Five Minutes with Cultural Center of the Philippines’ newly appointed President and Artistic Director – Ms. Maria Margarita Roxas Moran-Floirendo
An Interview with Cultural Center of the Philippines’ newly appointed President and Artistic Director – Ms. Maria Margarita Roxas Moran-Floirendo.
Maria Margarita Roxas Moran-Floirendo, President and Artistic Director of the CCP
You have been Chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) since 2018 so the centre is no stranger to you –tell us a bit more about your vision for CCP as the newly appointed President and Artistic Director.
The vision of the institution is my vision along with everyone else who works at the CCP. We work to make arts matter to every Filipino. We will continue to deliver educational and inspiring content to Filipinos on various platforms, while making sure to champion and advocate for our artists, seeking new markets and opportunities for them.
We know that CCP will be closing its main building in 2023 for a long overdue rehabilitation of its spaces. Could you give us a sneak peek of what can we expect from the refreshed building?
Structural retrofitting and renovation will be done to return the CCP to its original glory. Our theatres will be elevated to state-of-the-art status. We will be leak-free. Our ceilings will gleam with new gold paper; our floors will have new carpets. We will have new lighting systems in place. The new CCP will be beautiful. No changes will be made in the look and layout of our building. The rehabilitation will result in a brilliant look of the CCP.
CCP plans to continue programming in your new Black Box Theatre and your outdoor spaces despite the closure of the main building. What are some of the key changes you had to make in the centre’s programming direction in order to continue presenting work and engaging audiences?
The CCP is determined to maintain its leadership in the next two years that it will go dark. We will continue to promote artistic excellence, nurture our artists, create artistic and educational contents, and engage the broadest audiences in art making and cultural experiences while our Main Building is closed.
Already, we have begun face-to-face, onsite activities and we intend to continue doing so, at alternative spaces within the CCP complex and beyond. During the pandemic, we went online. We continue to do this, post pandemic, and will endeavour to maintain a strong presence online during the rehabilitation period of the CCP.
In addition to physical spaces within our CCP Complex, we are looking at performance and exhibition venues within Metro Manila, and there are many options to be considered. The CCP rehabilitation gives us the perfect opportunity to strengthen our reach to the regions with our outreach projects. We are not only planning performances but educational activities and cultural experiences in various locations throughout the country. We will strengthen our partnerships with local artistic groups and cultural organisations in the provinces.
We want to contribute to the development of Creative Industries and design programmes that will spur creativity and content creation. These programmess will involve public participation and an example of this is our successful Kanto Kultura project that encouraged Filipino talents to create artistic content that showcase innovation and creativity. Another example is the CCP Innovation Grants. In 2021, it funded 7 companies in the creation and production of new work in various art disciplines, and distribution of new content on the arts using online technology, blended, and hybrid technologies.
Margie Moran-Floirendo with Filipino visual artist Jinggoy Buensuceso at the launch of KAINGIN: An Earth Month Art Installation held at the Front Lawn of the CCP. (Photo by Orly Daquipil)
Margie Moran-Floirendo participates in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Ternocon event held at the CCP. Ternocon is a terno dress-making convention and contest for Filipino regional designers initiated by the CCP. (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)
What was your biggest personal takeaway so far from the pandemic?
To always remain hopeful. We lost two years to the pandemic but I know we will return to the theatre. It is most important to give back jobs to the artists and it takes courage to make it. After a downturn, art companies can survive if their leaders are good crisis managers.
You have had an amazing career taking on a multitude of roles including Beauty Queen, Actress, President of Philippines Ballet, Chairperson of CCP and now President of CCP – how have these diverse experiences shaped you as a person?
I am very grateful to have been blessed with extraordinary opportunities to be of service to my community and country. The unique life experiences that I have had have afforded me a rather uncommon vantage point with which to view the world. I’d like to think that this has given me some good measure of wisdom, discernment and equanimity to deal with challenges that come my way.
Our AAPPAC conference theme this year is FUTURE FORWARD – could you share in one sentence what are some hopes you have for the arts community?
As we return to normal times and with the CCP temporarily closing, it is important to bring arts to the regions so no one is left behind. We plan to maximise our strong cultural networks, as we expand our programmes to the regions. Hopefully, we can also extend our reach beyond our borders and engage with artists in the Asia Pacific region.