Exploring Metropolitan Museum~

THE MET: OPENS ITS NEW DOORS TO PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY ART

--Nicole L. Manano, A-105

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM—one of the very famous museums in Metro Manila known for its grandeur and prestigious artworks, starts the year with the emergence of the Philippine Contemporary Art.

                 Even though the basement of the museum is only available for viewing today, they still opened their doors to the public. The exhibits are not displayed today due to the renovations the museum undergoes for the upcoming events on the following month. “Beginning with international art, and continued with Philippine Art on 1986, until the museum had its collection of artworks in 1990s, right now we are preparing for another new movement this 2013, the Metropolitan Museum’s vision is to be a museum of Philippine Contemporary Art,” says Mr. Billy Ray Malacura, an Education Officer of the museum. According to him, foreign exhibits are only limited on the release of the Philippine Contemporary Art on February 2, 2013.

                The museum’s most awaited exhibit, the Philippine Contemporary Art, contains the different artworks from various art collections. One of these collections that will be displayed is the art collection of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas. According to Mr. Billy, the studies conducted by Filipinos who specialize in arts is that, this collection of the BSP is regarded as the most dynamic and broadest art collection among government agencies. Other collections that will be seen on this event are the museum’s own artworks, and some are from private collectors. He also said that no new artworks arrived from their very own collection at this moment. “During the 1990s, artists are willing to give their masterpieces to us, but according to our former director, Ms. Cora Alvina, who was also the director of the National Museum, donating and giving of artworks must undergo a process. We have to ensure that the artworks that are donated to us are not damaged, and this could be our projection on the possibilities that there could be young artists who may donate their masterpieces to us these days,” Mr. Billy says.

                In relation to the Philippine Contemporary Art, Dr. Patrick Flores will be the curator of the said show. Mr. Billy says that all activities for the whole year will give rise under this concept. “One of the activities we are projecting this February, we will be launching the CineMet, a film showing that will be held every month, and it will start most likely on the last Saturday of February. Our objective is that, the films that are created by our fellow Filipinos will be given a chance to have their works watched here in our museum. We also want other movies, like international award-winning films to be aired here. For example, the month of June is known as the Philippine-Japan friendship month, so we’ll try to get some network with the Japan foundation if they have Japanese films that they can lend to us for a film showing,” explains Mr. Billy. The wide scope of the Philippine Contemporary Art also gives rise to the museum’s other exhibits and art workshops. He also mentioned that the Metropolitan Museum is coordinating to one of its partners, the Philippine Association of Printmakers, wherein they develop print workshops.

“We also want to remake the activity we did last October, wherein this month is known as the Museum and Galleries month, and this activity is a lecture series, entitled: The Metropolitan Museum of Manila-Board of Trustees Lecture Series. We also have other lectures last year that are quite interesting; one was about ‘Art Authentication’ that has to do with light microscopy which was very technical. We also have a lecture about the new findings of Pre-Hispanic Gold (found on the basement), and we also have a lecture wherein we invited a Filipino artist, Mr. Gaston Damag, who gave a talk and he is now already based on France. We’d also like to develop a new batch of lecture series this 2013,” Mr. Billy explains.

Furthermore, he added their various activities for the month of November and December that they will develop and repeat this year. For November, they had a ‘Trick Art Treat’ for kids wherein they wore costumes of their favorite characters of the famous artists. The Metropolitan Museum not only enhances the fun among children, they also want these little kids to learn through story telling about the Pre-Colonial times, and the life of Filipinos before the Spaniards conquered the country. As a prize, they gave kids chocolate gold coins in relation to the topic about the country’s gold. By December, the staff had a get together with all the museum’s partners and other institutions for the year.

Mr. Billy also adds that in continuation with all their upcoming events for this year, they will also have another exhibit, but the date is not yet confirmed, that the museum will host a big and retrospective exhibit on Mr. Napoleon Abueva, a national artist for sculpture. He also stated that a ‘retrospective show’ is a very significant one because it gives honor to the artist being described. Usually, this show only happens if the artist is already dead, but in this case Mr. Napoleon is still alive and they are planning to push through with this show.

Many activities and highlights of the museum will shine this year, not only the Philippine Contemporary Art, but also the upcoming lecture that will be conducted this Thursday, January 10, 2013, 10 in the morning, at the Metropolitan Museum. This lecture, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy and the Smithsonian Institute, cooperates with the Met for this notable event, with the topic “Perspectives in Changing the World of Museums”. This is all about the Smithsonian perspective on the continuous changing of museums over time. The speakers who will conduct the lecture are from the Smithsonian Institute, known as the biggest museum in the world and they have networks of research centers. Mr. Billy says that, “This is a very wonderful and big start for the year because a leader in the museum industry in the whole world will provide the talk and we are hoping that this very remarkable event will have a large audience, like our fellow workers at the cultural sector, and museum sector, so we are coordinating with other museums and cultural agencies and organizations, to take advantage of this opportunity that officials from the Smithsonian Institute will come here and conduct the lecture.”