In 1990, a host of Negrense artists from all over the country were awarded the Negros Centennial Awards for the Arts.  A group of artists decided they wanted to give back their time and resources to the province that has nurtured and fostered their artistry.  Immediately, the University of St. La Salle, through Bro. Augustine Boquer, FSC and Dr. Elsie Coscolluela, offered the facilities of the school for this planned undertaking.
           
           The group headed by Mr. Peque Gallaga and La Salle’s Dr. Coscolluela conducted their first summer workshops in 1991.  For the past 17 years, Mr. Gallaga has been bringing together a team of professionals and for theatre, film, television and advertising to teach students, artists and professionals. For one whole month, these resource persons decline projects in Manila and forgo substantial income to be able to dedicate their time to sharing their talents and expertise. They believe that by sharing their art, craft, and technical knowledge, we ensure that our artistic and cultural traditions remain vibrant and alive and that the seeds of inspiration, discipline and craft are handed over to the future artists of our country

            The workshops have done much to decentralize film training in the province. It has also managed to develop and produce original theatre and film materials which have been presented to the community and have received citations from nationally prestigious award-giving bodies such as the Palanca and Bahaghari Awards.

            For its first twelve years, the workshops managed with no government subsidy, except for two years in the early 90s when a grant from the Pagcor was made available.  On its 13th year, the Negros Summer Workshops was awarded a grant by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Committees on Film and Dramatic Arts.  The grant enabled the workshop to finally realize its vision of reaching out to other areas outside Negros by providing a big number of scholarships to interested and deserving applicants coming from all over the Western Visayas Region. 

            With the full support of the NCCA and other affiliate organizations, the Negros Summer Workshops hope to persist in its mission to disperse opportunities for people to come together in the spirit of sharing creativity  and self-expression.