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

Reuben Ramas Cañete, Associate Professor at the Asian Center, recently took his oath last 5 March 2014 as a member of the Executive Council of the National Committee on Visual Arts, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The oath taking and orientation were held at the Century Park Hotel from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dr. Cañete, who is also the Assistant to the Dean for Cultural Affairs at the Asian Center, was elected on 18 November 2013 and will serve from January 2014 to December 2016.

The National Committee on Visual Arts, which falls under the Subcommission on the Arts (SCA), is one of nineteen national committees of the NCCA, the government agency in charge of promoting the Philippines’ cultural traditions.

The NCVA is ‘composed of individual volunteers who are active visual arts practitioners working together towards the flourishing of the visual arts.’

For more information, please visit thNCCA website

PHOTO: Dr. Cañete (First row, right) with fellow committee members. Courtesy of Andrew de Guzman.


Dr. Cañete also received an Achievement Award from the National Research Council of the Philippines last 26 March 2014 during the 81st Annual General Membership Assembly at the Manila Hotel. 

The award was given in recognition for Dr. Cañete's 'service to the Philippine cultural and artistic community as a scholar, having published six solo and co-authored books and academic articles in both local and international journals on Filipino art history and criticism." The award also recognized his work in promoting Filipino art, in academic mentoring, in curating various art exhibitions, and in serving as jurors in several art competitions. 

The National Research Council of the Philippines is a government agency mandated to 'promote and support fundamental or basic research for the continuing improvement of the research capability of individual or group scientists,' among other tasks. It is an advisory body under Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and contains 13 divisions, including the social sciences and the humanities. For more information, visit the NRCP website

Dr. Cañete teaches MA- and Ph.D.-level courses on Philippine Studies at the Asian Center. He is also the curator of the Asian Center museum. 

PHOTO: Dr. Cañete's NRCP medal and Achievement Award. Courtesy of the Asian Center.