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By Beverly Navarra Grace Rivera and Kathryn
Gantuangco, Special to the Times
With the aim of bringing arts for free to the
public, the Green Papaya Art Projects holds Wednesday I’m-N-Love
Open Platform Residency as a niche for artistic explorations in
contemporary visual arts, performance and new media. The program is
open for artists, curators and researchers who wish to present their
current tendencies for a once-a-week critical exchange via
screenings, readings, conversations, performance and temporal
exhibitions.
“We open our platform to young emerging
artists who need support in getting recognition for contemporary
arts,” says Donna Miranda, Green Papaya Program Director.
On April 30, the group once again unlocked its
doors for students of different universities and walk-in individuals
who love to be part of the weekly poetry reading they offer.
Shakespearian-like spells of National Book Awardee and Palanca Award
winner Chingbee Cruz were featured and given interpretations and
criticisms.
Cruz, a professor at the University of the
Philippines College of Arts and Letters, inspired people through her
literary expertise coupled with her riveting expression of her
feelings and ideas through poems she has written remarkably. “She
writes in a clear and reader-friendly manner. She’s immortalizing
herself through her works,” quips Mark Cayanan, art aficionado and
the event’s host.
Her works like Disappear and Dark Hours earned
positive reviews from the public. Yet she still finds it a challenge
to improve her craft by revising her published works. “When it’s
published, it doesn’t mean it’s the end. For my part, it’s
also alright to revise and omit things which I think don’t work
for readers,” Cruz further shares.
For several years of composing literary works
here and abroad, she remained a true Filipina poet, involving
Philippine scenarios in her poems like the Mt. Pinatubo and Payatas
landslide. She claims that she may not name the specific place in
her poem, but a Filipino reader could identify exactly what she
means.
Meanwhile, first-time visitor Vicente Tanseco
3rd, a junior student of BA Psychology at the Ateneo de Manila
University says the event brought him to a fresh learning
experience. “It gives a new presupposition on poetry, you learn
new things.” He also shared that he is very willing to go back for
another poetry reading activity.
The Green Papaya Art Project together with Arts
Network Asia will continue its mission of helping local artists and
exploring new ideas of bringing their projects outside the country
especially in Europe and neighboring Asian countries.
“It takes a big amount of love to continue our
goals. It’s good that Arts Network Asia now helps us through
funding. For almost 8 years we have been bringing Manila arts to
become part of community social network,” Miranda shared.
She believes that their efforts will pave way
for a more fun learning time in Green Papaya. They hope that their
advocacy will help promote art activities and nurture every
individual to become a socially responsible person and refute ideas
that art is tedious.
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