Congressman Christopher “Toff” de Venecia is a known champion for creative industries policy at the national level as he chairs the Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts in the House of Representatives, established in October 2020. Since then, Congressman de Venecia has been leading the way in deliberating several legislative measures that are all aimed at developing the creative industries, protecting creative workers, as well as preserving Filipino culture and the arts.
His work, however, has not stopped in the halls of Congress. In his home district of Pangasinan, he has been mounting several creative projects in the Fourth District of Pangasinan or “PD4”s—composed of Dagupan City and the municipalities of Manaoag, Mangaldan, San Jacinto, and San Fabian—to help boost people’s livelihoods and create new tourism opportunities to help his constituents recover from the economic effects of the pandemic.
“The creative industries can be tapped as a tool for economic recovery and development even in the countryside, which is what we are trying to accomplish here in PD4. This is why we always say that #TheFutureIsCreative,” de Venecia explains.
One of those projects is the Anakbanwa Arts Residency, which was launched in November 2021. Three artists from around Luzon—visual artist and industrial designer Razel Mari, multimedia artist and sound designer Corinne de San Jose, and fabricator and maker Marco Ortiga—are currently residing in the district to interact with the community and produce new art inspired by their interactions.
Three artists from around Luzon—visual artist and industrial designer Razel Mari, multimedia artist and sound designer Corinne de San Jose, and fabricator and maker Marco Ortiga—are currently residing in the district to interact with the community and produce new art inspired by their interactions.
As one of the major outputs of the residency, the artists have put up the Anakbanwa Art Exhibition, which runs until Jan. 31, 2022, showcasing not only the works of the artists in residence, but also of the known local artists in the district, such as Pope Dalisay, Prince Logan, Jai Hernandez, Rose Felix, Troy Casupanan, Lyantra Pasion, Lorren Dizon, Eduard, and Pochacho Patatas. As an added feature, the exhibition will have on display works made by K-12 learners from the district who attended workshops conducted by the artists in residence a few weeks prior. The exhibit has been curated by Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, also the project director of the arts residency, creative director of Pineapple Lab, and festival director and founder of the Manila Fringe Festival, a multi-genre international arts festival based in the Philippines
The Anakbanwa Art Exhibition is housed at the MacArthur House, West Central Elementary School 1 Compound, Dagupan City. The structure itself adds value to the experience of exhibit-goers, having been constructed in the 1930s originally intended for student use, but later used as the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur in January 1945 as he prepared to retake Manila.
The Anakbanwa Art Exhibition is open to scheduled visits from Wednesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. Walk-ins are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Only visitors who are fully vaccinated are allowed to view the exhibit. Each visitor must present their vaccination card upon registration on-site.
Entrance is free for K-12 learners, subject to presentation of their valid student ID. Adults may view the exhibit for ₱50, and PWDs and senior citizens for ₱40.
A portion of the proceeds goes to the West Central Elementary School’s capital outlay and maintenance expenses.
To book your visit, log on to http://bit.ly/Anakbanwa. A guided viewing of the exhibit is available subject to advanced reservation and payment of an additional fee of ₱200 per group.
Visit the Anakbanwa Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/anakbanwa. The event’s official hashtags are #Anakbanwa #ExplorePD4.