Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand 
why the old poets of China went so far
and high 
into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Photo (L): Participants in the Art Criticism Master Class | (R): Professor Reuben Ramas Cañete holding the microphone. Grabbed from Metrobank Art and Design Excellence Facebook Page


Professor Reuben Ramas Cañete, Ph.D. of the UP Asian Center served as lead lecturer and facilitator of the Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) Art Criticism Master Class, which was held last 24 April 2016 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

As lead lecturer and facilitator, Professor Cañete was tasked to guide a group of participants and to critique their essays on art criticism. He joined a panel comprised of fellow art critics and facilitators to share insights, issues, and critical points for discussion.

The MADE Art Criticism Master Class aims to “create an  educational venue for young writers to further hone their knowledge and skills in art writing,” and to “contribute to art appreciation and art education through the discipline of art writing and criticism. Celebrating its 32nd anniversary with the theme “Finding Phenoms in Art”, this year’s Art Criticism Master Class adopted a curiatorial theme showcasing the works of past MADE winners who are also among Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Thirteen Artist Awardees.

The MADE Art Criticism Master Class was organized by the Metrobank Foundation.

Professor Reuben Ramas Cañete has a Ph.D. in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines Diliman and specializes on political aesthetics, masculinity studies, and the preservation and promotion of local artistic traditions in Cebu and Bulacan.  At present, he is Assistant to the Dean for Research and Publications, and is a member of the Executive Council of the National Committee on Visual Arts, National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Visit his faculty profile. 


The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Get an overview of these programs. The Asian Center also houses a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia. It has published several books and monographs, and hosts or organizes various lectures and conferences