Benilde MMA prof animates metaphor for pandemic

Wazzup Pilipinas!

A multimedia artist, inspired by “the isolation, danger, and anxieties we face during the pandemic,” has channeled her art into an animation for an online project.

Set in an imaginary kingdom in a virtual space, Hannah Ruth Sison’s “Portal” focuses on “a space that we also share and travel to everyday.” It is one of the artworks featured in “To Differ, Digitally 2: Love and Dissent in the Time of Pandemic,” a digital art exhibition initiated by the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Center for Campus Art in collaboration with the DLS-CSB New Media Cluster faculty.

Sison, who has been teaching MMA as a part-time faculty at Benilde since 2010, intended “Portal” to be an allegory. “Media has been our mirror to the outside world – seeing the atrocities, being jealous of those who have it better, seeing deaths, but at the same time, it is also our portal and space to be together with loved ones and our last time to be with those who depart. It is also a portal to learn from each other and reach out to people,” she explained.

Like many Filipinos, her family has also been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so working on the project felt very personal to her. “Challenging because of time, energy, and some limitations in knowledge, yet learning never stops,” the freelance multimedia artist stressed.

Sison lost one of her best friends, Mark Mijares, who is also her brother-in-law and co-faculty at Benilde. She dedicates her project to the victims of the pandemic as well as those who had to go through these hardships. She is grateful to CCA led by Architect Gerry Torres, TDD2 co-curator Karen Ocampo Flores, and NMC headed by Associate Dean Maria Sharon Mapa Arriola for making “Portal” possible.

“What was supposedly a series of intricate drawings turned out to be more simple illustrations with added music and little animation because hopefully, the story will be best shown that way. Portal, hopefully, can become a series if time and efforts persist. But it is one part for now. Succeeding parts will be produced soon,” the multimedia designer revealed.

“The story through its hidden meanings and symbolism also aims to open our eyes to the darkness and the love during this pandemic. And that despite our physical isolation, we can still be together in our own world,” she added.

Sison graduated with a degree of Multimedia Arts at Benilde and a Master of Arts in Communication Major in Applied Media Studies at De La Salle University. She is currently taking up her doctorate degree in Media Studies at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Her research interests include the virtual, new media, and the link between media and her love for music, games, art, and others.

Apart from teaching, she has been working as a multimedia artist for various brands, events, and companies, mostly on graphic design, photography, and illustrations. She also dabbles as a part-time model on the side, being a Binibining Pilipinas first-runner up winner in 2015.

Joining Sison in TDD2 are motion graphics artist and designer Yolec Homecillo, 3D artist Volty Garcia, graphic designer and writer Katrina Juane, visual communicator Vanessa Puente, visual artist Emily Mones, designer, writer and artist Brian Bringas and graphic designers Dino Brucelas and Rafael Liao, writer and designer Erika Garalde, multidisciplinary artist Teta Tulay, event consultant Mito Tubilleja, writer and content developer Penny Angeles-Tan, filmmaker and creative producer Seymour Barros Sanchez, film educator and writer Jag Garcia, photographer Jay Javier, and animator Benjie Marasigan.

TDD2 looks at the digital landscape as a platform to communicate constructive protest based on love and empathy. Aside from animation, it also features photographs, live action films, 2D and 3D models and rigs, texts, audio, applications, software, graphic design, and illustrations. The works are available at CCA’s new website (https://www.benildecampusart.com/exhibit/to-differ-digitally).

For more information about the exhibit and other projects, visit CCA’s social media accounts on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BenildeCampusArt), Twitter (https://twitter.com/csbcampusart), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/benilde.campusart/) and YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/BenildeCampusArt). “Portal” is available for viewing here: https://youtu.be/s6oTM2sR1VI

 

LPU MMA majors vie for Rotary PSA Festival 2021 awards

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Six Multimedia Arts students from the Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila campus will compete for the top prizes on December 11 as they made it to the semifinals of the 5th Rotary Public Service Announcement (PSA) Festival.

Eunice Angelica G. San Juan’s “Boto Para sa Pagbabago” (Vote for Change), Mark Wilson S. Catindig’s “Kain-Basura” (Food for Trash), Dan Enrico P. Picardal’s “Billiards,” Rikki Lou Bonifacio’s “Laro Tayo, Resiklo” (Let’s Play, Recycle) and Venus Mariel Orbon’s and Lovely Rose Veroya’s “Hide and Seek” have been selected among 355 submissions from 27 different high schools and colleges nationwide.

The Rotary Club of Circuit Makati has been organizing the Rotary PSA Festival, a 30-second video making contest for amateur and student filmmakers, since 2017. Last year, LPU Manila had four semifinalists in the competition, namely Ashley Cordero’s “Alone,” Francis Alba’s “Mother Tongue,” Austin Banaag’s “TULOy Tuloy,” and Rochelle Philippe Jedidah Urag’s and James Nadora’s “Ang Ating Gubat” (Our Forest). All nine LPU semifinalists were submitted as final projects to their Fundamentals of Film and Video Production subject.

Five semifinalists were chosen for each of the seven Rotary International Areas of Focus, namely Peace and Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Supporting Environment, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Economic and Community Development, Disease Prevention and Treatment, and Basic Education and Literacy. All 35 semifinalists will automatically receive 2,000 pesos each.

The Top 5 winners will each be awarded cash prizes amounting to 35,000 pesos (first prize), 25,000 pesos (second), 15,000 pesos (third), 10,000 pesos (fourth), and 5,000 pesos (fifth) plus a digital certificate of recognition from the organizers. A special award for Best Direction will also be given 5,000 pesos and a plaque to the director who has exhibited outstanding direction for a video entry.

