MANAHIMIK, upang KUMILOS.

Ang nabuong programa at mga tampok na bidyo para sa gawaing ito ay inilagak sa isang itinalagang bahagi sa website ng OICA at patuloy na ikakampanya sa mga social media, sa layuning ibangon ang kamalayan sa mga usaping sumasalot sa lipunang Pilipino. Magagamit din ang mga bidyo bilang materyal na panturo sa mga klase sa aralin sa sining at teatro, produksiyon at pagtatanghal ng sining, at maging sa kasaysayan at araling Pilipino.

Ang malikhaing programa ay pinamumunuan ni Prop. Josefina Estrella ng Departamento ng Komunikasyong Pasalita at Sining Panteatro at Direktor ng UP Theater Complex.

Poster by Josee Marie Pleños

Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law

1-30 Abril | UP Diliman Academic Oval

Watch the Virtual Tour

View Exhibit Photos

In line with UPD Arts and Culture Festival 2022, kaMALAYAn: Pamana ng GomBurZa @ 150, we revisit and reflect on kamalayang Pilipino (Filipino consciousness) and its extent through the ideas of alay, maláy, and laya, derivatives of the word kamalayan, in the context of heroic sacrifice for freedom.

In Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law, a photo documentary exhibit by Rick Rocamora, we choose to view the Martial Law human rights violation victims as heroes, as GomBurZa 150 years ago, whose documented sufferings ignited in the consciousness of fellow Filipinos, an aspiration for freedom fueled by love of country.

To those who disappeared, were detained, tortured, executed in the name of freedom from the dark Martial Law regime, honor and gratitude.


ARTIST’S STATEMENT

This long-term photo documentary project, Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law that I started in 2011 is to put faces to the victims of Martial Law and to recognize their sacrifices under the Marcos Dictatorship.

Those who were tortured, incarcerated, disappeared and died during Martial Law contributed so much to end the dictatorship. Their sacrifices allowed us to live without fear of raising our voices to protect our civil liberties, denounce violation of Human Rights and to fight for a just, honest, and efficient government policy that benefits the majority of our people.

It is important to remember their sacrifices not only during this period of our nation’s history, but also as a lesson for future generations of Filipinos to stop any threat to curtail our civil liberties and stop any attempt for another imposition of Martial Law.

Many thanks for allowing me to put faces to your names and to remember your sacrifices. We must not forget the honorable deeds you made for our Inang Bayan.
Taos pusong nagpupugay sa inyong lahat.


METHODOLOGY

Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law may be considered as part of an ongoing curatorial quest for transformation and complete reparations for the human rights violation victims during the Martial Law regime of Ferdinand Marcos. The challenge, almost always, lies in the promotion of a more emphatic understanding of victimhood that words fail to sufficiently express and represent.

In an effort to present factual content to complement the starkly compelling black-and-white portraits by Rick Rocamora, each name was verified with the Roll of Victims created by the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission (https://hrvvmemcom.gov.ph) under RA 10368. Moreover, consultation with the victim-survivors of Martial Law was conducted through the help of the HRVVMC.

Truth, as an integral part of justice, is not only a factual recounting of events but the understanding of these truths and the consequences for those who hold them. We, therefore, enjoin the viewers to dig deeper, go beyond these names and faces, and know their stories.

UP Diliman Kanlungan Talk Series, Episode 3: Kababaihan, Sining Pilipino, at Komunidad

23 Pebrero, 9AM-5PM | Zoom and UPD-OICA YouTube channel


Watch the webinar here

Bilang ambag sa pagdiriwang ng Buwan ng Kababaihan tuwing buwan ng Marso, nagdaraos ng webinar ukol sa ugnayan ng sining Pilipino, kababaihan, at komunidad bilang usaping kamalayan. Tinalakay ng mga artistang kababaihan ang naging landas, mga hamon, at direksiyon ng kanilang pagdalumat sa sining Pilipino at proseso ng paglikha. Pinadaloy ang diskurso mula sa kanilang mga likha o identidad bilang babae sa sining sa kung paano nito hinubog, at patuloy na hinuhubog, ang kanilang praksis at komunidad. Ito man ay mga gawain sa pangkalahatang merkado ng sining, akademiya, adbokasiya, komunidad kasama ng mga katutubo, grupo ng mga maralitang taga-lungsod, o iba pa, siniyasat kung paano lumilitaw ang konsepto ng kamalayan sa mga ugnayang ito.

