By Hobart P Savior, director of Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts
[Speech delivered during the launching of the 7th Panaghugpong Festival in celebration of the 2015 National Arts Month celebration]

The National Arts Month celebration carries the image of the bountiful harvests that we, Filipinos are genuinely gifted with by our ultimate creator—our God, who in His magnificent ways is the Perfect Artist. These harvests clearly stem from the core where the seeds of our identity have been scattered on the ground and were expected to grow—defining who we are as a people. These harvests imply the artistic and creative wealth that serves as markers of our ingenuity. These harvests do not only amuse people, but also function as media of understanding our world, our environment, our humanity.  

On our 7th year of promoting the National Arts Month every February, we hope that the community considers Panaghugpong an essential platform not only for holistic human formation but also for effective and productive education—arts that express our culture and heritage are all around us.  They are well secured and provided for us by Xavier University, and truly our University places Arts and Culture as definers of it being a Filipino University.  We thank Fr Francisco Demetrio SJ together with Fr Antonio Cuna SJ for establishing the arts movement at XU.  Thank you, Xavier University for your continued support to our Museo de Oro as well as to the Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts.  Thank you, Xavier for institutionalizing the performing arts companies… these companies have really made vibrant contributions and presence in helping us enrich the academic experiences of our constituents.

It is but right to emphasize that the efforts rendered through culture and the arts as part of our formation in the mission and ministry are academically, spiritually, physically, and socially relevant—these efforts made to concrete programs may just be in the periphery, but they certainly extend the value of truth, beauty and freedom to every audience who will just try to view exhibits, listen to our songs and music, dance the rhythms and beats of our ancestors, think, feel and laugh about our humane experiences and follies.  These arts provide us better options about life – options that will help us remain human as we are yet sensitive enough to make the world in proper proportion or order amidst chaos. Make our world a better place filled with people who are generous and humble.

To all the artists of XU, let us continue to create to remind others about life, love, even the sacred and the profane. Let us create for the world is so abundant to celebrate.  Let us also create for us to attain cultural understanding, solidarity, gender equality and peace.  It is also worth noting that when we dissolve ourselves in the realm of creation, we dissolve politics that takes lives, politics that lusts for power, politics that oppresses, and politics filled with greed. When we create we see things through the lens of God who knows gentle compassion for others.

Panaghugpong 7 and the National Arts Month highlight our own creative genius for us to attain our sense of pride of place and identity.  With that, we open this celebration with “Saysay Lumad Myth and Epic” exhibit.  We believe that our folk myths, epics and folk literatures in general are the ingenious works of our ancestors.  

In the exhibit are Guman among the Subanen’s, Origin Myths of Manuvu, Ulaging of Bukidnon and other riveting artworks. We thank Fr Demetrio for these collections and thank you, Dr Erlinda Burton for managing and curating the Museo de Oro.  Our exhibit curator Oscar Floirendo assisted by JC Salon, thank you to the both of you for such a wonderful curatorial work. Thank you, Albert Vamenta and Nonoy Estarte for the timeless works of art.  Allow me to thank also our partners: the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, XU, XCCA, Museo de Oro, XU National Service Training Program, Office of Mission and Ministry, Research and Social Outreach, Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakabana-Social Involvement Office and all our media partners.  

Take this festival as our humble offering to all of you. We attain greater heights of creativity when all of you go beyond supporting us, when all of you believe that we are one in bringing Xavier University’s creative wealth to the community it serves.

Let me end by quoting Francis Bacon: “The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery…”

Thank you and together, let us celebrate the seventh year of Panaghugpong!