Legarda leads launch of UPLB Sculpture Garden

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda led the launching of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Sculpture Garden, conceptualized and designed by Luis "Junyee" Yee, Jr., the country's foremost installation artist, on April 4.

"Sa mundong namamayagpag ang teknolohiya at modernisasyon, naniniwala akong ang sining at kultura ay siyang gabay natin upang mapanatiling makabuluhan at buhay ang ating identidad, kasaysayan, at kuwento ng ating lipunan," Legarda said.

"Sa pamamagitan ng sining, malaya nating naihahayag ang ating kritikal na pag-iisip, at ang ating mga hangarin para sa kinabukasang mas maunlad, payapa at may pagkakapantay-pantay," she added.

The UPLB Sculpture Garden, a first of its kind in the country, is a project initiated by the Office of Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and the UPLB administration.

Inside the Sculpture Garden is the Pavilion designed by Architect Bimbo Baltre, with the hall serving as an events place to help generate funding for the maintenance of the garden.

Junyee's award-winning works will be put on permanent exhibition including the first indoor installation exhibition in the history of art, "Wood Things," made in 1980.

Also in the sculpture garden is the monument supported by Legarda, "Bantayog Wika," which is a structure that aims to monumentalize the country's indigenous languages by constructing physical structures to symbolize the significance of Philippine languages as repository of Filipino cultures' wealth of indigenous knowledge, social values, life practices and traditions, and history.

"Isinasalarawan ng sining ang mga isyu at suliranin ng lipunan na minsan ay ating nakakaligtaan o hindi makuhang banggitin at mapag-usapan," told Legarda.

"Kung kaya, sa isang magaling na alagad ng sining, ang aking kaibigan, Junyee, lubos ang aking pasasalamat sa pagbabahagi mo ng iyong galing at talento. Salamat sa iyong malikhaing pagbibigay boses at kahulugan sa mga talakayin sa lipunan at sa ating kapaligiran."

Legarda has long been recognized as an advocate of cultural preservation, supporting endeavors such as the Schools of Living Traditions, sponsored the documentation of indigenous knowledge and traditional practices, and organized regional assemblies and the first national indigenous cultural summit.

The four-term senator, who concurrently serves as the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts, has legislated several measures including the Cultural Mapping Law, which contributes largely in the continued promotion and preservation of Filipino culture and heritage.