"In Situ,
Performance as Exhibition, The Philippine Edition" brings the power of
performance to a transformative exhibition format, using the body as the
primary medium to present art in the public space. This initiative focuses on
the shared presence of the artists and the audiences set against the backdrop
of the urban and rural environments in the Philippines.
Organized by
Belarmino&Partners in partnership with the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, supported by the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Arts
Foundation, this exhibition is curated by international Filipina curator,
Vanini Belarmino. It will feature eight works by Danish visual and performance
artists Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, Molly Haslund, Sophie Dupont, and Filip
Vest, alongside choreographer, Kai Merke. Conceived to facilitate
cross-disciplinary encounters, "In Situ, Performance as Exhibition,"
the artists will reimagine their existing works for Metro Manila, Los Baños,
and La Union on October 15 to 26, 2024.
The works will see
the pairings between Danish and Filipino artists unfold in an exciting and
exploratory process. First-time collaborators include renowned Filipino
choreographers and performers Christine Crame, Ea Torrado, and the Daloy Dance
Company, along with emerging multidisciplinary artists Sasa Cabalquinto, Jeremy
Mayores, and Kyle Confesor, engaging in what the curator refers to as artistic
'blind dates.’
Performances will
be situated in outdoor locations such as Mount Makiling in Los Baños, the
shores of La Union, the bustling streets and parks along Roxas Boulevard and
CCP Complex, the walled city of Intramuros, the pavement and courtyards of the
iconic brutalist and art deco buildings that of Cultural Center of the
Philippines and the Manila Metropolitan Theater. Adapting the performances for
the sites, "In Situ, Performance as Exhibition", will offer the public
direct contact and engagement with the works and artists as they are presented
in this constellation of natural and urban landscapes.
"In Situ,
Performance as Exhibition, The Philippine Edition" is part of an ongoing
series that builds on the success of previous site-specific works initiated by
Belarmino in Southeast Asia. Following preliminary 3-year research and artist
meetings conducted by the curator in Denmark between 2021-2024, this edition
follows the recent Singapore iteration in April, which featured a different set
of performances by Danish and Singaporean artists.
This collaborative
exhibition invites audiences to actively participate in the evolving
conversations between the artists, spaces, and local communities, offering
fresh perspectives on how art can shape, and be shaped by, the places in which
it exists.
In the words of the
Filipina curator, I marvel at the thought to have been entrusted by the
different artists to ‘transport’ their work to the Philippines and for them to
have accepted the challenge of braving what could be a volatile process of
welcoming new collaborators whom they have yet to meet, work with for the first
time, and most I have selected for them as collaborators and be part of their
works to be presented within an unconventional marathon exhibition format.
"In Situ,
Performance as Exhibition" was conceived in my mind as a collection of
performance works that can be recontextualized for a specific locale. It is
about bringing collective bodies to be placed or situated within the backdrop
of a mountain, beachside, and the urban jungle. As the title suggests, my
proposition is to consider the moments of the performance, its process, the
presence of the artists, and the engagement of the audience as the actual
composition for the exhibition.
As organizer, on
the other hand, I am moved beyond words by the support accorded by the Cultural
Center of the Philippines, in partnering with my company
Belarmino&Partners, in seeing and making sense of what I have been
imagining. I find it encouraging to develop artistic interventions for the
streets of Manila, i.e., having living mobile mirrors walk along Roxas
Boulevard, or receive excitement about an artist marking her breath for 12
hours in the mountain, being awakened by an invitation for a whole community of
people to walk on sand. It is equally gratifying to have prestigious
international foundations such as the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish
Arts Foundation on board as supporters of this project. Their support has added
validation to this journey, making what was once imagined into something
tangible and pulsating.
Programme Details:
• Locations: Metro
Manila, Los Baños, La Union Date: 15-26 October 2024
• Organizer:
Belarmino&Partners Singapore
• In partnership
with: Cultural Center of the Philippines
• Supported by the
New Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Arts Foundation
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