THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) carries on its mission to promote and preserve the best of Filipino arts and culture this year amid the ongoing rehabilitation of its Main Building.
In a press conference last week at the CCP Liwasang Kalikasan in Pasay City, CCP officials laid out the institution’s stacked plans for 2024. The rundown covered a gamut of CCP’s artistic programming and projects that reinforce arts education and appreciation, while embodying the institution’s promoted values of katotohanan, kagandahan and kabutihan.
“This year, the CCP heralds another year of firsts and good old reliable programming, celebrating and advancing the unique creativity of our people and culture,” said CCP vice chairman Margie Moran-Floirendo.
The CCP targets to produce 765 events this year, according to its artistic director Dennis Marasigan, ranging from performances, screenings, exhibits and workshops both onsite, off-site and online. “We hope to reach over 200,000 onsite viewers, and engage over 6,000 artists. For our workshops, we hope they can benefit 16,000 participants,” he said.
This year, fan-favorite festivals such as CCP Pasinaya, Virgin Labfest, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival will continue to provide unique artistic and cultural experiences, with expanded reach to the regions. Meanwhile, gearing up for their respective seasons are CCP’s resident companies, namely, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Philippine Ballet Theater, Bayanihan The National Dance Company, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Ballet Philippines, and Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, among others.
Film enthusiasts can also look forward to the CCP’s other popular film programs, such as The Met Live in HD, National Theater Live, Cine Icons, Cinema Under the Stars and Lakbay Sine. The CCP Out-of-the-Box Series also returns for its second edition, while Triple Threats has lined up Leading Ladies concerts.
Marasigan said that the CCP’s offerings for the year go beyond performances and shows. “We are proud of our arts education programs that nurture the next generation of artists and the audiences who will support their work through training, exposure and audience development activities,” he said.
Part of the CCP’s plans is art appreciation programming among children. Following a two-year hiatus, the CCP Children’s Biennale returns with its engaging edu-tainment offerings, designed to open the eyes of children to the diversity of Philippine arts, indigenous cultures and natural environment.
In celebration of the centenary this year of Filipino literary titan Francisco Balagtas Baltazar, the CCP BOT-initiated program Kanto Kultura takes flight once again with Baraptasan, a modern take on the Balagtasan. The program will feature literaries battling it out in the different languages of Filipino, Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Ilokano.
Meanwhile, 2024 also marks 45 years of the CCP bringing outreach programs to the regions and the world. Through exchange programs with various organizations and institutions, the CCP provides glimpses of Philippine cultures and serves as a conduit for cultural exchanges across the regions and different countries. Marasigan said that the CCP looks to celebrate the milestone anniversary by intensifying the institution’s presence in the regions. The plan includes creating new partners with LGUs and cultural organizations, collaborating with “as many artists as we can,” and producing shows in alternative performing spaces and venues across the country.
This year, the CCP will likewise roll out the National Performing Companies (NPAC). Applications are ongoing for the best national performing companies in Dance, Theater, Orchestra, Choral, and Indigenous Performing Ensemble. The NPAC program is a massive boost to the creative industry by conferring national status and providing significant funding to deserving non-government performing arts companies.
Early last year, the CCP announced the closure of its Main Building to give way to an overdue rehabilitation. The project emanated from the building audit that the CCP completed in 2019. According to the findings, what the 55-year-old building needed was more than its usual maintenance: While the foundation of the building remains strong, there was structural deterioration that required rehabilitation.
“As we all know, [the building] is the work of our National Artist Leandro Locsin. We can’t just overhaul the whole building,” said CCP president ad interim Michelle Nikki Junia. “It has been a delicate balancing act of preserving the design and modernizing the building to keep up with the times.”
Phase One of the rehabilitation project centers on structural retrofitting, including modernizing structural, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical features. Meanwhile, Phase Two focuses on the mechanical and technical capacities of the theaters.
According to the CCP, as of last month, the rehabilitation project has hit 30 percent completion. With all the consultants already onboard, the CCP expects the work would speed up.
“We project full completion by 2025,” Junia said. “The Main Building and its theaters will definitely open by 2026, welcoming everyone to its theaters with new productions and programs befitting the call of the times.”
Image credits: Cultural Center of the Philippines