49th-Year-Old Cultural Museum is Mindanao’s Third Oldest

In the words of Mara Kalman: “A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives”. In the heart of the University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan campus lies the third oldest museum in the entire Mindanao.

The USM Cultural Museum was constructed and inaugurated on October 1, 1974 during the term of President Dominador D. Clemente. Its first curator was Sultan Dr. Maniaga P. Mantawil who served for 15 years. Then he was succeeded in 1989 by Hadji Ginandang Bansilan.

Aga Khan Museum (1961) of the Mindanao State University, Marawi City is the oldest followed by the Xavier Folklife Museum (1967), now Museo de Oro, of Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City. Five years after USM Cultural Museum was inaugurated, the National Museum (1979) of the Caraga Region in Butuan City was established.

Museums provide an insight into our history as a country and as a people. A visit to any museum helps us build new perspectives and stimulate new ideas. But is this narrative true to all other museums in the country? Are these museums preserved, cared for, and given importance by our current leaders?

Today, January 18, as we celebrate the Museum Selfie Day, let us be reminded about the essence and importance museums hold in our lives. Visit museums today and take selfies, plenty of them. Let us encourage more engagement with the public, both the young and the old. After all, museums must remain an important force that links our present to the past.