NY’s Children’s Museum of the Arts fetes PH culture

Consul General De Vega welcoming all the guests to Philippine Day at the Children’s Museum of the Arts. CONTRIBUTED

NEW YORK – A daylong program celebrated various aspects of Philippine life, geography, arts and culture Feb. 19 at the Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) here.

The “Philippine Day” program included a special performance workshop by Sinding Kindaw Melayu Heritage Center and its founder, tradition bearer and artistic director Potri Ranka Manis.

Potri Ranka Manis and the Kinding Sindaw Troupe, Consul General Theresa De Vega, Montserrat De Vega and Michelle Lopez, director of community program, Children’s Museum of the Arts. CONTRIBUTED

Consul General Theresa Dizon-De Vega opened “Philippine Day” with a brief show-and-tell for the audience composed mainly of young children and their parents.

She explained that the Philippines is one of the most diverse countries in the world, a place where East and West meet and various cultures are welcomed and celebrated.

CMA Director for Community Programs Michelle Lopez thanked all the guests and participants for spending the day at the museum and taking an active part in the various activities featuring the Philippines.

Among the art workshops were clay-making with the geography of the Philippines serving as inspiration; stop-animation lab featuring the Sulu Sea as backdrop; Soundscapes of the Luzon rainforest in the Sound Lab; Kut-Kut inspired prints; and the creation of Shadow Action Figures modeled after the work of contemporary Filipino artist Ronald Ventura.

Kinding Sindaw about to start its performance workshop. CONTRIBUTED

Consul General Dizon-De Vega, assisted by her daughter, Montserrat, turned over a Philippine doll handcrafted by Anthill Fabric Gallery of Cebu and a book for children on Philippine architecture as donations to the CMA collection.

The CMA event provided an opportunity for Philippine culture and arts to be introduced to young Filipino Americans and mainstream audiences.