The Negros Season of Culture is a celebration of Negrense cultural traditions as expressed in various art forms. In 2020, it will include visual arts, culinary arts, film, and theatre.
Spearheaded by the Angelica Berrie Foundation, the Negros Season of Culture aims to bring Negrense arts and culture to the consciousness of the local community, and then share it with the rest of the world. Hence, the celebration’s tagline, “Rooted. Taking on the world.”
We conceived of threading stories of creativity into one regional narrative, creating a platform for local, national, and global audiences to discover what makes Negros special.
We are living in an extraordinary time, in the midst of a global pandemic, in a moment of radical disruption. Our messaging is focused on the future. We want to inspire hope and tap into the creative spirit that has always been part of who we are as Negrenses.
We will survive this crisis, if we foster a spirit of resilience and solidarity that our ancestors had, and what we hope this generation of Negrenses will carry on.
The Season of Culture is a messaging platform for a place-based brand of culture rooted in identity, speaking to the world in the universal language of Art and Culture, featuring creative innovators in unique settings that tell our story, beautiful rural landscapes and heritage homes that deserve to be preserved. We know our native cuisine has inspired so many talented chefs.
We have seen film and theater geniuses like Peque Gallaga, whom we pay tribute to in our first segment, recognized internationally.
We have grown up with cultural icons like the Church of the Angry Christ, which is a national treasure. Most important, we showcase people who create handicrafts and native delicacies, local artists and ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
We will honor Peque Gallaga for inspiring so many of us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, for teaching us to express our creativity in big bold ways that contribute to the story of this place we call home.
I will never forget how Peque staged Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” in Visayan, taking us to remote towns on the back of flatbed trucks that served as our moving stage. It was an extraordinary way to encounter people in small barrios, see the spark in their eyes as they listened in rapt attention to the stories we brought to them.
There are many hidden gems in this province and we hope to bring them to life through the Negros Season of Culture. Connecting the stories embedded in this place is the message of hope we want to ignite in this challenging time.
We hope everyone will join us to promote what we love about our identity, our culture and our home.
