The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Board of Trustees calibrated the response to the pandemic affecting the creative industry and implemented the Innovation Grants Program, which provided financial support to seven art and culture organizations so they could create and produce new works in various art disciplines and distribute these new contents using online technology, blended, and hybrid technologies.
The new programming brought different shows to “online stages” such as virtual pocket concerts of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, dubbed Music for Healing: PPO in Quarantine, Virgin Labfest’s online edition using Zoom and Facebook Live, and Cinemalaya screening short films in competition on Vimeo.
“These interventions and responses proved that the arts could not be curtailed. Even a pandemic can’t stop people from engaging in the arts. In fact, art is what sustained them throughout the most challenging time in this era,” said CCP president ad interim Michelle Nikki Junia.
No matter the obstacles, CCP remains committed to its mandate, and these efforts earned recognition from the inaugural The Living Laurels: The Malaya Business Insight Lifestyle Excellence Awards, organized by the newspaper’s Living Section.
The CCP recently received The Pandemic Resilience Award for “its outstanding contributions to the lifestyle industry and reaffirms their steadfast dedication to excellence in lifestyle endeavors.” The award recognizes organizations or individuals who adapted and thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Despite the challenges we might face in the near future, whether it is a pandemic, natural disasters, or man-made situations, including budget cuts, the CCP will continue to champion a thriving local creative industry that respects tradition, spurs innovation, increases social awareness, and enriches the Philippine national brand,” said Junia.
The CCP also received The Arts Visionary and Local Artisan Showcase Award for one of its most-anticipated festivals, the Virgin Labfest. The award was given to organizations that promote emerging local artists and craftsmen who have created outstanding and notable pieces.
Twenty years since its launch, the VLF serves as a laboratory and experimental stage for untried, unstaged, and untested one-act plays written by up-and-coming playwrights from different regions.
“From putting the spotlight on Filipino playwrights, VLF also becomes a safe space for directors, actors, stage managers, and technical crew who come together to bring ‘virgin’ one-act plays to audiences. From a one-week run, it grew to a three-week festival featuring 12 new plays and 3 revisited plays. Together with the Writers’ Bloc and CCP resident theater company Tanghalang Pilipino, we are proud of how far the VLF has come. Many of the playwrights who have been featured in VLF have become some of our country’s better-known playwrights and award winners,” shared CCP artistic director Dennis Marasigan.
CCP also received recognition from the Metrobank Foundation Inc. for being a Partner in Empowerment, Advocacy, and Commitment to Excellence (PEACE).
“We dedicate these awards to the people who worked hard and diligently during the most turbulent time in recent years, and for the Filipino people who have supported the CCP through the years,” concluded Junia during one of the award ceremonies.