By Kevin Alaban | March 5, 2021
The Silliman University’s College of Education Student Organization (SU-CESO) hosted MAESTRA: Digital Arts Exhibit featuring artworks of students from different universities in Dumaguete City last March 1 to 5.
With the theme “Preserving arts amidst the pandemic,” submitted artworks were featured on the official Facebook page of SU-CESO.
“Ever since this school year started, the faculty and the officers in our college had strived to maintain student participation and interaction,” SU-CESO Governor Rona Yahassneth Banabana said.
Banabana shared that initially, events and activities in their organization were introduced in a “somewhat competitive nature,” through poetry and essay competitions and by providing incentives to those who participated.
However, according to the governor, the stress from online school works and extra-curricular activities piled up.
“We had decided to just make things simpler and enjoy and appreciate what we do have now. With how fast-paced things are moving we just need to pause, take a breath, and reassess,” Banabana explained.
The governor hoped that the event reached the student body, letting them speak of how life has been for them.
She believed artists had different takes on the theme, but she also posed the question, “How can we preserve the arts when inspirations suddenly get blocked and the bleakness and monotony of our situation start to overpower everything else?”
Banabana explained that artists had responded by showing glimpses of their daily lives, interests, hobbies or simply sharing their memories and reminiscing of the good old days.
“They had shown variety through their creativity, not really aiming to inspire anyone but instead [reminded] us of how arts help us too,” she added.
The event was a collaborative partnership of teacher-education organizations from St. Paul University Dumaguete, Foundation University, and Negros Oriental State University.
