A gathering of artists, painters, art enthusiasts as well as heritage and cultural advocates is set for the First Central Luzon Visual Arts Convention happening on October 3 to 4, 2012 at SM City Baliwag.

The 2-day affair dubbed “Unang Daloy” is a pioneer project in the region organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Kapisanan ng mga Bahay-Saliksikan sa Bansa, Inc. (KABANSA) in partnership with SM City Baliwag and Bulacan State University’s Center for Bulacan Studies (BulSu CBS).

Its theme, Unang Daloy takes inspiration from Central Luzon’s headwaters with its rivers traversing through the provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, Bataan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan. With the common goal of enriching the country’s cultural heritage through arts, it signifies a symbolic unity among the artisans coming from various parts of the region.

The region is also home to notable masters of the country’s arts scene like National Artists Guillermo Tolentino, Vicente Manansala, Jose Joya and Eduardo Mutuc. Other noteworthy names in the visual arts field from Central Luzon are Teodoro Sr., Cesar Buenaventura, Miguel Galvez, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Willie Layug, Amadeo Manalad and Jose Zabala Santos.

To formally kick off the program, the Unang Daloy Art Exhibit will be opened showcasing the paintings of Central Luzon artists. Mall goers will get a rare chance to view these art works at the event center of SM City Baliwag until October 17.

It will be followed by a series of lectures from distinguished guest speakers such as Dr. Lino Dizon, KABANSA Vice President, Dr. Reuben Cañete, Professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman Art History of the Asian Center, Liongoren Art Gallery’s Norma Liongoren and renowned film maker and NCCA Committee on Visual Arts member, Manny Montelibano.

A workshop entitled “Ako at ang Bayan Ko” will be facilitated the next day by social realist visual artist Eghai Roxas, UP Fine Arts’ Joey Tañedo and performance artist Yuan Moro.

The convention will also serve as a venue for its participants to interact and dialogue with other Central Luzon and Manila-based artists regarding the path and focus of the art community in the years to come during the Art Congress. A fellowship night will commence as a culminating activity of the 2-day convention.

Expected to grace the event are Bulacan governor Hon. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, Hon. Emelita Almosara, executive director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Committee on Visual Arts, academes Dr. Mariano de Jesus, Bulacan State University’s President and Dr. Emmanuel Calairo, of the De La Salle University Dasmariñas.

Prior to the visual arts convention, the mall also hosted the first NCCA Sagisag Kultura in the region last August 24 where 160 various Philippine cultural icons in a photo with inscriptions showcase like the anahaw, anito, kampilan, Fernando Amorsolo, Bulacan’s Barasoain Church and the Banaue Rice Terraces were showcased in the exhibit.