MANILA, Philippines – Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 683 issued on January 28, 1991, February every year is celebrated as National Arts Month (NAM) in the Philippines. From its humble beginnings in Metro Manila in the ’90s with a limited number of fields in the arts, NAM has expanded to include the active participation of the seven arts as flagship projects of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
In 2009, the Commission raised the event to international status with the launching of the Philippine International Arts Festival (PIAF). This year, the PIAF aims to "recharge the Filipino consciousness and regard for local culture and arts" by gathering thousands of arts and artists all over the country for the unveiling of the 2011 "Ani ng Sining." Artists from ASEAN-member countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, and Vietnam, as well as Lithuania, Japan, Taiwan, and Fujaira of the United Arab Emirates will join the celebration.
Four grand openings at the Concert at the Park in Metro Manila, the Davao People's Park in Mindanao, the Bacolod Provincial Capitol in the Visayas, and Baguio's Burnham Park in Luzon will launch the festival. There will be performances, exhibitions, lectures, and conferences that will showcase the richness of Philippine tradition and culture. They will also serve as a venue for discovering and developing new talents. Among the major events of the 2011 PIAF are the First Conference of the Philippine International Lighting Associations of the World (ILAW) and the Taboan Philippines International Writers Festival 2011. ILAW will bring together engineers, architects, artists, environmental planners, and leaders in the lighting design industry to discuss the latest developments in light and illumination. The Taboan festival will gather Filipino artists and award-winning writers from Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore for panel discussions, lectures, outreach and school visits, book fairs, literary readings and performances, and the Taboan awards.
With the roster of local and international artists invited to the festivities, our country will forge deeper understanding and strong socio-cultural ties through the arts through collaborative performances and outreach projects to be held in various parts of the country.
The Philippine International Arts Festival once again affirms that the Philippines truly deserves the distinction of being the first country in the ASEAN to be named the "cultural capital" in the region for 2010 and 2011.
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