Asia Society Brings Filipino Music, Film, Design and Food to New York for Special Season of Programs

NEW YORK – September 3, 2015. This fall, Asia Society presents a season of programs celebrating Filipino culture in conjunction with the exhibition Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms, which is on view at Asia Society Museum in New York from September 11, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

The exhibition showcases recently excavated objects that highlight the prosperity and achievements of the little-known Philippine Kingdoms that flourished in the tenth to thirteenth centuries, long before the Spanish discovered the region and colonized it. Most of the works in the exhibition—including exquisite regalia, jewelry, functional and ritualistic objects, ceremonial weapons, and funerary masks—are on first-time view outside of the Philippines.

The fall season of programs, which include talks, films, performances and a designer showcase, will explore the Philippines past, present and future.

Following is a list of programs and events. For details and updates, visit AsiaSociety.org/Philippines2015.

EXHIBITION
Video Spotlight: Philippines September 11, 2015—January 3, 2016
This exhibition showcases the recent work of leading Filipino contemporary artists Poklong Anading, Martha Atienza, and Mark Salvatus. This exhibition is centered on the notion that the physical and cultural characteristics of a site are becoming less specific as our world becomes more homogenized through globalization. This marks the first presentation of contemporary Filipino video art at Asia Society and the first opportunity for U.S. audiences to view these works.

LOBBY SHOWCASE
Filipino Design Now 
September 11, 2015—January 3, 2016
Asia Society celebrates the artistic visions of top Filipino designers in this exclusive showcase conceived by Filipino jewelry designer Federico De Vera. Presented in Asia Society’s lobby, the showcase features exclusive collections by fourteen renowned Filipino designers. Designer collections are available for sale at AsiaStore and online at AsiaStore.org.

BENEFIT EVENT
Filipino American Community Celebration
Saturday, September 12 • 6:00 pm
A celebratory evening with live music, pica pica (hor d'oeuvres) reception and tours of Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms. The centerpiece of the evening will be a special performance of Langhapin, Lasapin, Namnamin … Pag-Ibig (Breathe, Taste, Savor … Love). This special presentation explores love in its many aspects through Philippine songs of various genres performed by outstanding Filipino and American classical singers and musicians, offering a glimpse of Philippines musical identity and heritage.

PERFORMANCE
Tunog ng Ulap Rondalla
Sunday, September 13 • 2:00 pm
Revel in the stirring music and dances of Tunog ng Ulap Rondalla. This delightful plucked string ensemble affiliated with the Iskwelahang Pilipino of Boston performs original compositions and arrangements of traditional pieces celebrating the musical dynamism of the islands.

MEMBERS-ONLY LECTURE
Re-Collecting a Forgotten Past: Traces of Hindu-Buddhist Art in the Precolonial Philippines
Tuesday, September 15 • 6:30 pm
Join co-curator of Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms, Florina H. Capistrano-Baker for an insightful talk on the origins of these extraordinary objects, from the pre-colonial era of the Philippines, which are on view in the United States for the first time.

FOOD
Pop-up Filipino Food Bar
Fridays, October 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 • 6:00–9:00 PM
Join us on Friday nights for free museum admission and a pop-up food bar featuring local Filipino guest chefs. Appetizers and small plates, with wine/beer, available for purchase.

SYMPOSIUM
Encounters with Early Asian Gold 
Saturday, October 3 • 11:00 am
Held in conjunction with the exhibition, Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms, this symposium features new scholarship that reassesses our understanding of Asian peoples in the context of gold trade and movement.

PERFORMANCE
Alamat: Stories of Philippine Gold 
Monday, October 26 • 8:00 pm
Using movement, songs, and a striking visual style, Ma-Yi Theater Company has created a compelling evening of theater that retraces the evolution of Philippine Gold as uniquely Filipino. Weaving together various indigenous myths about creation, nature, and tribal histories, Alamat: Stories of Philippine Gold tells the story of gold before colonization by the West.

PERFORMANCE
Voicing the Ancestral Sacred: Grace Nono and Ensemble
Saturday, October 30• 8:00 pm
Grace Nono is one of the most renowned female vocalists in the Philippines. She hails from the area in the Southern Philippines where the Butuan kingdom was located. Nono champions the power of the traditional Filipino music, striving to share this legacy with a new generation. In Voicing the Ancestral Sacred, she presents sacred songs of indigenous people from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and evokes a sonic landscape that spans past and present.

FILM SERIES
New Philippine Cinema
November 2015
With its unfettered energy, audacity, and wide-ranging creativity, Philippine cinema has injected a breath of fresh air into the international film scene. This series showcases exceptional works made since 2000. 

FAMILY DAY
Kinding Sindaw
Sunday, November 15 • 2:00 pm
Explore the rich history and culture of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines with a special family-friendly performance and workshop of music and dance by Kinding Sindaw.

PERFORMANCE
Filipino New York Stories
Friday, December 4 • 8:00 pm
New York’s wildly creative Filipino-American arts community takes the stage to reveal their New York Philippines. In a cabaret atmosphere, 20 diverse artists from theater, music, dance, and literature take the stage for five-minute stand up storytelling. Reception to follow. 

All performances take place at Asia Society in New York, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street). Find out more about upcoming programs, including information about registration and ticket purchase, at AsiaSociety.org/nyc. 

For further information, contact [email protected].