Xavier University Little Theater was full-packed as Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts (XCCA) held its 7th ArteKultura forum with the theme, “Unraveling Mindanao Architecture and Mosques” on July 16.

The event was participated in by more than two hundred students and teachers from various high schools and colleges in Cagayan de Oro City.

The dean of the Far Eastern University’s (FEU) Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts, Lorelei de Viana PhD served as the resource speaker of this year’s ArteKultura.

De Viana glued the audience to their seats with the history and evolution of Mindanao architecture, its Islamic characteristics, its socio-political roles and examples of mosques mounted across the island of Mindanao.

ArteKultura is a lecture series of XCCA under its Cultural Education Program (CEP) and is supported by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

De Viana also advocated for the appreciation and the imperative to protect and preserve these structures which are considered as “Mindanao treasures” and symbols of our religious diversity.