San Juan’s PSA focuses on the victims of extrajudicial killings “as violence and killings are still alarmingly increasing,” she said. “We might not see it often in the news, but it is still present. I want people to never forget about these innocent victims who died during this administration and still haven’t got justice yet.”

“As Election 2022 is slowly approaching, we are hoping for a change to avoid injustices and abuse of authority. We are yearning for an administration that is competent. Voting wisely starts with the Filipino. We should always be reminded that no one is above the law, even the president. So we have to speak and fight for the victims whose voices are silenced,” San Juan stressed.

Meanwhile, Orbon and Veroya, who are both advocates of women empowerment, shared that their PSA was inspired by “friends and family who have suffered greatly because of failed marriages and domestic violence and friends who have traumatic experiences from being physically abused.”

“We wanted this entry to be an eye-opener to the public that not everyone has the same childhood experiences, and not every child has the same safe environment, and not all women have their dreams come true when they get married,” Veroya revealed.

“The experiences we had heard from people around us made us believe how strong a woman – a mother – can be for her children, and for those who suffer from this kind of situation. We wanted them to be free because we always believe that a woman is where we all came from. A threat to her life is a threat to our own,” she added.

Catindig, who also competed at the Three Shots Film Festival last month, believes that developing opportunities for the community is a small step in building a better nation. “Listening and creating solutions for the neighborhood is one of the many ways to develop a self-sufficient community. In creating this call for action, I didn’t need to seek inspiration. I just laid the platform for the voice of the community,” he explained.

On the other hand, Bonifacio noticed his nephews playing with pinwheels made from plastic bottles while he was conceptualizing for a project. He was able to think of an idea by recycling plastics to reduce pollution for the Supporting Environment category. He added that he wants to persuade people not just to throw their trash everywhere but to use them creatively in coming up with useful projects.

Picardal, for his part, based his concept on a game. “Since the start of the pandemic, we all miss going out, doing things we normally do. I waited for the time we will get the vaccine for this pandemic, too. As we experience more and more variants, people still seem to resist getting a vaccine shot now that we got it. The concept is simple. I just based it on a game that I’m not good at but I like watching, billiards.”

Apart from getting high grades, some of the students were also motivated to work on a good project by the Rotary PSA Festival cash prizes which can help them during the pandemic.

Inclusive Education Bill gets approved at Congress’ Bicameral Conference Committee; appeals to the President for Bill’s passage

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Save the Children Philippines lauds approval of the Inclusive Education Bill at Congress’ Bicameral Conference Committee; appeals to the President for Bill’s passage


Save the Children Philippines lauds the Bicameral Conference Committee for approving the Inclusive Education (IE) Bill in time for the celebration of International Day for Children with Disabilities. It is now awaiting the approval of the president to pass it into a law.

“We thank the Bicameral Conference Committee for supporting the Inclusive Education Bill. We are now one step closer to fulfilling children’s rights to access health services and inclusive quality education, especially for those with disabilities and most impacted by inequality and discrimination” said Atty. Albert Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines.

The IE bill ensures that no learner with disability shall be denied admission and inclusion in any public or private, early or basic education school in the country. It will afford such learners with equitable opportunities to educational and support services, and programs such as capacity building for students, their families/ caregivers, and teachers.

Knowledge hubs such as Inclusive Learning Resource Centers (ILRC) will also be established by local government units in collaboration with the Department of Education (DepEd).

“All children have the right to be educated, but some of them don’t have enough access, ability, and resources. Through the Inclusive Education Bill, we will be able to experience going to school,” said Jen, a parent of a child with disability who shared her sentiments on the importance of equal learning opportunities among children with and without disabilities.

Passing the Inclusive Education Bill will be monumental for the 5.5 million learners with disabilities as it seeks to create for them a responsive system for identification, referral, and intervention, in partnership with stakeholders.

“We appeal for the immediate approval of the Bill by the President ensuring that no learner will be left behind. The IE Bill makes our educational system more inclusive by providing a safe, accessible, and supportive educational environment, infrastructures, and facilities for one of the most discriminated sectors of Filipino children,” said Sierra Mae Paraan, Basic Education Advisor of Save the Children Philippines.

Among many of the IE Bill’s other provisions are the Advisory Council for Education of Learners with Disabilities that will support the DepEd in further improving the country’s educational system, and the provision of a support system for parents to help them care for their children at home better.

“We support the Inclusive Education Bill campaign because no child should be deprived of education because of his/her disability. No child should be punished or discriminated because of disability,” said DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones.

Save the Children Philippines has been advocating for the Inclusive Education Bill and is implementing programs to aid learners with disabilities including 1) the Kabataang Aralin Sa Lahat Ibahagi (KASALI) Project which attends to the different developmental needs of children with disabilities, 2) Building Resources and Networks for the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Marginalized Urban Communities (BRIDGE) Project that helps girls and boys with disabilities in urban poor communities and informal settlements in Parañaque City to access inclusive and quality basic health, child protection, information and social protection services, 3) SCOPE Project which strengthens the capacity of organizations of persons with disabilities and other civil society organizations towards effective civil society-local government engagement and improved government accountability for persons with disabilities, especially children in the cities of Parañaque and Taguig, and the Municipality of Pateros, and 4) Project ENGAGE that ensures meaningful participation of children and youth with disabilities in governance and policy.

In a message of solidarity to Save the Children, Briones highlighted DepEd’s support in protecting the rights of learners with disabilities. “We have a duty to all learners to provide them with learning opportunities and provide them with quality education as they further their search for wisdom, knowledge, and level of preparedness for life. We hope to continue cooperating and collaborating with Save the Children in giving opportunities to children especially those with disabilities.”