Arts & Culture (06/03/26)

Ambeth Ocampo lectures on Rizal

HISTORIAN Ambeth R. Ocampo will have two lectures this June, with only 150 seats available. The first is “70 Years of Rizal’s Law: What Are We Learning? What Should We Learn?” which will take place on June 19, 9 a.m., at the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) auditorium. The second is “Ghost in the Library: The Rizal Manuscripts,” which will be on June 26, 9 a.m., also at the NLP’s auditorium. Attendees will have the opportunity to greet Mr. Ocampo and join the book signing session. While registration is now closed, more details and updates regarding the event can be found on NLP’s social media pages.

Cordero, Kawayan de Guia, group exhibits at MO_Space

ON VIEW at the Main Gallery of MO_Space this month is Louie Cordero and Kawayan de Guia’s exhibition, Interpsychic Colony. Their third collaborative exhibition, it is made up of a series of 40 works blending comics, pulp fiction, folklore, and political satire in vivid, dystopian visual language. Created between Kitma, Baguio and Cuenca, Batangas, the works were repeatedly exchanged and reworked by both artists. Meanwhile, at Gallery 2, artists Randy Gawwi, Dehon Taguyungon, and Gail Vicente have mounted a group exhibit titled munininop, which represents the highland domestic home. It encompasses craft-making from Ifugao cosmology as well as new motherhood. Both exhibits are ongoing until June 28 at MO_Space, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

After Oz concert takes the stage for one night

ON JULY 10, Broadway stars will perform at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater at Circuit Makati in a one-night-only concert, After Oz. Presented by Ayala Land in partnership with Theatre Group Asia, the concert will mark the theater’s 4^th anniversary. More information and details will be unveiled soon.

Martha Atienza mounts exhibit at Silverlens

THROUGH an exhibition at Silverlens Gallery titled The Coconut Tree Methodology, Dutch-Filipino artist Martha Atienza has documented the world of Bantayan Island in Cebu, where coastlines are being transformed by rising sea levels. The gallery is also currently exhibiting Collectors Plus at the Silverlens Den, which brings together a focused selection of works from Southeast Asian contemporary practice articulated across the past three decades. It includes works by Raffy Napay, Syagini Ratna Wulan, Syaiful Garibaldi, Geraldine Javier, Pow Martinez, Dina Gadia, Yasmin Sison and Gilda Cordero Fernando, Patricia Perez Eustaquio, Maria Taniguchi, Mit Jai Inn, Soler Santos, and Gene Paul Martin. Both exhibits are on view until July 11 at Silverlens Gallery, 2263 Chino Roces Ext., Makati.

Art Deco exhibition extended

DUE TO THE overwhelming reception of the Art Deco exhibition on view at the National Museum of Fine Arts, the show is being extended until Oct. 25. Titled Art Deco: Modernity and Design in the Philippines 1925-1950, it contains all things Filipino Art Deco. The museum is open from Mondays to Sundays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is located in Luneta, Ermita, Manila.

Spain celebrates ties in June

THE Embassy of Spain in the Philippines — through Instituto Cervantes and its Cultural and Education Offices — welcomes June with cultural activities celebrating the friendship between Spain and the Philippines through history, culture, art, language, and shared values of diversity and inclusion. At the heart of the month’s program is the commemoration of the 24^th Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day on June 30 in Baler, Aurora. As part of the celebration, a zero-level Spanish language class, taught by Instituto Cervantes’ teachers, will be offered to students of a local high school in Baler. On June 26, the Instituto Cervantes de Manila in Intramuros will celebrate Pride, with a talk on Education and LGBTI rights, an open mic, and dancing to DJ music. Manila Calling, an exhibition bringing together artists from Spain and the Philippines, opens on June 6. Spanish artist Cristina Mejias holds her solo exhibition, Embracing the Wind, Cradling the Water from June to September at the Vargas Museum in UP Diliman. There will be two simultaneous exhibits by Spanish artist García de Marina at the UP Vargas Museum starting June 16, and at the Instituto Cervantes in Intramuros, where the photographer will also offer a talk on June 18. Meanwhile, the exhibition Buen Camino opens on June 17 at the Museo San Agustin, highlighting the enduring religious and cultural influence of Spain in the Philippines through the pilgrimage route of the Camino de Santiago. The Instituto Cervantes will also present a webinar on June 17 by Anna Wieck titled “¿Dónde vas con mantón de Manila?” exploring the lasting cultural affinities between Spain and the Philippines in fashion, art, architecture, food, and language. The public may still enjoy two other ongoing exhibits: Four Centuries of Spanish Engineering Overseas, a permanent exposition at the Centro de Turismo in Intramuros, while viewers have until June 14 to marvel at the craftsmanship of the shawls on display at the exhibit Mezcla: Interwoven Cultures and the Mantón de Manila at the Ayala Museum.