The Arts & Culture Committee, through its member foundations, put together their capabilities, resources, network, and seeks possible funding agencies to support advocacy of the arts and culture in promoting the importance and relevance of the arts in nation building. This is to be achieved through the enhancement of current practices in art education in the school system and by elevating appreciation of the arts in the business sector, civic organizations, and other groups through seminars, cultural tours, and other art-related activities

Chair: Laurie Javier (Phinma Foundation)

Co-Chair: --

Members:

1. AES Philippines Power Foundation
2. Ayala Foundation
3. Bonifacio Art Foundation
4. BPI Foundation
5. Insular Life Foundation
6. Lopez Group Foundation
7. Metrobank Foundation
8. Phinma Foundation
9. Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc.

ArtConnection

In 2007, the Arts and Culture Committee of the LCF received a grant from Charities Aid Foundation of Australia (CAF) to implement a 3-year arts education program.

ArtConnection is the banner program of the committee. During the first year, ArtConnection program provided whole day arts appreciation workshops for over 2,000 elementary public school teachers in the NCR and 7 other province in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. This was conducted in partnership with various museums and some of the most respected art educators in the country.

Since then ArtConnection has evolved into a more comprehensive and multidisciplinary art education seminar-workshop, providing extensive trainings to public school teachers from selected pilot schools in the NCR region and Central Luzon. The program is aligned to the current curriculum of the Department of Education in Makabayan specifically in subjects, Arts, Music and Social Studies (HeKaSi).

In 2008, CAF granted another project under ArtConnection, the “Art-as-Therapy” in partnership with Kythe, a foundation for young cancer or terminally-ill patients. This program is designed to provide opportunities for hospitalized children to achieve healing and a better quality of life through art. The components of the program are the art workshops, art exposure trips and an art exhibition.

LCF believes that as we work towards enhancing the quality of education in our public schools, arts and culture education must play an important role. It is through arts and culture programs that we can instill in students a strong sense of pride and appreciation for our country’s history and culture, an important factor in nation building.

ArtConnection Workshop

THE ARTCONNECTION RESOURCE BOOK FOR MAKABAYAN TEACHERS

Studies have shown that art education greatly enhances students performance in other academic areas. Moreover, the arts is a vital resource in instilling pride for country and cultural heritage among Filipino students.

The ArtConnection Program aims to meet the lack of training programs and materials for teachers of the arts. In 2007, the Arts and Culture Committee of the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) addressed this felt need especially in the teaching of Makabayan in public elementary schools.

Makabayan in made up of several subjects, including Social Studies, Arts, and Music. The Arts and Culture Committee proposed a new paradigm for teaching the subject. They believed that Makabayab should be taught in an integrated, holistic, and interdisciplinary manner.

The Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL) was tapped by the Arts and Culture Committee in 2008 to design a training program for teachers af Makabayan. Thus, a series of lectures on Philippine music, visual arts, literature, history was conducted for over 1,000 public elementary school teachers.

In 2009, the Arts and Culture Committee focused its attention on seven pilot public schools from NCR and Bulacan. It believed that limiting the program to a select group of teachers would facilitate the development of the teacher’s resource book, the ultimate goal of the ArtConnection program.

"ARTCONNECTION MILESTONES"

2007: LCF focuses on planning the program and building partnerships with DepEd.

2008: LCF partners with FHL, which designs the program and enlists a team of experts on Philippines history, visual arts, literature and music. The experts deliver a series of lectures to over 1,000 public school teachers at FHL in Makati City.

2009: LCF and FHL host exposure trips and deliver intensive lecture-workshops to the teachers from the selected pilot schools. An editorial team is formed to work on the teacher’s resource book, a draft of which is immediately produced. On November 21, three teachers from PAREF Woodrose School test the draft by conducting demo classes at FHL for the teachers from the pilot schools.

2010: Two teachers from Marilao Central School demonstrate how they teach Makabayan. This exercise gives LCF and FHL ideas on how to improve the resource book. Focused group discussions are facilitated by FHL for the teachers in Marilao and NCR. They suggest materials to be included in both the resource book and the accompanying CD. FHL reminds the teachers that they are facilitators of learning and that the traditional teacher-centered classroom is a thing of the past.

Finally, after a year of research and writing, the ArtConnection resource book is formally launched in July