Filipinas Heritage Library tackles jazz
THE FILIPINAS Heritage Library in partnership with Purefoods Deli presents “Jeepney Jazz Talks: In Search of Philippine Jazz” with Richie Quirino and Sandra Lim-Viray. The lecture will be held on Sept. 29, 2 p.m., at the Ayala Museum on Makati Ave., Makati, and also online via Zoom and Facebook Live. “Jeepney Jazz” is a music appreciation program that tunes the jazz ear. The inaugural talk starts with a provocation: Does Philippine jazz even exist? If so, what makes it unique? Why is it key to our pop music heritage? Jazz historian Richie Quirino and Sandra Lim-Viray, jazz vocalist and festival organizer, will debate these topics among others on Friday. Admission is free. The discussion kicks off the “Jeepney Jazz” program which includes a series of performances in October and November. Jeepney Jazz: Session One features Project 201 performing Indigenous music and jazzy OPM on Oct. 13. Jeepney Jazz: Session Two features Dan Gil and Bituin Escalante as they debit New York, Cubao, an original jazz musical on Oct. 28. Jeepney Jazz: Session Three will feature Johnny Alegre and HUMANFOLK performing Indigenous and Urban Folk on Nov. 17. All performances will be at the Ayala Museum at 6-8:30 p.m. Tickets to the Jeepney Jazz Session performances are P2,000 for regular tickets, P1,600 discounted tickets for students, teachers, Ayala Group employees, Ayala Museum members, and FHL Research Pass holders, and P1,400 for Seniors and PWDs. Rates are inclusive of food and drink. For inquiries:e-mail asklibrarian@filipinaslibrary.org.ph.
Martial Law art exhibit free to the public
“PAGLABAN sa Pagkalimot,” an exhibition that commemorates the 51st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, is on view at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), until Sept. 29. The exhibition aims to counter misconceptions,” revisionism, distortion of history, while it sheds light on the atrocities and horrors during one of the darkest chapters in the country. It is organized by the Center for Social Action (CSA) and the Benilde Arts Management (BeAM) of DLS-CSB. The show includes “Ang Tanda-Tanda Mo Na, Sinungaling Ka Pa Rin!,” a collection of hand-sketched portraits of Martial Law victims by Fashion Design and Merchandising and Production Design students who honed their freehand drawing skills under the tutelage of artist-educator RM De Leon. Also included are hard copies of Rekindled: Children’s Narratives, a 47-page e-book that aims to provide another window into the dictatorship through the lenses of the children and grandchildren of activists. The showcase likewise presents “Miss Conception,” an immersive website against misinformation, built for the younger generation of visual learners by Benilde Multimedia Arts talents. Also on view is Tatsulok, a 2023 musical short film that advocates for truth and justice produced by Dulaang Filipino, the resident theater group of the college. Paglaban sa Pagkalimot is on view until Sept. 29 at the Main Lobby of the Atrium Campus of DLS-CSB, 950 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila. Afterwards, the travelling show will be mounted at various La Salle schools (La Salle Green Hills, Benilde Antipolo, La Salle Lipa, and La Salle Academy).
ARTablado presents Colab exhibit
ARTISTIC practice can be compared to a laboratory: a place to experiment, analyze, discover. For artists who are lifelong learners, the need for collaboration was chosen as the central idea for a group show at the ARTablado space in Robinsons Antipolo. On view until Sept. 30, Colab features the works of Esang Bejasa Adame, Ismael Esber, Jhael Mataverde, Joanne Rebustillo, Lorielito Puserio, Orly Espiritu, Reynaldo J. De la Peña, Rodgie Gapayao, Viel Samaniego, Warlito Gabriel, Ovidio Espiritu, Jr., and Ovidio Espiritu III.
Light/sound show, folk creatures cap CCP’s 54th year
MYTHICAL folk creatures like the kapre, aswang, nuno sa punso, tikbalang, diwata, and manananggal, collectively dubbed Tanod-lupa, find a new home at the CCP Liwasang KaLIKHAsan through arts installations by visual artist Abdulmari “Toym” De Leon-Imao, Jr. They began their migration into the park in April during the Earth Day celebrations. Together with Sinag 2023: Tuloy Ang Palabas, a light, sound, and projection show marking the 54th founding anniversary of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), they will be exhibited around the Liwasan for photo ops, supplemented by soundscapes designed by TJ Ramos. Slated on Sept. 28, 7 p.m., at the Front Lawn, the iconic façade of CCP will serve as a canvas for a show conceptualized by CCP light designers Camille Balistoy, Danilo Villanueva, Louie Alcoran, and Shantie De Roca. It will be complemented by Soundridemusic and Makai-symphony’s playful and apocalyptic music, spliced by Jerry Tria. A video mapping projection (created by Reily Villaruz) caps the show, set to the music of Jed Balsamo’s Rurok. For the Tanod-Lupa art installation, Mr. Imao added new elements to the layout, including three more mythological creatures. The creatures are brought to life through welded steel, ropes, and lanterns, illuminated with colorful LED lights. The Sinag 2023 lights and sounds show at the CCP Front Lawn will be held nightly, 7-9:30 p.m., from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, with shows at 30-minute intervals. Tanod-Lupa at Liwasang KaLIKHAsan is free and open to the public from 6 to 9 p.m., every day except Monday.
