Even before the COVID-19 pandemic limited the movement of people, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) began developing some of its programs and projects in digital format for various virtual platforms. Thus, when the pandemic hit, streaming content online took a natural course.
Moving forward, a virtual building and theater tour package was developed to provide online art education and cultural content for everyone, especially for those who could not come to the CCP.
Launched in February during Pasinaya 2022, the CCP virtual tours also address the changes in how people consume arts in the “new normal,” and usher in a new way to bring visitors back to the center.
A project of the CCP Venue Operations Division (Production and Exhibition Department), the interactive 360- and/or 180-degree guided virtual tour takes visitors inside the CCP theaters, spaces and other facilities, including the newly built Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater).
Facilitated via Zoom, the tour shows visitors the interiors of Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater), with its famous stage tapestry “Genesis” based on an artwork of National Artist H.R. Ocampo. You can also head to Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) and Tanghalang Huseng Batute (CCP Studio Theater), and go behind the stage.
The 30- to 45-minute tour utilizes high resolution photography, allowing a real on-site experience, as if the visitors are walking through every corner of the artistic spaces.
Over 2,916 photos, with 489 panoramas and eight aerial shots, were used to build a digital simulation of the actual physical spaces, creating an immersive virtual environment.
The guided tour is interactive, allowing tour guests to ask questions and further explore the featured spaces through the assigned tour guide. It has embedded videos of the Visual Arts and Museum Division’s CCP Cultural Cache Online episodes and audio descriptions of the CCP visual arts collection displayed across various areas of the building.
Question and answer sessions follow after every tour.
Tel. 88332125, 88321125 loc. 1412/1413; email ccptours@gmail.com;. visit facebook.com/culturalcenterofthephilippines/videos/973841733504657.