The just concluded Karangalan Conference/Festival held at the CCP last Jan. 21-23, has proven that we do have not just a future, but a very bright one too. Amidst the anger and frustration, there is the reality of the other Philippines of moral strength, courage, vision, initiative, compassion, integrity, political will, socially-oriented businesses, artistic competence, social entrepreneurship, achievement and excellence.
The best of Filipino talent was highlighted through the diversity of presentations, plenary lectures by prominent and highly successful individuals, like Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee (2004 World Entrepreneur of the Year), Jerry Ablaza of Globe Telecom (2004 Asia Business Leader Award), Walden Bello (2003 Right Livelihood Award), Sheila Coronel of PCIJ (2003 Ramon Magsaysay Award) , Chin Chin Gutierrez (2003 Time Magazine Asian Heroes Award), Nicanor Perlas (2003 Right Livelihood Award), Emily Abrera (chair of the CCP) etc, all have been internationally recognized; workshops, exhibits and artistic performances by Joey Ayala, Isay Alvarez, Robert Seña, Grace Nono, Bayang Barrios, John Arcilla, Gary Granada, among others.
Isang karangalan naging bahagi ng Karangalan Festival.
1. "A Walk in the Forest of Visions" – a collective installation in honor of the just concluded First Karanglan conference and festival. In this exhibit curated by Reimon Gutierrez, each tree conveys a message of how individuality and diversity can be united by a common cause. Like in a forest, for the organism to thrive in the order of nature, the strength of one becomes the strength of all.
2. Alma Quinto is a visual artist and educator who is very active in advocacy work for the abused children and battered women. Her soft sculpture tree may be small but is intimate, creative, playful and vibrant. It has a strong interactive quality to it and must be felt, touched and appreciated for its textural property and its potential for sharing and communication.
3. Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc. is the leading resource institution in empowering small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) through fair trade. Its tree uses bamboo and several other indigenous materials representing the resources used by the SMEs that the institution assists. "Fair Trade" is conveyed with its principles of transparency, accountability, fair pay, equal labor opportunities, good working environment and capability building.
4. During the three-day conference, several hundred pairs of rubber boots were donated by private individuals and institutions for the flood victims of Aurora province.
5. I used the battered wooden cart wheels to literally represent our collective journey as a nation. Through my tree of battered wheels "Pasa-pasanin," I send out the message the Philippines seems to be so broken and wounded as a nation, barely surviving crisis after crisis, whether natural or man-made. As individuals, our apathy has gnawed the very moral fiber of our society and the wanton destruction of our environment. If we let things be, we will be like old wheels that have gone and passed through a lot, worn out and battered by time, yet have not gone far and has no future in sight. But collectively, if we join and link together, hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder in helping one another, we can stand tall as a nation and have a clearer vision of what we can be as a nation as we take a new journey together to progress and success.
6. A dance performance by the Dagway Sigmahanon of Capiz, recipient of the 2004 Galing Pook award.
7. The finale number by the Loboc Children’s Choir (winner, Best Choir in the World, Barcelona, Spain), Philippine Madrigal Singers (Gold Medal, culture, 2004 Olympics) and the Mandaluyong Children’s Choir.
8. Dita Sandico Ong, fashion designer and president of EarthLite Foundation, has been working with indigenous fibers like banana, pineapple and abel iloko for the past 20 years. Her tree uses the bamboo to depict nature and also the strength and resiliency of the Filipino. The fiberglass maiden symbolize Mother Earth taking care and watching over the three major regions of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The foliage made of different shades of banana fiber expresses peace, serenity, and calm of which we envision the Philippines in the years to come.
9. The dimunative Grace Nono (TOWN and TOYM awardee) gives a powerful rendition of an ethnic song.
10. Gigi Gonzales of GSG Industries is one of the Philippines’ largest producer of handmade and specialty papers made from pure fiber pulp of such indigenous materials as abaca, banana, rice straw, rice hull, nipa, etc. The GSG tree signifies growth in all its stages, maturity interspersed with youth, the promise of new beginnings coupled with the wisdom of age, a ripening harvest, and always a grounding in the richness of our earth.
