After a four-year hiatus, the award-winning art advocacy program Art 2 Art with Lisa Macuja Elizalde is back, ready to continue its mission to bring “usapang sining at kultura para sa lahat” (art and culture discussion for all).

Produced by the Manila Broadcasting Company and aired nationwide on radio via DZRH and on cable television via DZRH News TV, the show welcomes National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab in its comeback episode on Nov. 19, Sunday, at 3:30 p.m.

Cayabyab shares with host Lisa Macuja Elizalde – the acclaimed “Ballerina ng Bayan” – his foray into the visual arts, a long-time interest he was able to focus on during the pandemic lockdowns. The impressive output now comprises his first one-man show that has been brought to two venues.

Macuja Elizalde describes the singer-songwriter’s guesting as a full-circle moment as Cayabyab was also Art 2 Art’s first guest when it started airing as a radio program in 2007. After that, he returned twice – in 2011, to discuss his Noli Me Tangere musical for a Jose Rizal tribute, and again in 2019, when the show marked its 12th anniversary and he had already been named a National Artist.

“I didn’t realize how much I missed Art 2 Art until we started taping – the conversations, the exchanges of ideas, the energy and creativity and of course the laughter and camaraderie,” enthuses Macuja Elizalde.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to continue a weekly program that was a part of my life for so many years before – that so many external factors put on hold. After four years, it’s like visiting an old friend,” she adds.

The external factors include the 2019 fire that razed the Star City Complex, which also affected the DZRH studio where Art 2 Art had been taping its episodes for years. In 2020, the pandemic-caused lockdowns further delayed plans of the program’s return.

Art 2 Art had actually taped four episodes on Oct. 1, 2019, a day before the fire and it was at first thought that these had been lost. A week later, however, Macuja Elizalde disclosed in a Facebook post that the episodes were fortunately retrieved intact. These were aired in succeeding weeks.

Now, with the show’s return, the host relishes the opportunity to make the program even better. “I love the energy. I love the collaborative spirit. For all artists – I’m so happy that our program is back!”

In its 12-year history, Art 2 Art has featured hundreds of personalities from various art genres – film, dance, visual arts, theater, music, literature, design and architecture. The revitalized show is committed to once again putting artists in the spotlight in its aim to popularize arts and culture through its mass-based, “info-tainment” programming.

Aside from airing on radio and television on Sundays, the show is fortifying its social media presence to widen its reach. Art 2 Art with Lisa Macuja Elizalde now has accounts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube that will make it more accessible, particularly among today’s generation.

In rallying the Art 2 Art team, Macuja Elizalde urges, “Let’s make it matter most to the community we serve. Let’s help the artists even more!”