DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 20 November) – Four Mindanawons are representing the Philippines in the ongoing BIMP-EAGA Budayaw Festival in Kuching, Malaysia on November 19 to 23.
Visual artists Abraham Ambo Garcia Jr. of Davao City, Al-Nezzar Buday Ali of General Santos City and Mariano Amar Catague of Butuan and Davao, and photojournalist Froilan Osabel Gallardo of Cagayan de Oro City (also of MindaNews) are the country’s representatives to “Under One Sky (EAGA Visual Arts Exhibition)” at the Merdeka Plaza Atrium.
They are representing various categories in the exhibit: Gallardo for Photography, Garcia for Photography and Expanded Practice, Ali for Digital Art, and Catague for Painting (see other story)
Budayaw (from Bahasa ‘budaya’ meaning culture and the Filipino ‘dayaw’ which means good or beautiful), aims to strengthen the ties within the East Asean Growth Area (EAGA) through a celebration of its cultural diversity and heritage.
EAGA comprises Brunei Darussalam , East Indonesia, East Malaysia and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines. Collectively it is kwown as BIMP-EAGA.
Budayaw Festival is held every two years, the first in 2017 in General Santos City in celebration of the 50th Anniversary o the ASEAN, which the Philippines hosted.
Budayaw specifically aims to “showcase the diversity of creative expressions of the region; raise public awareness and appreciation on the landscapes and aspirations of the peoples of the region; foster understanding and solidarity among the multi-cultural populations; and mobilize collaboration and convergence of multi-stakeholders, public and private.”
The 81-member Philippine delegation to the BIMP-EAGA Budayaw Festival 2019 in Kuching, Malaysia, led by Ms Adelina Suemith, Chief Programming Monitoring and Education Division of the National Commission of Culture and Arts Philippines. Photo from the FB page of Budayaw Festival
The Festival has 10 components: Colloqium, Intertwining Dreams (Ikat weavers), Jewels of the EAGA: Performance Showcase, Voices Rising (Choral Concert), Earth Music, Under One Sky (EAGA Visual Arts Exhibition), Community Outreach, Trade and Travel Fair, Culinary Showcase and Fashion Show.
In the “Under One Sky” component, aside from featuring works of visual artists at the Merdeka Plaza Atrium, interactive arts workshops are also conducted “to engage the public into creative processes as well as learn the significance of the artwork.” (MindaNews)
