Project TALA: A Virtual Exhibit Prototype Celebrating P-Pop, Philippine History and Culture, and Historical and Cultural Advocacy in Web Virtual Reality (VR)

Abstract

There is an urgent need to address the decline in interest and deterioration of Philippine arts and culture, especially indigenous and traditional arts and culture. When encouraged and motivated to engage with Philippine arts, culture, and history, the youth can become potential contributors to the promotion, appreciation, and preservation of culture.

Edutainment is the main theoretical basis of the study, wherein: 1) ALAMAT, a Philippine pop boy group with the concept of “combining both traditional and modern Philippine cultural elements with Western/global influences in the various facets of their music, including dance, fashion, and iconography”, can be considered as using edutainment as they foster cultural awareness and education through their concept and revelations of which elements/references they’ve used as well as a certain amount of educational content; 2) virtual exhibits use edutainment for visitors or users comprehend info better with interactive features; and 3) a combination of the two, wherein a virtual exhibit can be created to present ALAMAT’s concept of promoting Philippine culture, the Philippine elements/references they’ve used, and the significance of their concept in relation to education on Philippine arts, culture, and history.

This practice-based Special Project aims to explore the possibility of creating a virtual exhibit using A-frame, Glitch, and Blender, which will present ALAMAT’s concept, discuss their concept by presenting Philippine historical and cultural elements/references they’ve used for select music videos (namely, “kbye”, “Maharani”, and “Dagundong”), and demonstrate the significance of such a concept especially in relation to cultural awareness and education, with the position that ALAMAT and their concept may contribute to the education on Philippine arts, culture, and history with the youth as the target audience.

The study concludes that creating a virtual exhibit is feasible, though improvements are necessary, such as enhancing accessibility, refining 3D models, and incorporating more interactive features to boost educational and immersive qualities. This project serves as a foundation for future research on the potential of edutainment in virtual exhibits to promote the education of Philippine arts, culture, and history.