(photo from left to right) Mr. Kristoffer Ardeña, Filipino artist; Dr. Jose Manuel Marquez, President of the Estrutura de Missão para as Comemorações de Fernão de Magalhães; Professor Adelino Tome, Director of Escola Básica Fernão De Magalhães; Mr. António Ribeiro da Graça, Vice Mayor of Sabarosa; Amb. Celia Anna M. Feria, Philippine Ambassador to Portugal; and Dra. Maria Joao Monteiro
As part of the cultural diplomacy initiative of the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon to continue to raise the level of awareness of the Philippines in Portugal under the ambit of the commemorative activities in relation to the 500th Anniversary of the circumnavigation of the world by the Magellan expedition, the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon partnered with Mr. Kristoffer Ardeña, a Filipino artist and founder of Moving Image Lab Filipinas, for an art workshop entitled Biyahe. The first phase of the workshop took place in Sabrosa, in Northern Portugal, where Ferdinand Magellan is believed to come from. Sabrosa is also a sister-city of Cebu City.
On 06 December 2019, Ambassador Celia Anna M. Feria and Mr. Kristoffer Ardeña, accompanied by Dr. Jose Manuel Marquez, President of the Estrutura de Missão para as Comemorações de Fernão de Magalhães and Mr. António Ribeiro da Graça, Vice Mayor of Sabrosa, visited the Escola Básica Fernão de Magalhães to implement the art workshop, Biyahe.
Each student was tasked to create an artwork on their perception of Ferdinand Magellan. During the art workshop, the children of Escola Básica Fernão de Magalhães were told of the Philippine narrative on Magellan, how the ancient Filipinos welcomed Magellan and received the members of his expedition; and how Magellan lost his battle against a Philippine chieftain, Lapu-Lapu.
Mr. Kristoffer Ardeña conducting the art workshop with children from 3rd and 4th degree.
The Ambassador stressed the significance of challeging the younger generation to develop criticial and artistic thinking. She also expressed the importance of such projects that help promote a new innovative approach to appreciating and learning history, and its role in facilitating relationships and linkages between countries and their peoples and cultures.
Some of the artworks done by the students.
After the art workshop, the children were delighted to receive a loot bag from Ambassador Celia Anna M. Feria containing the Philippine flag, dried mangoes from Cebu and Philippine destination bag tags.
The Biyahe art workshop will continue with its second phase in Cebu wherein Mr. Kristoffer Ardeña will ask Filipino students to also create artworks on their perception of Ferdinand Magellan. Subsequently, all artworks will be sewn together to create a banner done by the children where it is said Ferdinand Magellan is from; and by the children where Magellan ended his expedition.
