Press Release
February 12, 2008

ANGARA CALLS ON SUPPORT FOR ARTS AND CULTURE

"In our country, very little attention is given to our cultural heritage and to date, most of them are gone now while the remaining ones are often neglected," said Senator Edgardo J. Angara addressing the deans of 7 arts colleges of the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

In the turn over ceremony of the P7 million seed fund to the different colleges for the UP Centennial Celebration, Angara encourages the deans to push for the development and preservation of culture and the arts.

Among the measures he suggested is the creation of a national archive to preserve the country's oldest films and other works of arts.

"Take for example the film, La Campana de Baler, which have won recognition in other countries but is unheard of in the Philippines. It even won an award in Hawaii but very few Filipinos have heard of it," he pointed out.

Angara likewise suggested the establishment of an Institute of Design which will preserve the different crafts of the different provinces of the country. "The Institute will have course offerings and trainings that will enable our artists to pass on their crafts to the next generation," Angara explained.

The seed fund will be used by the arts groups to raise money for their respective colleges, which will be used for Centennial projects including the renovation of the dance studio at the College of Music, upgrading of facilities at the electronic newsroom of the College of Mass Communication, and improvement of the environmental architecture laboratory at the College of Architecture.

"This is just a kicker. As long as there are good projects for arts and culture, I will continue to support them."

One million pesos each will go to the College of Fine Arts, College of Music, College of Architecture, College of Arts and Letters, College of Mass Communication, College of Human Kinetics and the UP Office of Initiatives for Culture and the Arts (OICA).

This money will be used for performances, traveling shows and exhibits that will showcase both the UP alumni and students' talents in the performing arts, visual arts, literature, film and design.

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