National Museum opens Baler satellite branch
MANILA, Philippines — The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) opened a new satellite branch in Baler, Aurora, the 19th museum outside of the three buildings in the main Central complex.
NMP-Baler is the eighth Area Museum. It is also the fourth that opened since the turn of the millennium and the first to open in Central Luzon or Region III.
The new museum officially opened yesterday, June 30, just as the country marked the 24th Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day, with the first 50 visitors from the public receiving special tokens.
Present for the inauguration and unveiling of the museum marker were Education Secretary Sonny Angara, Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay, Agriculture Secretary Kiko Laurel, Spanish Ambassador Miguel Utray Delgado, and presidential son Vincent Marcos.
A special walkthrough and exhibition validation session with Indigenous Peoples representatives and community partners were conducted, both parties involved in ensuring the stories told in the exhibitions were authentic, inclusive, and community-centered.
Inside the museum
The new museum designed by Ed Calma is inspired by scenic landscapes of Aurora province and the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. It will be the home of three permanent galleries on the province’s history, biodiversity, culture, and artistic heritage — the Cruce de Caminos Gallery, the Tagpuan/Encuentro Gallery, and the Sierra, Tierra, Costa Gallery
The Cruce de Caminos (Crossroad) Gallery will showcase the relationship between the Philippines and Spain through the following artifacts:
- a Mariner’s Astrolabe, one of two recovered in the country and a National Cultural Treasure;
- archaeological discoveries from the Julio Site, which illustrate Indigenous burial traditions from before and during the Spanish era;
- a reconstruction of old Baler;
- an image of the Santo Niño;
- the Komedya de Baler; and
- Capiz window panels
The Tagpuan/Encuentro (Encounter) Gallery will have a number of contemporary artworks by the likes of Rodel Tapaya Eustaquio, JUNYEE, Archie Oclos, and Kidlat Tahimik, the latter recently renounced his National Artist award in protest of the proposed changes to the college general education curriculum.
Finally, the Sierra, Tierra, Costa (Highland, Lowland, Coast) Gallery will have exhibits showing the province’s endemic systems, geological formations, Indigenous knowledge systems, biodiversity, and surfing culture, as well as the resilience of local communities following the catastrophic Tromba Marina tsunami that struck Aurora in 1735.
Guided tours, educational programs, and community engagement activities will be offered. NMP-Baler is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except government holidays) with no admission fee.