The opera Fedora screens on HD
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) “The Met: Live HD Season 8” continues with the screening of Umberto Giordano’s opera, the thrilling drama Fedora, on Oct. 3 at Greenbelt 3’s Cinema 1 in Makati City. A love story filled with murder, revenge, and intrigue; the opera follows Princess Fedora in her quest to avenge the murder of her beloved Count. It turns out that the count has betrayed her with another woman, the wife of the alleged murderer. After meeting the murderer and hearing his confession, Fedora realizes that she has fallen in love with him. Mr. Giordano’s opera — which first premiered in 1898 — made a comeback in 2022, with the Metropolitan Theater of New York taking it out of their repository after 25 years and giving it a fresh appeal. Fedora features soprano Sonya Yoncheva playing Fedora and star tenor Piotr Beczała singing Count Loris. The Met: Live in HD recreates the experience of watching a production at the Met “live” through High-Definition (HD) digital video technology and Dolby Sound. Tickets are priced at P450. Students and young professionals may pay P100 upon presentation of a valid ID. Tickets are available at Greenbelt ticket booths and the website www.sureseats.com.
Handwoven pieces showcased at Robinsons Galleria
ART encompasses so much more than paintings, sculpture, and photography. At ARTablado in Robinsons Galleria until Oct. 11, handwoven tapestries take the spotlight in “Art Weave: A Tapestry of Life & the Arts.” Made by skilled artisans from the Cordilleras, the mounted pieces showcase new designs that mimic paintings but that are made entirely of thread. There will also be weaving art workshops where participants can learn the basics and make their own mini woven work of art. The workshops run for around 90 minutes and are priced at P1,500 per person inclusive of a kit and materials that they can take home and work on after. The workshops are on Sept. 29 (1:30-3 p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m.) and Sept. 30 (1:30-3 p.m.).
‘Bisita Planeta’ exhibit shows physical, virtual worlds
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP), through its Visual Arts and Museum Division, presents “Bisita Planeta,” an interactive generative audio composition that can only be listened to in its contrapuntal entirety online via the 21st Century Art Museum (21AM) website. The exhibit started on Sept. 21 and will run until 2024. It was commissioned for 21AM and created by sound artist Tad Ermitaño, who is a key figure in new media art in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. The physical dimension comprises four musical instrument artworks that transmit sounds to the internet. As the instruments send live audio over the internet to the Bisita Planeta website, each instrument is hosted at a physical location that is open to the public. Playing different parts of a composition, the automated instruments are placed in the Bulwagang Roberto Chabet at the Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez (CCP Blackbox Theater), the Parola UP Fine Arts Gallery at UP Diliman, the Alitaptap Art Café at the Alitaptap Artists Community (AAC) in Amadeo, Cavite City, and the Linangan Art Residency in Alfonso, Cavite. This mechanism adds aspects of pilgrimage and collection to the work, encouraging members of the audience to visit its distributed, far-flung machines as proof of having completed the set of possible visitations. The virtual facet is a 3D game-like website, a portal where these sonic transmissions converge and resonate simultaneously via phones or laptops. The “Bisita Planeta” exhibition can be found at the 21am.culturalcenter.gov.ph/en/exhibits and at the four partner art spaces at the CCP, UP Diliman, Amadeo, Cavite, and Alfonso, Cavite.
Hamilton’s Asian premiere
THE TONY, Grammy, Olivier, and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Hamilton made its Asian debut in Manila at The Theatre at Solaire on Sept. 21. “Good things come to those who wait, and I know Hamilton’s Filipino fans have been waiting patiently for this moment to arrive,” said Michael Cassel, producer of the international tour. “The Manila audiences responded with such warmth, enthusiasm and generosity — we couldn’t be more thrilled, and we are ecstatic to bring the revolution to Asia for the very first time.” The tour continues with performances at The Theatre at Solaire until November with further extensions not possible. Tickets are available at hamiltonmusical.com/international-tour.