11. Ces Drilon (2004 TOWNS awardee) and Nicanor Perlas (2003 Right Livelihood Award) hosted the three-day conference.
12. Haribon Foundation is a membership organization committed to nature conservation through community empowerment and scientific excellence. Its tree used atis branches and bamboo with recyclable foam material, papier maché, abaca twine, acrylic paint and varnish. It symbolizes the call to be responsible stewards of the environment to ensure life for future generations. It also lends attention to the signature campaign ("Boto para sa Inang Bayan") that the organization is leading on total ban against commercial logging and mining in natural forests.
13. Impy Pilapi’s tree is made from steel and hand-blown glass and natural roots for embellishment. They project the present time and technology that may well extend to the future. As the natural wood is not man-made, it therefore connects us to God and the gifts He gave to benefit life on earth. Her "Cosmic Tree" is some kind of an enchanted tree that can mean something magical awaits when one lives in a life of values and goodwill. The viewer is invited to walk into the space beneath her tree, feeling its cosmic energy and leave his worries and the bleak world behind.
14. Nona Garcia (left), a designer and member of Kulay Marikina, collaborated with the city’s arts council to come up with the concept of their tree of vision. As the city faces the challenges of globalization, its tree is a symbolic representation of the city’s strong hold to its cultural identity that recognizes the contemporary culture of discipline, good taste and excellence coupled with the thrust of "Hard Work, Work Well, Work Together" as key components of its social transformation.
15. Mike Aguas is a five-time Katha awardee for best product design and a recipient of the 2004 G-Mark award from Japan. Aguas envisions the new Philippines to be resilient, humble, creative, productive and disciplined like the enduring "Talahib," the title of his tree named after the resilient grass with a delicate bloom that humbly bends with the wind. The glass element in his tree projects the delicate character of the Filipino, if properly molded, that could be inspiring while the metal represents strength and stability.
16. Milo Naval is a member of Movement 8 designing modern and contemporary furniture using natural and indigenous materials for Evolve Designs, a manufacturing and export company. For his tree, Naval used scrap plywood because he uses this material as a base for some of the furniture pieces he designs. It is symbolic to him in that he used what is from "within" (the core), rather than the materials he used for the outer finish. In a sense, it is conveying the universal message that the soul is where wisdom, truth and love reside. It all starts from within.
17. Organizational Change Consultants International, Inc. (OCCI) facilitates personal growth for societal transformations. In its tree, OCCI conveys the message that the greatest resource of a nation is its people. Vibrant, committed, loving people aware of their true nature to create a world full of life, abundance and meaning. It further symbolizes their mission to lead individuals in the discovery of their highest truth and the full expression of who they truly are. The dancing paper cut-outs symbolize OCCI graduates’ expression of their creativity.
18. Potters Jon and Tessy Pettyjohn, together with their daughter Mia, form the trunk of their tree on site using raw clay. For the foliage they used fired and glazed shards which are actually recycled from broken pots which were seconds and rejects from recent firing. An interactive sculptural tree, the artists invited the public to make a face of their own out of the raw clay, and stick it on the trunk during the event.
19. The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Castillo playing an upbeat William Tell Overture by Rossini.
20. The Quezon City Dance Troupe does a modern interpretation of a tap dance using our very own bakya or native wooden clogs.
21. The UP Kontemporaryong Gamelan under Prof. Pedro Abraham, Jr., doing an improvisation with their native musical instruments of tuned logs, bamboo gongs and kulintang.
22. The Rudolf Steiner Waldorf school did a puppet show of the "The Elves and the Shoemaker" in Pilipino keeping the tradition of conducting their classes in the vernacular.
23. Tes Pasola is a product designer and a member of the Movement. Tes brought to life a dead coffee tree by adding handmade paper from abaca pulp as leaves and flowers. The coffee tree was chosen because it embodies the voice of the people, needing to be trimmed in order for it to yield a better harvest. She used paper to complete the tree and for her other works as well because this material lends her a positive experience. Pasting sheets upon sheets of paper to form pieces of leaves makes her feel like she’s cocooned by it, giving her a comforting sense of security. It tempts one to extend such euphoria to others.
24. The central element in Tony Gonzales tree is the intertwined dream catcher. Catching similar dreams and aspirations from different individuals and together weave each of those dreams into reality. Tony’s tree is made of handmade paper since this is where his craft expertise lies. A multiple recipient of the Katha award for both product and booth designs from Citem, he has also won the Design Plus award and the Calendar Design contest in Germany, and has received the G-Mark award in Japan for his furniture designs.