‘DAGYANG TA!’

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Panay News
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Did you know? Elephants and its extinct cousin, stegodonts, used to roam Panay Island. View these fossil molars dated to 750,000 years old at Geology and Paleontology Exhibition Hall.
Did you know? Elephants and its extinct cousin, stegodonts, used to roam Panay Island. View these fossil molars dated to 750,000 years old at Geology and Paleontology Exhibition Hall.

BY MARICYN A. DE LOS SANTOS | NMWV

This Dinagyang Festival 2023, discover the richness of Western Visayas culture and heritage by visiting the National Museum of the Philippines – Western Visayas Regional Museum, located at the Provincial Capitol Complex, Bonifacio Drive, Iloilo City.

Let’s time travel to the 19th century Panay Island through the photos of Felix Laureano of Bugasong, Antique. Check out what Iloilo heritage churches looked like in the 19th century, discover the love of Filipinos for cockfighting and bullfight, and just enjoy their beautiful piña clothes.
Celebrate the Filipino artistry in the handwoven textiles of Western Visayas, which used to be a major export product of Iloilo in the 19th century. Find out why the industry died and how culture bearers and stakeholders are working to revive it now.

The building itself is the restored former Prison of Iloilo or popularly known as Iloilo Provincial Jail. The National Museum declared it an Important Cultural Property for its exceptional cultural, artistic and historical value, particularly in the development of architecture in the Philippines.

Join the public cry for biodiversity conservation by knowing the richness of flora and fauna in the Visayas shown in the mobile museum box project of the National Museum of the Philippines, Forest Foundation of the Philippines, and Western Visayas Association of Museums, Inc., and in Pambansang Museo sa Barangay project with ICCROM-CollAsia.

Built in 1911, it was used as prison until 2006. It was abandoned until its restoration in 2014.

Make your visit memorable through our interactive learning corners like mask-making and rock art.
The Oton Gold Death Mask, a National Cultural Treasure.

The public can enjoy and learn from six exhibitions – the Geology and Paleontology, Habol Panay: The Woven Artistry of Western Visayas, Bugasong to Barcelona: Felix Laureano, the First Filipino Photographer, Ang Tamung nga Bulawan (The Oton Gold Death Mask), and mobile museum boxes – The Biodiversity of the Visayas Region and Pambansang Museo sa Barangay.

A space for learning where guests can draw the samples of marine species found in the exhibition.

The guests can also enjoy an overlooking view of the capitol complex and Iloilo River from the garden deck. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance is free. For group guided tours, call us at 327-3782 or message us in Facebook to book your tours. /PN

Photos courtesy of NATIONAL MUSEUM WESTERN VISAYAS

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