CCP's 'Pasinaya 2024' to be staged simultaneously in 3 venues
MANILA, Philippines — For two decades, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has been bringing the arts closer to the Filipino people by staging Pasinaya: The CCP Open House Festival.
Easily the country’s largest multi-arts festival, Pasinaya lines up over a hundred shows, screenings, workshops and other activities in music, theater, dance, visual arts, film and literature.
Its strategy is to offer an “experience-all-you-can, pay-what-you-can scheme” so the public can go in and out of the different CCP venues to watch as many shows and screenings and participate in activities as they want. All events have always been concentrated in CCP, which is the hub of arts in the metro.
This year is going to be a little different when Pasinaya runs this weekend, February 3 and 4. For the very first time, the multi-arts festival goes beyond the capital city and spreads its wings to the Visayas and Mindanao. It will take place simultaneously in three venues — at the CCP and its partner museums in Manila, at the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Arts in Iloilo City, and in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.
Following the theme "Sulong," Pasinaya returns on a grander scale with more artistic and cultural offerings on its 20th year.
“After escaping the confines of the pandemic in last year’s 'Pasinaya: Piglas,' the new partnerships with ILOMOCA and Tagum City pushes the boundaries. The CCP will always find ways to provide spaces for our artists and cultural groups to showcase their talents and create new audiences who will participate in art-making and appreciate the best that the Philippines has to offer,” said CCP artistic director Dennis N. Marasigan.
Slew of activities
A whole range of exciting activities await the public at Pasinaya 2024. Happening in various venues at the CCP Complex, such as the CCP Front Lawn, Liwasang Kalikasan, Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez and its surroundings, the festival boasts of over a hundred shows, workshops and other activities in music, theater, dance, visual arts, film and literature to choose from. Other venues include the parade ground of Vicente Sotto Street, and in partner museums and galleries.
With its experience-all-you-can, pay-what-you-can scheme, participants may go in and out of the different CCP venues to join 30-minute workshops in various art disciplines conducted by leading artists, resource persons and teachers, or watch as many shows, screenings and activities as they can.
Pasinaya kick-starts on February 3 at 7 a.m., with an opening salvo and special program, followed by the flash mob dance featuring the festival jingle, "Sulong Pasinaya," which has become a tradition of the art festival through the years.
Festival components include Palihan, which makes it possible for audiences to join the different workshops; and Palabas, which grants them the privilege of watching unlimited shows, featuring more than 3,000 artists from different art fields. Festival programmers and art groups will meet in Palitan to do some business-to-business meetings.
Paseo Museo shuttles audiences to various partner galleries, museums and art spaces around the metro with the hop-on, hop-off tour scheme. Pagtitipon, meanwhile, gathers the Kaisa sa Sining partners from different regions of the country to participate in the annual art festival. Finally, Pamilihan features the sale of goods from all over the country.
Registration on February 3 starts as early as 6:30 a.m. at the Bukaneg side of the CCP Front Lawn and along Vicente Sotto Street.
In 2023, Pasinaya’s audience counts reached 37,888, with 12,055 participating in 43 Palihan workshops; 24,482 watching 101 Palabas shows (58 at the CCP Complex and 43 in partner museums/galleries) and 1,236 enjoying the Paseo Museo tours in 13 museums and galleries. Total donations amounted to P253,514.
With the partnership with ILOMOCA and Tagum City, CCP hopes to exceed its target audience counts, collaborate with more artists, stagehands, technical crew and other cultural workers from various places in the country and create partnerships with more local government units.
“Breaking free from the common notion that CCP is just the building in 2023, we have continuously proven that we can be anywhere. This year, we are reaching farther and wider into different performing spaces and into the regions. Year 2024 will be the year we, at the CCP, continue to move forward, despite the challenges that will come our way,” said CCP president Michelle Nikki Junia.
Established in 2005, Pasinaya was conceived as a jump-start to the National Arts Month celebration; hence, it is scheduled every first week of February. Originally, it was created as a preview for the CCP’s artistic programming for the year. But through the years, the festival has grown bigger and become a venue for art appreciation and education, networking and collaborations.
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