THE Western Visayas Association of Museums, Inc. (WVAMI) looks forward to more community museums
established in local government units (LGUs) with the support of their community. “We have different kinds of museums, but here, in provinces, in municipalities, we encourage them to build. It doesn’t have
to be big museums. When you say community museums, it is community-based, in a small venue. You can curate, you can display, you can bring your assets in your community,” said Cheryl Ann del Rosario, president of the WVAMI, which has about 40 members consisting of museums, cultural workers, and the academe. In an interview at the forum “Cultivating Awareness and Inclusivity: Harnessing the Museum’s Potential,” facilitated by the National Museum Western Visayas on Thursday, she said museums were not
popular when she started 10 years ago. She was elated that many people are now visiting museums. Del Rosario underscored the need to start to expose elementary learners to art and culture, and the importance of preserving history and old structures, among others. Meanwhile, Visayas National Museums Director II Cecil Tirol, in a separate interview, said October is the only month dedicated to
museums and galleries. Through the forum, Toril said, they would also like to highlight the impact
of Indigenous Peoples (IPs), which is also celebrated this October. She said they are among the groups where not much attention was given but “they have so much to give in so far as the cultivation of the culture- sensitive mindset or awareness.” “They gave us an insight as to how rural communities live. And their arts and cultivation of whatever natural resource they have, is something different from the modern world. We gain so many insights as to how they continue to live notwithstanding modernization,” she said. National Museum Western Visayas Supervising Administrative Officer Honey Beso said the forum was also a venue for museums and heritage workers to talk about how they can position themselves
in attaining Sustainable Development Goals.
