Earth, art, and water
What’s art got to do with earth preservation?
“Art is a very potent medium to educate our public towards the need to protect our environment,” declares Nestor Jardin, president of the
With the slogan “Tubig — Buhay Natin, Ating Pagyamanin” as its theme, Earth Day at the CCP will be celebrated with a slew of water-friendly activities. The highlight of the day will be the Dragon Boat Regatta (“Laot”), featuring 800 members of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation, among them awarded athletes from the Philippine Rowing Team. The regatta will mark a combination of two indigenous Filipino rituals: the Maranao, which offers the bounty of the land to the sea, and the Parau, or the unfurling of colorful sails.
Chris Millado, associate artistic director for the CCP’s performing arts department, explains the environmental significance of the dragon boats. According to ancient legend, a Chinese scholar attempted to drown himself in the ocean as a protest against corruption; thankfully, a group of dragon boats sailed out to rescue him in time. “So, in our version, the dragon boats go out to sea to save our environment,” says Millado. “It is a race to save our environment.”
Earth Day at the CCP is a 12-hour affair from
A cleanup of the CCP grounds by employees and stakeholders follows. “Different groups will be given brooms, pails of water, and dustpans, and be deployed to their different areas in the complex,” explains Yuzon.
Another cleanup — this time of the
The public will also be treated to Jomike Tejido’s one-man exhibit of banig paintings, called “Under a Woven Canopy,” at the Pasilyo Vicente Manansala. A photo contest and exhibition entitled “Aninaw: Water for Life” will also be held at the Little Theater lobby, with the winners to be announced on the same day.
A forum, “Patubig,” will feature the information side of this year’s Earth Day celebration. First Secretary of the Singaporean Embassy Raymond Chow will preside at the forum and, according to Jardin, “give a presentation of the success story of
A film festival hosted by the Creative Media and Film Society of the
Coming full circle, the last hour of Earth Day 2008 will highlight “Buhos,” a special performance of Philippine traditional water rituals by native Ifugaos. Highlighting the effective and efficient use of water, the performance will also feature the natives’ construction of an irrigation system beginning at the CCP fountain lagoon area and continuing into various sectors of the verdant complex.
“Our ancestors regarded water as essential to the lives of Filipinos,” shares Jardin. What is hoped to be gained from the efforts of this year’s Earth Day is quite in the same regard.