Ang UP Diliman Kanlungan Talk Series ay inilunsad ng OICA noong 2020 bilang pagtugon sa pangangailangan na mapalutang ang mga usaping pansining sa Pilipinas na apektado ng pandemya at mga ligalig sa lipunan.


Pinangasiwaan ito ng OICA sa pamumuno ni Maria Loren Rivera at Frances Anna Bacosa.

Poster by Josee Marie Pleños

WEBINAR: Sining at Kamalayang Pilipino

23 Pebrero, 9AM-5PM | Zoom and UPD-OICA YouTube channel


Guest Speakers and Abstracts

Watch the webinar here

Ang webinar ay nagtatampok ng mga piling iskolar sa sining Pilipino sa pagdalumat ng ugnayan ng sining at kamalayang Pilipino. Hangarin ng mga panayam na makapagbahagi ang mga pantas sa sining Pilipino ng kanilang mga kaisipan, saloobin, at tunguhin ukol sa ugnayan ng sining at kamalayang Pilipino sa konteksto ng nagbabagong kondisyon ng ating lipunan. Ang mga panayam ay halaw sa mga sariling karanasan at panlipunang kondisyon na maaaring nakaapekto sa intellectual development na tinahak ng mga pantas. Tinalakay kung paano naapektuhan ang direksyon ng pag-aaral, pagsusuri, at paglikha ng sining, ito man ay sa produksyon, pananaliksik, o pamamahala ng sining. Sa pangkalahatan, hangad ng webinar na makaambag sa pagpapalutang ng konsepto ng kamalayang Pilipino bilang kamulatan sa konteksto ng kasalukuyang kondisyon ng ating bayan, sa gitna ng mga ligalig at mga hamon sa buhay na ating hinaharap. Ang mga imbitadong pantas na magbibigay ng panayam ay sina Pambansang Alagad ng Sining para sa Panitikan Virgilio Almario, Pambansang Alagad ng Sining para sa Musika Ramon Santos, Professor Emeritus Nicanor Tiongson, at Prop. Felipe De Leon, Jr.


Pinangasiwaan ito ng UPD-OICA sa pamumuno ni Prop. Cecilia De La Paz, PhD.

Sound Art Installation and Virtual Exhibit: ATANG, a sound prayer

18 Marso-18 Abril | UP Oblation Plaza


Watch the Official trailer

Watch the Virtual Exhibit

See Installation Photos

Atang, a sound prayer as a project was conceived collectively by a group of faculty members from the U.P. College of Fine Arts, namely Assoc. Prof. Maria Rita Gudiño (Department of Visual Communication), Asst. Prof. Abdul Mari Imao Jr. (Department of Studio Arts), Mr. Stanley Yeyey Ruiz (Department of Visual Communication), Mr. Michael Shivers (Department of Visual Communication), and Assoc. Prof. Dayang Magdalena Nirvana Yraola, PhD, (Department of Theory), at the beginning of 2021, and was later joined by Mr. Wilson Lumbao, Jr. (Department of Theory). As in most instances, being a member of the same faculty is more than academic or professional affiliation. It is a community—and ecology of symbiosis, where the proponents find nourishment, as much as they contribute in nurturing the community. Being physically away from each other since the pandemic started, while being constantly aware of each other’s struggles, only drew this community into an even tighter knit. To build a collaborative work then was also a natural choice, as the relationship of the proponents is directed towards that direction.


