The heritage of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur is featured in an exhibit on the ground floor of the College of Fine Arts and Design. Inaugurated today, it is open until Friday, June 23, 2023.

The art exhibit is by the first-year students of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (majors in Painting and Visual Communication) and Bachelor of Interior Design. It is part of their Ilokano Studies general education course handled by Dr. Eleanor R. Belizar of the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy.

According to Dr. Belizar, the event is part of the University’s development goal for the promotion and preservation of Ilokano cultural heritage. 

“With instruction comes the integration of research in academic undertakings to ensure that faculty and students contribute to the growing body of knowledge in the different disciplines,” she added.

Ilokano Studies, the course under which the activity is done, aims to familiarize and reorient students with Ilokano culture’s potential as a springboard for their designs, paintings, and graphic arts.

The class focused on San Vicente as a site for the cultural mapping project because of its proximity, status as a historic town (declared by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts), and rich cultural heritage. For this activity, the students conducted research on the natural, built heritage, tangible, and intangible heritage of the municipality. As such, the exhibit concretizes how they transformed their data into art.

Dr. Abercio V. Rotor, a retired professor at the University of Santo Tomas, also attended the affair and delivered a short lecture on the heritage of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

Dr. Abercio V. Rotor joins the ribbon-cutting to formally open the art exhibit.

The activity is also attended by the faculty of the College of Fine Arts and Design and the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy.

It is also in line with the National Heritage Month 2023 with the theme “Heritage: Change and Continuity.”

Faculty members of the DSSP grap a photo opportunity with Dr. Rotor.