A TOTAL of 121 students, teachers from the Department of Education, cultural workers, museum workers, filmmakers, art enthusiasts, even inmates from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Handumanan Jail facility completed the 120-hour from 63 workshops/lectures/seminars in Hanas.
Hanas, a Hiligaynon term that means "to hone," aims to hone the skills of second liners in the fields of Performance Arts and Cultural Management through short courses in Theatre, Dance, Film, Museology, Weaving and Creative Curriculum.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) manages this scholarship program for culture and arts which was launched in Negros Occidental in December 2018, under The Scholarship for the Arts Program funded by the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.
NCCA Deputy Executive Director Marichu Tellano said when they first thought of Hanas, they have limited their framework within the seven arts but the "Hanas" done in Negros has actually addressed the other areas of culture that would help nurture the performance art, the visual art interpreting the program in the widest form possible with more possibilities across ages and sectors.
Hanas serves as a platform where the scholars/participants can establish and create a network of young, multidisciplinary artists and support groups which came from a collective need articulated by senior artists and cultural workers of the province to develop among the young and budding artists and cultural works the necessary knowledge and skills to sustain the tradition of art making and networking.
Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod Vice President for Student Affairs and External Relations Fr. Tito Soquiño representing CSA-B, the project proponent for Hanas, said he is happy and proud that CSA-B is part of the cultural development in the region particularly in the province.
"I hope despite our limitations, we are able to give a very strong message that culture is an important part of our development as a people, as a society especially with the advancement of the technology," Soquiño said.
During the Hanas culmination program at the Auditorium of CSA-B in Bacolod City, Mercedes Claur, a weaver from Valladolid Loom Weavers Association thanked NCCA for the knowledge they gained from product innovations to merchandising to branding their products which will surely beef up their income and help the weavers who are mostly mothers.
Meanwhile, Hanas Executive and Pedagogy Director Rudy Reveche hopes the new and additional knowledge and skills acquired and the friendships nurtured from Hanas would inspire and guide those who have completed the training to come up with new ideas, solutions, platforms and advocacies that would preserve, promote and sustain the cherished Christian values and Filipino heritage.
Hanas' other partners include the West Visayas Association of Museums Inc. and the Negros Museum. (PR)