The Asian Cultural Council: Unity through culture
The Asian Cultural Council or ACC is a non-profit organization that provides opportunities for international cultural exchange between Asia and the United States, advancing international dialogue, understanding, and mutual respect to create a more harmonious and peaceful world.
In 1963, John D. Rockefeller III established the Asian Cultural Program of the JDR 3rd Fund to support cultural exchange in Asia and the United States through grants to individuals and organizations working in the visual and performing arts. With Porter A. McCray as founding director, the Asian Cultural Program developed its signature grantmaking style, emphasizing individually tailored programs based on the needs of each grant recipient.
In 1980, the ACC was established as a non-profit organization to continue the work of the Asian Cultural Program. ACC established offices in Tokyo (1983), Hong Kong (1986), and Taipei (1995).
In 2000, the ACC Manila office and ACC Philippines Foundation (ACCPF) was established under the leadership of trustees Ernest L. Escaler, Maria Isabel G. Ongpin, Isabel Caro Wilson, Josie Cruz Natori and David Rockefeller, Jr.
ACC Manila provides artists, scholars, and arts professionals opportunities for transformative exchange between the Philippines and the United States, as well as the Philippines and the rest of Asia.
Since 1963, it has supported more than 300 exchanges of individuals from the Philippines. It is a resource for ACC grantees and alumni traveling to the region, a convener of the arts community, and supported by the fundraising efforts of local donors, foundations, and events.
ACCPF, on the other hand, raises funds and advocates to increase international exchange opportunities for the vibrant and exciting art sector in the Philippines. Annually, it hosts auctions and fundraising events bolstered by and celebrating our active community of alumni, trustees, and supporters.
For this year, ACC Manila has 12 grantees under its 2024 Global Grant Cycle awards. These are: dance coach Maria Patricia Bernas; artist and puppeteer Aina Ramolete; lead singer and artistic director Lou Ella Rose Cabalona; filmmaker and journalist Cindy Martin; art collection management consultant Peter John Natividad; contemporary street artist Archie Luigi Oclos; Baguio-based writer and poet Padmapani Perez; musician Tamara Yadao; also Baguio-based curator, critic, and writer John Alexis Balaguer; thespian and filmmaker Toni Go; writer and nine-time Palanca awardee Joshua Lim So; and University of the Philippines University Artist Sir Anril Tiatco, Ph.D.
Just recently, the honorary chairperson of ACC Manila, no less than First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta Marcos, hosted dinner at the Goldenberg Mansion on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of ACC Manila.
The First Lady Marcos expressed her appreciation for the council’s support, particularly its role in funding Filipino artists who showcase the richness of Philippine culture worldwide.
During the dinner, I had the honor of presenting the First Lady a bouquet of flowers as a gesture of goodwill from Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman, president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP).
The event was attended not just by the cream of the crop in culture and the arts but by the who’s who in business as well, notably Ayala Corp. director Fernando Zobel de Ayala and wife Catherine; Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) chair and Aboitiz Group CEO Sabin Aboitiz; Alliance Global Group CEO Kevin Tan and wife Michelle; and First Philippine Holdings Corp. chairman and CEO Federico “Piki” Lopez, just to name a few.
The current Board of Trustees of ACC Manila include Ernest de Leon Escaler, chairman; Ma. Isabel G. Ongpin, president; Ma. Lourdes Gamboa Lindo, treasurer; Alan Jose A. Reyes, corporate secretary; with Concepcion C. Cruz, Joven R. Cuanang, M.D., Alice Eduardo, Judy Kim, Rajo T. Laurel, Ma. Lourdes B. Locsin, Antonio R. Mendoza, Josie Cruz Natori, Isabel Caro Wilson, and Mercedes Zobel as trustees.
It was John D. Rockefeller III who said that “Traditionally, Americans have viewed international relations primarily in political and economic terms with comparatively little attention given to the cultural dimension…The result is that our world outlook has tended to be bound by our own culture instead of being broadened by a sensitivity to other cultures.”
From his own experience of traveling and working throughout Asia, he believed that “enhanced knowledge of other cultures was a worthwhile end in its own right…and as a means to a further end —through knowledge and respect for other cultures we come to respect and appreciate the peoples themselves.” *
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