An app to improve traffic, another to teach Filipino sign language, an interactive game based on Jose Rizal’s novels, and a game for reclaiming the Baybayin script are among the projects on display at the UP’s Fine Arts Gallery
MANILA, Philippines – Visual Communication majors at the University of the Philippines-Diliman’s College of Fine Arts are presenting their thesis projects in an exhibit, showcasing innovative solutions to social issues.
The exhibit at the 2nd floor of the Parola gallery, open until July 28, features apps to ease traffic and promote inclusive education for the hearing-impaired, along with animated stories celebrating Filipino heritage.
An app to improve traffic in Metro Manila, another to teach Filipino sign language, an interactive game based on Jose Rizal’s novels, and a game for reclaiming the Baybayin script are among the student projects currently on display at the UP’s Fine Arts Gallery.
The exhibit, called Dagos (current), showcases the students’ desire to drive change through their thesis projects. By combining technology and creativity, the graduating students have developed creative solutions to various real-world issues, offering a diverse market of ideas to benefit Philippine society.
Innovative ideas
The exhibit is divided into clusters, namely: illustrations and publications, campaigns, moving images, and hypermedia.
Catherine Bollas’ project, Pinay – Kagitingan ng Kababaihan, seeks to present a counterpoint to the negative portrayal of Filipino women as kontrabida (antagonists) in the popular teleserye genre. This would be achieved through the production of animated stories of such historical figures as Gabriela Silang, Maria Orosa, Kumander Liwayway, Carmen Rosales, and Corazon Aquino. This undertaking can help inspire Filipinos by providing realistic representations of Filipino women and empowering them.
Alexander Mataverde Jr. aims to use animation to pique the interest of elementary graders about Tadlac Lake – a place shrouded in legend – in Los Banos, Laguna with Alamat ng Pasong Buwaya (Legend of Pasong Buwaya).
Tirik, an experimental short film by Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera II, seeks to raise awareness about and encourage the preservation of the Cementerio Para Los Indios in Tayabas, Quezon among the youth – considering its architectural, historical, and sociocultural significance.
Juan Pablo Basilio appeals to the youthful interest in animation, with a proposal for several episodes of Lakbay Diwa, based on Philippine mythology, to promote traditional Filipino values and a sense of pride in our own stories.
Hannah Leigh Cumla’s Drive Wise app wants to track the behavior of motorcycle drivers in Metro Manila and gamify the experience by giving them positive reinforcement and real-world incentives to encourage safer driving. In the long run, this will contribute to easing traffic congestion.
Two projects hope to foster a more inclusive society, particularly with regard to the hearing-impaired.
Romeo Nungay III’s SaySign is a mobile app that will make learning sign language more accessible to hearing parents (as well as guardians and other kin). Nungay describes it as an intuitive, user-friendly, interactive app that will be easily navigable even for older users so they can learn at their own pace. This will make them better able to communicate with their children.
Maria Cecilia Pauig’s Seeing Sign, meanwhile, is geared toward high school students. It gamifies the process of learning Filipino sign language to bridge the communication gap between hearing and hearing-impaired peers.
Conceptualized by Erynn Jenine Yap, the interactive mobile game Noli Me Tangere at El Filibusterismo: Salin ni Virgilio S. Almario aims to develop a better appreciation for Dr. Jose Rizal’s novels among 9th to 12th graders. The player not only watches but actually enters the world of the novels to solve mysteries and move the story forward.
Baybayin Quest, by Hannah Isabela Bolado, allows players to participate in a role-playing game to familiarize them with the Philippine pre-colonial script. The player needs to help the protagonist, Atang, recover the lost letters of the Baybayin script scattered all over the Philippines.
Hope for the future
The exhibit’s organizers said they hoped the divide between concept and execution, by way of funding from investors, can be achieved by some if not all of these promising projects.
“The graduating students’ works show that they really love our country and are thinking of solutions for different challenges,” said Professor Lisa Ito-Tapang, curator of Parola.
Parola is located at UP Diliman’s College of Fine Arts and is open to the public from Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm. Admission is free. – Rappler.com
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