UP and the UP Sigma Delta Phi (SDP) Alumnae Association (SDPAA), Inc. held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the SDP Plaza in UP Diliman (UPD).
The SDP Plaza is set to rise at the corner of Lakandula and TM Kalaw streets, and will have a three-piece modernist copper sculpture on a six-foot black granite pedestal. The sculpture is named Tagapag-ugnay.
According to the SDP concept write-up, in Tagapag-ugnay “Every piece of the trilogy is executed in curves, with carved out portions varying in depth to echo flexible resilience in the face of odds. A tilted copper plane represents the creative ability to anticipate and to respond. Textures rough and smooth depict the stages of responsiveness to the odds of life.”
It is designed by Melanie Chanco Labatique, an alumna of the UPD College of Fine Arts and an SDP member.
The artwork at the SDP Plaza is set to be installed no later than Feb. 24, 2023, in time for the 90th anniversary celebration of the UP SDP.
According to the SDPAA, the plaza is a testament of the organization’s commitment to enhance cultural and art spaces on campus.
Under the memorandum of agreement between UP and the SDPAA, the latter shall pay for the development of the site. The SDPAA shall likewise pay for the cost of the design, production, transportation, and installation of the artwork in UPD. The agreement also stipulated that “copyright for the design and specifications of the artwork shall belong solely to UP.”
The groundbreaking ceremonies on Oct. 17 was led by UP President Danilo L. Concepcion; UP Vice President for development Elvira A. Zamora; Maria Monalisa M. Lacanlale, trustee and first vice president of the SDPAA, and Marife B. Zamora, chair and president of the SDPAA.