Atang, a sound prayer was conceived in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of conception, we are more than a year from figuring out a new normal while battling the highest registration of death and active cases of COVID-19 doubled by the crashing health system and economics. It is also the time when resilience and faith are tested.


Atang means an offering or the act of offering that is practiced in the rural areas in the Philippines. Filipinos of the old times believed that placing an atang would appease the gods, heal the sick, grant a wish, and thanksgiving. Over time, this practice persisted and syncretized with organized religions like Catholicism.


Sound is used in the exhibit to mean two things. First, it refers to the object of the art installation, which is sound (or sound object). And second, sound is also used to mean “sensible”, because this work was conceived during one of the most difficult episodes of our collective present (COVID-19 pandemic), which somehow directs us to find answers (whether it is reason or hope) to something that is much bigger than ourselves.

What the proponents share is the belief that hope can be found, albeit from a dimension that is not of our reign. It is from the dimension that we do not see but know of or believe in. This too is the core reason why sound was highlighted in this work, as sound has the ability to evoke its own presence and make others present.


The proponents were guided by sound theoretician Brandon LaBelle’s challenge in examining our intended work, particularly “the potential embeddedness of sonic thought that may lend itself to contemporary struggles” and how “might the knowledges nurtured by a culture of sounding practices support us in approaching the conditions of personal and political crisis(?)” (LaBelle, 2018).

The proponents then offer that our sound art installation is a form of atang or an offering to greater spirits, and at the same time a totem to man’s ability to remain steadfast in the face of colossal adversaries.

A. ATANG, a sound prayer as SOUND ART INSTALLATION

Atang, a sound prayer as sound art installation comprised of two bamboo structures that are towering pagoda mounted on balsa – Pagoda Mayor and Pagoda Menor. Each pagoda contains two sound instruments made of ceramic and automatically played by a programmed electronic component.
Pagoda Mayor contains Kabuoan (Full Circles), a chime-like suspended instruments that produces small clicking sound. The circular vessels are symbolic of the universe as being both sacred and divine. It points to the infinite nature of our spirits that are constantly in motion. The installation is a prayer for wholeness, completion, and perfection. The other instrument is Tambol Dasal (Prayer Drums) which are flasks thumping on ceramic bowls with water, which produces a clacking sound. This instrument recognizes the role of water in transporting our spirits to the ethers, the way it would the sound that are metaphorically our prayers.

Pagoda Menor contains Sagwan Ulan (Rain Paddles), a set of paddle-shaped ceramic bottles which produces a sound like that of a rain stick. The last piece is Balasa ng Pangarap (Dream Shufflers), it is a big ceramic bowl with a mechanize hand that shuffles smaller ceramic figurines. Both instruments relate to how our collective prayers breathe life to our aspirations, hopes and dreams.

B. Virtual ATANG (A Virtual Exhibit of a Sound Installation)

This is a virtual tour in video format of the physical sound installation of Atang, a sound prayer. It will capture the spatial conversation between the different pagodas and balsa, as well as focusing on each of the sounding instruments that are incorporated on the structures. The video will be uploaded online via website/social media sites of the organizing unit and the participating artists.

Although the primacy of experiencing an art installation in person is still held in high esteem, the proponents recognize that having an online presentation allows the work to reach more audience, especially due to the continued restricted mobility in Metro Manila, including that of the UP Campus. Exhibiting a sound art installation virtually then requires the proponents to conquer the challenge of translating the “feel” of the installation limited by moving images and captured sound.

The format chosen for the online presence is straightforward video, like a movie, because the proponents deemed that more audiences are familiar with watching movies, and by this time have developed the sensitivity to emotionally respond to it regardless of the haptic absence.
This virtual exhibit proposal then will attempt to simulate this feeling by creatively capturing the installation on video and projecting it back to the audience as a movie in a virtual platform.