Philippine High School for the Arts Celebrates 40th Year
To commemorate the Philippine High School for the Arts’s (PHSA) history and legacy of art education to the Filipino youth, the CCP, in cooperation with the PHSA and the PHSA Ibarang Alumni Association will present a multidisciplinary production entitled “PHSA@40: Ibarang Alumni at the Forefront of Arts Education” on JUNE 10, 2017, 2:30 PM at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater). This show aims to highlight significant contributions of Ibarang Alumni in Art education in the various art forms.
Clockwise: Vim Nadera (PHSA Director), Mae Urtal Caralde (Mapua University Faculty Member, PHSA graduate), Abner Delina Jr. (Theater Actor, PHSA graduate), Chris Millado (CCP VP and Artistic Director), Raymond Red (Award-winning film director, PHSA graduate), Soliman Cruz (Theater, movie, and TV actor; PHSA graduate)
Established on June 11, 1977, PHSA is the only art-oriented secondary school in the country. It is located at the National Arts Center in Mt. Makiling College, Los Baños, Laguna. Ibarang is a word used to call in all PHSA graduates, a coined word referring to a legendary tribe of Filipino artists.
The PHSA Ibarang Alumni Association Inc. believes that it is fitting to officially launch and publicize PHSA’s 40th anniversary celebrations at the CCP where the PHSA was originally conceived as its attached agency. This event aims to deepen public awareness on what the PHSA has achieved through these 40 years with focus on:
1) PHSA’s history and role as the country’s premier high school with arts-focused education; and
2) the legacy of PHSA’s art education programs as evidenced by its alumni.
performers in the PHSA press conference
More importantly, this event is an avenue for Ibarang artists to express their gratitude to their alma mater and the Filipino people for the privilege and honor of having been “iskolar ng bayan” during their years of stay and study at PHSA and the various opportunities which have opened thereafter. This sense of gratitude can be best expressed by Ibarang artists’ sharing with and handling down PSHA’s legacy of art education to the next generation of Filipino budding young artists.
Stage, Movie and TV Actor Soliman Cruz, PHSA graduate
In a press conference held last May 25 at the CCP, award-winning poet and PHSA’s current director Dr. Victor Emmanuel Carmelo “Vim” Nadera Jr. presented the programs lined up in celebration of PHSA’s 40th anniversary and the Annual Nationwide Search for Young Arts Scholars (ANSYAS). He invited elementary school students from all regions and provinces in the Philippines to apply for admission to the PHSA and later on become artists who will contribute to nation-building.
L-R: PHSA President Vim Nadera, Atty. Zuniega, PHSA graduates Raymond Red, Abner Delina Jr. and Ms. Mae Caralde
At the press conference, PHSA alumni from the jubilarian batches shared how PHSA has helped them grow into artists and art educators who are now handling down PHSA’s legacy of art education to the next generation of Filipino young artists. PHSA students and alumni also spoke and rendered performances at the media event.
renowned filmmaker Raymond Red, PHSA graduate
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT “PHSA @ 40: Ibarang Alumni at the Forefront of Arts Education” and the PHSA programs, you may call Atty. Sim Zuniega at 817-7998 or 752-4310.
Photography by Erickson dela Cruz
