IN A university heavy on the sciences and management, artistic celebrations are a constant reminder that the arts are equally significant in society.
To celebrate the ten years of growth of the Fine Arts program in the Ateneo, this year’s Fine Arts Festival highlighted national awareness and Filipino pride.
Festival Coordinator Claudine Nicole Santos said, “I would liken the Fine Arts program to a seed; it has great potential to grow and bear fruits. Yet, for such to happen, it would require time and care. Slowly, we are showing that there is a competent Fine Arts Program in Ateneo.”
Four major events prepared by mostly fine arts seniors were lined up for the weeklong festivities.
Information Design seniors showcased projects in their thesis exhibit “Rotonda.”
Creative Writing seniors launched their chapbook, a pocket-sized booklet, named Buklat.
Theater Arts seniors held a number of socially-oriented plays throughout the week, namely Role Play, Improve[e], Hello, Goodbye, Sa Terminal, and The Dumb Waiter.
Art Management seniors meanwhile opened an exhibit featuring artworks from Cebu.
Reverberating across these events were the words of Fine Arts Director Benilda Santos. In her speech at the opening ceremony, Santos said, “The true artist is strongly rooted in his community.”
Balancing force in the Ateneo
“The core of the Ateneo is the Humanities. It’s what makes us human. Our deepest and most profound expression as humans is Art. And exploring art as a human expression is what makes other people human,” said Faculty Festival Coordinator Missy Maramara.
Meanwhile, fellow sophomore Justin Travis Pua pointed out the contribution of arts to the well-roundedness of an Atenean.
“The Fine Arts program is critical in the holistic development of the Ateneo community because it provides an area for those who can really specialize in being creative,” he said.
He added that even though it ispossible to nurture the artistic side on one’s own while taking up a non-art related course, it is still different when one precisely studies art because he learns the more formal aspects of it.
While Pua zeroed in on the practical importance of the Fine Arts program in Ateneo, Santos focused more on its functional importance.
“I would like to think that the Fine Arts Program embellishes the Ateneo community with beauty,” she said.
To illustrate, she explained, “The Information Design students make some of the beautiful posters and designs for different orgs and events.” According to Santos, many Fine Arts majors excel in the different organizations and student groups inside and outside the Loyola Schools.
Soul of art
“Art is there to balance out our society’s logical thinking. Art is a very effective way of communicating intangible and complex concepts. Art…can give us insights,” said Megan Leigh Gorospe.
She said that it is best if one appreciates different forms of art by thinking about the message conveyed by the artwork.
Pua takes on a personal perspective of art. He said, “The arts provide crucial mental stimulus that neither math nor science can provide. Some people may choose to deny this but it provides reflection, passion and self-confidence when speaking of art because art, in itself, is very personal.”
Carmela Monica Bautista said, “[Art] has the capability to elicit emotions and sentiments from the viewers, which may tackle social realities in some cases.”
For opening ceremony guest speaker Lisa Chikiamco (BFA AM ‘05), fine arts majors do not take up fine arts to make money. They take up fine arts because they believe in something more, she said.
Maramara’s view on arts is parallel to that of Chikiamco. She said, “Measuring art the way we measure success from a capitalist standpoint is tantamount to measuring our soul by the money we make. Money…should not be the measuring stick of who we are. Quality should be.”
The Ateneo Fine Arts Festival was held from January 31 to February 5 in various locations in the Loyola Schools campus.
