In celebration of National Heritage Month, the 7th Mandala Art Festival is being mounted in Pulilan, Bulacan, May 7-13. Theme is “Lupang Pamana.”
The festival has been spearheaded by the local arts and culture organization, Jefarca Arts and Historical Society Inc., since its inception in 2012.
The Municipality of Pulilan under Mayor Maritz Ochoa-Montejo is funding the festival this year and embracing it fully with Jefarca as part of the town’s tourism program.
This was according to architect-visual artist Andrew de Guzman of Jefarca.
The name of the festival came from the Tagalog and Pampango term for “palay haystack,” mandala, which can be usually seen during the harvest season in the rice fields. The mandala itself manifests abundance signifying “the best of the harvest.”
Mandala is an annual gathering of artists and cultural workers celebrating the artistic skills and traditions of Central Luzon.
An art exhibition, “LuPamana,” organized to raise funds for the publication of a book with the same title about Pulilan’s arts and culture, opens today May 7 at SM Center Pulilan.
Other activities in the art fest: artist’s talk, mural-making and other workshops, live sketching sessions, and arts forum.
Speakers include Luis “Junyee” Yee Jr. for installation art, Rai Cruz for mural, and EXLD for graffiti and street art.
Two major public art pieces will be unveiled on May 9.
The first one is the 1913 Posong Malaki Monument, a significant landmark in the town that influenced the way of life and tradition of Pulilenyos.
The second one is the installation art “Refuge” by noted conceptual artist Allison Wong David.
According to De Guzman, the public art mural production program (Kalye Art) that was started last year would continue. Icon is the carabao.
Students from various schools in Pulilan, artists from Bulacan and Central Luzon, and street art collectives from Metro Manila (Rai Cruz with DKS, Ang Gerilya, Pilipinas Street Plan) are invited to share their talent and create public art murals around the town from May 11 to 13.
For more details, contact Andrew de Guzman tel. 09189006021; e-mail aadeguzman2@yahoo.com