IN the culturally vibrant regions of Mindanao, particularly in Tagum City, Davao del Norte; San Francisco, Agusan del Sur; and General Santos City, South Cotabato/Marbel, fostering cultural awareness and expanding public engagement in the arts requires a strong network of collaboration between local communities.

For Mindanaoan cultural workers and artists Jun Jamero, Lolito Pontillas and Leonardo Cariño, building connections and linkages is just as vital as the creative processes themselves. This is where the Kaisa sa Sining (KSS) program, an initiative by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), plays a crucial role.

Launched in 2014 through its Cultural Exchange Department (CED), the CCP Kaisa sa Sining (KSS) program seeks to strengthen collaboration and foster deeper connections among regional educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, and local government units across the country. The program’s network works collectively to promote artistic excellence, preserve Philippine heritage, and facilitate meaningful cultural exchanges among diverse stakeholders.

The CCP is the only cultural agency with a deeply rooted program dedicated to engaging and empowering local communities for four and a half decades. Through the CCP KSS, LGUs, NGOs, and academic institutions are able to collaborate and work together,” said Jun Jamero, Executive Director of the Musikahan sa Tagum Foundation Inc.

As one of the pioneering members of the CCP KSS, the Musikahan sa Tagum Foundation Inc. has developed innovative programs that have helped transform Tagum City into a thriving cultural hub. One of the most anticipated events in the city, the Musikahan sa Tagum Festival, was born from this partnership.

During the tenure of then-Mayor Rey T. Uy, the city leveraged arts and culture to create livelihood and employment opportunities for local residents. Through this collaboration, they also launched the RTU Music Makers, a special program that provides free music classes to the public. Participants have the chance to learn musical instruments and take voice lessons, further enriching the community’s cultural landscape. Eventually, the public program expanded; people from neighboring areas took part, and many of them eventually became active participants of the festival.

In 2024, Tagum City served as one of the satellite venues for the CCP Pasinaya, the largest multi-arts festival in the country – a milestone that Jamero hopes to replicate in 2025.

“This partnership with the CCP has had a profound impact on the lives of many people in Tagum. The CCP KSS has become an integral part of the city’s cultural landscape. Each year brings new opportunities for growth, as the CCP KSS continues to share its programs and projects with our organization, fostering ongoing development in Tagum,” shared Jamero.

Through the CCP KSS program, Jamero and his organization are able to provide human resource development, particularly to aspiring artists and cultural workers through upskilling workshops and trainings. He added that CCP KSS helps in strengthening relationships among the art managers, artists, educators, cultural workers, and programmers from various KSS member organizations.

For Pontillas, joining the KSS program had a significant impact, shaping him into a more dedicated cultural worker and art advocate. Before becoming part of the partnership, St. Francis Xavier College in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur – where Pontillas serves as associate dean – hosted the CCP CED Ugnayan sa Sining production of Gintong Alab Sa Silangan in 2017.  This event marked the start of a meaningful partnership between CCP and St. Francis Xavier College (SFXC).  To date, the SFXC remains to be the only higher education institution in the CARAGA Region to become a member of the CCP KSS.

In 2023, SFXC hosted the 13th Kutitap multi-arts camp, a week-long arts camp for indigenous children from various communities which aims to instill among the Filipino youth a deep sense of understanding, appreciation, and pride for Philippine indigenous arts and culture, as well as promote creativity and positive social values.

“Without CCP KSS, maybe our students and the community of San Francisco would not see internationally acclaimed performances that are only shown in Manila. The partnership program really helps educate people in the field of culture and arts, especially at the grassroots,” said Pontillas.

He continued: “There are many programs initiated by the government on culture and arts that do not reach the grassroots. With CCP KSS, we are able to experience workshops, such as arts for healing, which really educate the students and the community members. My very purpose is to educate our students and to raise their level of awareness about culture and arts including the community of San Francisco. I am glad that CCP KSS paved the way in educating our younger generation.”

“Prior to KSS, the arts and culture scene in South Cotabato was already vibrant as provincial capital,” according to Leonardo Cariño, who is the Cultural Development Officer and Artistic Director of Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges (RMMC) Teatro Ambahanon. “Koronadal stages several festivals,” he added, “even staging the CIOFF (International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts) in two occasions.”

Jamero, Pontillas and Cariño take great pride in having the CCP as a partner. “The CCP KSS will endure as long as the management continues the work begun by the brilliant minds who initiated this program, especially CED’s department manager Chinggay Bernardo,” Pontillas observed. Jamero agreed, saying “Building a network with members across the entire archipelago is no small feat. I would like to extend my congratulations to everyone behind this remarkable endeavor.” In his capacity as cultural officer and artistic director of several cultural groups (including Teatro Ambahanon), Cariño considers the Kaisa sa Sining partnership an opportunity for a vibrant cultural exchange. “It offers partnership and easy access to other KSS members,” he said, “making facilitating intercultural agency exchange easy.”

To date, the CCP KSS network has increased to 73 organizations across the country: 27 in Luzon, 19 in Visayas, and 27 in Mindanao. In the past years, the cooperation, and exchanges between and among CCP and the KSS network have become more dynamic.