Key points Bantayan Island takes centre stage in New York City’s Times Square as Filipino artist Martha Atienza’s video work Our Islands 11°16’58.4 N 123°45’07 is shown as part of Midnight Moment, nightly in July from 11:57pm to 12am. The Philippines celebrates National Disability Rights Week from 17 to 23 July, a month after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. proclaimed it. Fans and communities around the world, including the Chinese community in Koggala, south of Sydney, are remembering Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. It’s been 51 years since Lee’s death on 20 July 1973.
Bantayan Islands at Times Square
As part of New York Times Square’s “Midnight Moment,” Bantayan Islands, Cebu, Philippines will take center stage with Filipino artist Martha Atienza’s film “Our Islands 11°16’58.4”N 123°45’07.0”E” screening nightly in July from 11:57pm to 12am. Midnight Moment is billed as the world’s largest and longest-running digital public art program, showcasing innovative works by contemporary artists on Times Square’s iconic digital signage.
Atienza’s “Our Islands,” originally a 72-minute film, shows the underwater scenes of Bantayan Island, with compressor divers marching on the ocean floor in an imitation of the Ati-Atihan parade, donning various costumes and items symbolizing Filipino culture, from the Santo Niño to a caricature of Manny Pacquiao in boxing gloves to a Roman centurion.
Excerpts from Filipino artist Martha Atienza’s film “Our Islands 11°16’58.4”N 123°45’07.0”E” are showing in Times Square throughout July. Credit: Times Square Arts
The film’s title, Coordinates, was chosen by the divers themselves based on tides, currents and time of day. The film aligns with Atienza’s environmental work, shedding light on the dangers Bantayan Island’s compression divers face as ocean pollution increases.
Our Islands won the Baroiz Art Prize in 2017 and was acquired by the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2021, and has been screened in Asia, Australia and Europe.
“National Disability Rights Week”
In June, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. designated July 17-23 of each year as National Disability Rights Week, reinforcing the Philippines’ commitment to observing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In a two-page Proclamation No. 597 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin on June 13, President Marcos directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) to lead, coordinate and oversee the National Disability Rights Week. The NCDA is tasked with identifying programs, activities and projects for the celebration.
President Marcos assured that the Philippines remains committed to the objectives of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for persons with disabilities, while respecting their inherent dignity.
Remembering Bruce Lee
Fans around the world are remembering Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, who died on July 20, 1973. A memorial event was held in Kogarah, a southern Sydney suburb in New South Wales, to mark the restoration of a statue of the late martial artist and actor.
The statue was a gift from the sister city of Koggala, Guangdong province, which is Bruce Lee’s ancestral hometown.