PHSA’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY AT CCP

"PHSA’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY AT CCP"

TO commemorate the Philippine High School for the Arts’s 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 P.M. at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater). This show aims to highlight significant contributions of Ibarang Alumni in art education in the various art forms.

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.  PHSA graduates are called Ibarang, 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.

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 handing down PHSA’s legacy of art education to the next generation of Filipino budding young artists.

In a press conference held 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 year 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.

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 handing 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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT “PHSA@40: Ibarang Alumni at the Forefront of Arts Education” and the PHSA programs, please call Atty. Sim Zuniega at 817-7998 or 752-4310.