The Philippines will be celebrating the National Arts Month (NAM) this February 2024 with the National

Commission for Culture and the Arts or NCCA taking charge. The annual celebration was institutionalized
in 1991 via then-President Corazon Aquino’s Proclamation No. 683.

The theme for this year’s National Arts Month is “Ani ng Sining, Bayang Malikhain.” According to the
NCCA, the purpose of this year’s theme is to “encapsulate the notion that the bountiful harvest of a
Filipino creative nation is drawn from the products of human imagination, not just of individuals but of
people as a collective.”

For their part, public schools around the country typically organize their celebration of the MAPEH
(Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health) month to coincide with the National Arts Month. In line
with this, it is possible that there would be jingle, poster, and slogan-making competitions this February.

“(The theme) aims to harness the creative energies of artists towards nation-building, integrate the arts
into the lives of diverse populations and communities (LGBTQIA+, PWD, IP, Youth, Senior, etc.), and
engage critical discourse, awareness, and appreciation of various arts and art disciplines through
different emerging platforms,” the agency explained.

“A creative nation, Bayang Malikhain, embodies the idea of a Filipino society that places a high value on
imagination, innovation, and artistic expression as integral components of our identity and progress. In a
Bayang Malikhain, artistic endeavors are celebrated as essential contributions to the nation’s
development and cultural richness,” it continued.