CASA SAN MIGUEL
_
Creative Alternatives for Social Action in San Miguel
Enlightenment. Empowerment. Excellence. These are the three pillars on which CASA San Miguel was founded. Can these core values transform a community from a sleepy fishing village to a thriving ecotourism spot where arts and culture, with a reverence for nature attract visitors from all over the Philippines and abroad? Can arts and culture be used as a medium for community development, to shape the local culture resulting in the creation of jobs in all sectors, from musicians, painters and artists to tour guides, carpenters, boatmen? Can it provide the self-confidence and self-esteem of a community to create a space for the transcendent imagination?
This is what CASA San Miguel had begun to do 19 years ago, established in 1993 merely as a means of uplifting the spirits of a region, then just recovering from the devastation brought by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, when we brought art, music, theater, dance and film to barangay plazas, orphanages, indigenous communities and hospitals while offering workshops in music, visual arts, theater, film, and creative writing.
COMMUNITY ARTS PROGRAM
We have established a workshop program, successfully preparing talents since 1996 for scholarships at the Philippine High School for the Arts and leading conservatories locally as well as in Germany and the United States, with many continuing on to forge careers as teachers and professional musicians in our major orchestras and cultural institutions. Mentors in the program include some of the most visible Filipino artists and musicians in the country today in addition to visiting artists from all over the world in all art fields who have performed and interacted with the community, including Joey Ayala, NVM Gonzales, Grace Nono, Denisa Reyes, Myra Beltran, Roberto Feleo, Elmer Borlongan, Brenda Fajardo, Cecile Licad, Matthew Barley and teachers from the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and Oberlin Conservatory among others.
EXCELLENCE IN THE COMMUNITY
For all this, it has earned us several recognitions and citations as an institution, including the prestigious Gawad ng Hiraya Award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and as individuals with students, mentor-artists and administrators garnering recognition with prizes at the National Music Competition for Young Artists, prestigious grant awards for visual arts residencies in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia, the National Book Award, Urian Award, Aliw Award, Golden Screen Acting Nominations and Awards, Star Awards, the TOYM Award, and the Gawad Ng Maynila Award. Last year, 15 children from the program comprising the Pundaquit Virtuosi, marked our 1st milestone on foreign soil as the sole representative from the Philippines to the Tianjin International Children’s Culture and Arts Festival 2009 in China, where they were received warmly with standing ovations as well as invitations to perform in Russia and Poland. This was followed by a trip to Indonesia, where they performed in celebration of 60 years of bilateral relations between the Philippines and Indonesia.
RESIDENCY- MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Resident artists for season 19 are Ruelo Lozendo (film), Carlo Gabuco (Visual Arts), Don Salubayba (Curatorship), and Isiah Mari Lipana (Music). Resident artists mentor 120 local talents yearlong in music, visual arts, film, and creative writing in preparation for performances and exhibits during the season as well as scholarships to specialty high schools, conservatories, and colleges. In return, CAS provides artists with exhibit and performance opportunities as well as a venue grant for creative work and financial grant for materials. Workshops reach fever pitch during summer camp (May) culminating with a grand showcase of the yearlong efforts of the 120 local scholars (who were chosen after rigorous testing for talent and capability) as well as recent works of the resident artists themselves.
Creative Alternatives for Social Action in San Miguel
Enlightenment. Empowerment. Excellence. These are the three pillars on which CASA San Miguel was founded. Can these core values transform a community from a sleepy fishing village to a thriving ecotourism spot where arts and culture, with a reverence for nature attract visitors from all over the Philippines and abroad? Can arts and culture be used as a medium for community development, to shape the local culture resulting in the creation of jobs in all sectors, from musicians, painters and artists to tour guides, carpenters, boatmen? Can it provide the self-confidence and self-esteem of a community to create a space for the transcendent imagination?
This is what CASA San Miguel had begun to do 19 years ago, established in 1993 merely as a means of uplifting the spirits of a region, then just recovering from the devastation brought by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, when we brought art, music, theater, dance and film to barangay plazas, orphanages, indigenous communities and hospitals while offering workshops in music, visual arts, theater, film, and creative writing.
COMMUNITY ARTS PROGRAM
We have established a workshop program, successfully preparing talents since 1996 for scholarships at the Philippine High School for the Arts and leading conservatories locally as well as in Germany and the United States, with many continuing on to forge careers as teachers and professional musicians in our major orchestras and cultural institutions. Mentors in the program include some of the most visible Filipino artists and musicians in the country today in addition to visiting artists from all over the world in all art fields who have performed and interacted with the community, including Joey Ayala, NVM Gonzales, Grace Nono, Denisa Reyes, Myra Beltran, Roberto Feleo, Elmer Borlongan, Brenda Fajardo, Cecile Licad, Matthew Barley and teachers from the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and Oberlin Conservatory among others.
EXCELLENCE IN THE COMMUNITY
For all this, it has earned us several recognitions and citations as an institution, including the prestigious Gawad ng Hiraya Award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and as individuals with students, mentor-artists and administrators garnering recognition with prizes at the National Music Competition for Young Artists, prestigious grant awards for visual arts residencies in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia, the National Book Award, Urian Award, Aliw Award, Golden Screen Acting Nominations and Awards, Star Awards, the TOYM Award, and the Gawad Ng Maynila Award. Last year, 15 children from the program comprising the Pundaquit Virtuosi, marked our 1st milestone on foreign soil as the sole representative from the Philippines to the Tianjin International Children’s Culture and Arts Festival 2009 in China, where they were received warmly with standing ovations as well as invitations to perform in Russia and Poland. This was followed by a trip to Indonesia, where they performed in celebration of 60 years of bilateral relations between the Philippines and Indonesia.
RESIDENCY- MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Resident artists for season 19 are Ruelo Lozendo (film), Carlo Gabuco (Visual Arts), Don Salubayba (Curatorship), and Isiah Mari Lipana (Music). Resident artists mentor 120 local talents yearlong in music, visual arts, film, and creative writing in preparation for performances and exhibits during the season as well as scholarships to specialty high schools, conservatories, and colleges. In return, CAS provides artists with exhibit and performance opportunities as well as a venue grant for creative work and financial grant for materials. Workshops reach fever pitch during summer camp (May) culminating with a grand showcase of the yearlong efforts of the 120 local scholars (who were chosen after rigorous testing for talent and capability) as well as recent works of the resident artists themselves.