The recent events in our arts and culture institutions have made me think about my relationship with these organizations, given how I stand in favor of its independence, and against all these questionable government appointments. Patronage and conflicts of interestIt is, of course, this lack of “access to support” that is the most dominant criticism against the existing cultural institutions, specifically the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), given that it is the de facto Ministry of Culture under the law. The National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA), for which individuals, cultural organizations and institutions might apply for grants for their projects, is under the NCCA. For a long time, I was only interested in the Subcommission for the Arts, which has a committee each for Architecture and Allied Arts, Cinema, Dance, Dramatic Arts, Literary Arts, Music, and Visual Arts. When we hear about art mafias, or the crisis of movie piracy, workers’ rights, why do we not hear NCCA committee members shedding light on these issues?

Source: Manila Times August 20, 2016 14:03 UTC