The successful launch of Majica MassKara Year 8 as part of the 32nd MassKara Festival highlights has brought the art works of Bacolod artists to a new level that many people, even children, can relate to.
The 8th installation of Majica MassKara dubbed as the “Dreamer’s Floating Carousel,” features six three-dimensional figures mounted on sculpted paper boats floating on the fountain area of the Bacolod City Government Center and was launched Saturday (Oct. 7).
Artist Charlie Co poses behind his “Dreamer’s Floating Carousel” which is the 8th installation of Majica MassKara.
It is the work of Charlie Co, a leading Filipino artist based in Bacolod, in collaboration with a group of local artists lead by artist and production designer Neil Benavente.
Festival director Eli F. J. Tajanlangit said, “One thing that makes this very, very relevant in the Philippine art scene is that this is an example of an art work that goes down to the level of entertainment without compromising its artistic values. This is art that the people—the masses, even the unschooled, and the children—can understand.”
Co said the “Dreamer’s Floating Carousel” was an idea from the paper boats one created when one was still small.
But unlike the merry-go-round that revolves in its place, it is the people this time who should go around the fountain area to enjoy the 8x 8 feet artworks, Co said.
He said the art works took about two months to be completed, starting with conceptualizing it on the second week of August.
“The ‘Dreamer’s Floating Carousel’ is to challenge people to think out of the box. They should dream. Anything is possible. The power of dreams and the power of the arts can change things, can make the world better,” Co said.
“Last week, everywhere there is flooding. We Filipinos are survivors. Despite the bad situations that happen, we still move on. The rains cannot dampen the power of the arts,” Co said at the launching, which was raining shortly before it opened.
Through his art works, Co said, he wants people of all ages to come to the Bacolod City Government Center and “smile.”
Tajanlangit added, “Hopefully this work is going to go a long way in art appreciation and art education among our people. It is also something that we can lay our claim on as the art capital of the Philippines after Manila considering this kind of work. It’s something new; it’s something that hasn’t been done before in a scale as big as this.”
This is a milestone not only for Bacoleno and Negrense art but also for the Filipino art. I know the (art community in the) Philippines is looking at us now, he said.
Co hopes this idea would be nurtured into something more permanent, and that somebody will invest on it so it will become another tourist attraction in Bacolod.
Tajanlangit said, “The MassKara Festival is a celebration of the best of Bacolod and everything its people hold dear. And that can be delivered most dramatically by artists.”
Majica MassKara, launched in 2004, is an annual major art event of the MassKara festival that showcases works of outstanding Bacolod visual artists.
“We are happy that Bacolod has an artists’ community that actively contributes to the affairs of the city such as the MassKara Festival. The Majica Masskara is an artists’ gift to the city,” Tajanlangit said.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia, for his part, said, “The major reason MassKara continued to become so big is because we have talents and artists in Bacolod who have contributed so much in making the MassKara festival what it is today.”
“Tonight is another special event in our MassKara history because we are effectively launching a new concept in Philippine art. Together we celebrate the festival and this particular day we salute Co and all his fellow artists,” he said.
“Masskara is MassKara because our people had embraced this festival and take the MassKara as part of our life and culture in Bacolod,” Leonardia added.
Also gracing the Majica MassKara launch aside from Leonardia were Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Councilor Homer Bais, who is also honorary co-chairman of the MassKara Festival, Councilor Roberto Rojas, and Councilor Al Victor Espino.
Meanwhile, Majica MassKara Year 8 is one of the three MassKara landmarks established for this year’s festival. The other two are the MassKara Billboard of Lights, which was lighted up during the launching of the festival on Sept. 2, and the Plaza Bandstand, which was switched on during the opening of the festival on Oct. 1.
The three landmarks are designed as a photo opportunity site to attract more visitors to the public plaza and the Bacolod City Government Center.*
