In marking International Museum Day (May 18), Senator Loren Legarda is encouraging everyone to discover the different aspects of the nation’s culture and history through our museums.
Legarda, a staunch advocate of art and culture promotion, said this year’s theme, “Museums as Cultural Hubs: The future of tradition”, is apt in promoting the significance of museums, which are vessels of important historical knowledge and cultural heritage and showcase the invaluable Filipino talent.
“Museums are vessels in such a way that they house our historical, scientific, artistic, and cultural artifacts and treasures for everyone to appreciate, study, and understand. They are repositories of the people’s skills, talents, knowledge, and ways of life in the past that we need to preserve and pass on to future generations. Museums are the best places to go for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge and interest in our history, culture, and arts,” Legarda said.
“We have a very rich heritage, so rich that we have a lot to learn and understand about the practices, traditions, and ways of living of our ancestors.”
“We should all take time to make regular visits to our museums to immerse in our history and culture. It also helps strengthen national identity and pride,” she stressed.
As Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, Legarda ensures adequate funding for the National Museum—the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Anthropology, and the National Museum of Natural History—as well as its regional museums.
The Senator has been working with the National Museum to organize lecture series and demonstrations, particularly on weaving, at the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino, the country’s first permanent textile gallery.
“We should all take time to make regular visits to our museums to immerse in our history and culture.”
Legarda is the patron of the Hibla gallery, which now has travelling exhibitions abroad and regional galleries, such as the Hibla Iloko at the National Museum Ilocos Region and Habol Panay at the National Museum Western Visayas Regional Museum.
In her home province of Antique, one of Legarda’s projects is the restoration and retrofitting of the Old Provincial Capitol building to turn it into a museum and library. She also hopes to have museums in every municipality in the province to showcase the different cultures and traditions of each town.
“We have a very rich heritage, so rich that we have a lot to learn and understand about the practices, traditions, and ways of living of our ancestors; we have to embrace the culture that is unique to us, so we can have a better understanding of our roots and of who we are. Let us witness and experience the story of our nation, unraveled and told through our museums,” Legarda concluded.