BACOLOD City – More than 400 masks from 22 countries were unveiled here in an exhibit, a prelude to the International Mask and Culture Organization’s international conference hosted by this city on Nov. 5 to 8.
IMACO is based in South Korea’s Andong City, which has sisterhood ties with Bacolod.
Dawon “Ginny” Lee, chief of the IMACO International cooperation team, in a press briefing at the SM City Bacolod Atrium, said that ahead of the conference, “we are delighted to host (the exhibit) in the City of Smiles.”
The exhibit, being held at the Atrium, will run until Dec. 26 and features masks from five continents – Asia, Europe, America, Africa, and Oceania. Among those from Asia are masks from the Philippines, particularly the smiling masks of the Bacolod MassKara Festival.
“We’ve known about the MassKara even before and we’re very interested about how you preserve the masks and how everyone is participating in this event,” Lee said.
She acknowledged the assistance and support of the city government, headed by Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, in the preparations for the exhibit and the upcoming conference, which is expected to gather some 200 delegates from 17 countries.
Lee said mask culture is part of intangible cultural heritage, which is difficult to preserve. “We are trying to safeguard and preserve the mask cultures,” she added.
The IMACO, consisting of more than 130 individual and group organizations from about 60 countries, was founded in 2006 to construct archives of mask-related culture that is integral to cultural community symbols.
Through research, preservation, and data accumulation, the organization aims to develop an understanding of mask culture as it focuses on the value that masks promote in terms of freedom, peace, and equality, which in turn provides an approach to understand human values. (With a report from PNA/PN)
