ART ARCHIVE, contemporary visual and performing arts in the Philippines (2017)
- hub asean
- Oct 20
- 4 min read
"ART ARCHIVE 01," the inaugural volume of a comprehensive series published by the Japan Foundation, Manila in November 2017. The publication serves as an extensive scholarly examination of contemporary visual and performing arts in the Philippines, bringing together diverse voices from the archipelago's vibrant cultural landscape through essays contributed by practicing artists, performers, art writers, curators, journalists, and academic experts in the field.
The publication's editorial vision, guided by Patricia Tumang, emerges from a desire to investigate the complex ways Philippine artistic practices and movements have been shaped by ongoing tensions between local and global influences. The work examines how Filipino artists respond to and create within the current political and socioeconomic climate, exploring what kinds of artistic expressions emerge from independent artist-run spaces versus institutionally supported exhibitions and programs. The contributors grapple with fundamental questions about how artists and performers respond to and challenge Western standards and definitions of "the contemporary," while simultaneously navigating the demands of an increasingly interconnected international art market.
Structural Organization and Thematic Framework
The publication is methodically organized into three distinct yet interconnected sections that trace Philippine art from historical foundations through contemporary manifestations:
Retracing Histories opens the volume by featuring essays that recount more than five decades of Philippine art history, beginning with the tumultuous political period of the 1970s. Ringo Bunoan's opening essay, "Excavating Spaces and Histories: The Case of Shop 6," meticulously reconstructs the story of a censored 1974 group exhibition that led six Filipino artists to create a temporal alternative space called "Shop 6." Drawing upon the unpublished writings of Joy Dayrit, who chronicled Manila's art scene during this period, Bunoan provides crucial insight into the early stages of Conceptual Art in the Philippines and its collision with the political realities of the Marcos dictatorship.
Lisa Ito-Tapang's contribution, "Visual Arts and Activism in the Philippines: Notes on a New Season of Discontent," traces the development of Social Realism as an art movement characterized by images and messages of social protest. Her analysis encompasses various forms of artistic expression including effigies, murals, exhibitions, performance art, and political cartoons that emerged as responses to heightened political turmoil during the Marcos era. Mayumi Hirano's essay, "Bridge Over the Current: Artist-Run Festivals in the Philippines," examines how Filipino artists began organizing their own art festivals in the 1980s and 1990s, focusing particularly on the Baguio Arts Festival and the Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference, which established precedents for contemporary art and performance festivals that continue today.
Movement & Performativity constitutes the second section, exploring the intersections of Philippine modern dance, performance, and theater. This section addresses how traditional forms have evolved and adapted to contemporary contexts while maintaining cultural authenticity. Sir Anril Pineda Tiatco's essay, "Understanding the Contemporary in Philippine Theater," examines why and how Western dramaturgical traditions continue to influence what constitutes "being contemporary" in Philippine theater, while also investigating how indigenous performance traditions persist and evolve within modern theatrical contexts.
Rina Angela Corpus contributes "Mapping Out Contemporary Dance in the Philippines," which traces the journey of Philippine contemporary dance from the formation of traditional dance companies to modern-day independent companies and groups. Her analysis reveals how these contemporary formations embrace fusion approaches that blend different dance styles while experimenting with innovative forms that intersect with multiple disciplines including multimedia arts, film, literature, politics, and social discourse.
Redefining Contemporary Visual Art forms the concluding section, continuing the examination of what constitutes "contemporary" practice in today's global art market context. Irwin Cruz's essay, "Filters: A View of Recent Philippine Contemporary Photography," explores photography's meteoric rise within Manila's art scene, analyzing how digital technology and social media platforms have transformed both the creation and consumption of photographic art.
Jewel Chuaunsu's "Global Filipino Contemporary Artists" profiles six Filipino artists working internationally, examining how their distance from the Philippines paradoxically enables them to maintain and express strong national and cultural identity in their work. The section concludes with Duffie Hufana Osental's "Contemporary Visual Art in Cebu," which deliberately shifts focus away from Manila's art scene to explore the vibrant creative community in Cebu, where contemporary Cebuano artists are challenging traditional styles while embracing alternative visual platforms and aesthetic approaches.
Critical Analysis and Contemporary Relevance
The publication emerges during a particularly significant period in Philippine contemporary art, coinciding with the country's return to the Venice Biennale after a fifty-year absence and the unprecedented economic boom experienced by Philippine art markets. The essays collectively reveal how Philippine contemporary art has evolved from its colonial origins through various political upheavals, including Spanish colonization, American occupation, Japanese invasion during World War II, and the Marcos dictatorship, each leaving distinct imprints on artistic expression and cultural identity.
The work demonstrates how Filipino artists have consistently grappled with questions of authenticity, cultural identity, and artistic legitimacy while navigating between traditional forms and contemporary innovations. The publication reveals ongoing tensions between Manila-centric art scenes and regional artistic communities, between commercially viable art forms and experimental practices, and between institutional support and independent artistic expression.
The Japan Foundation's decision to publish this work in digital format reflects contemporary approaches to cultural exchange and knowledge dissemination, making Philippine art discourse accessible to global audiences while serving as a practical resource for artists, educators, curators, museum professionals, galleries, performing arts spaces, and cultural institutions both within the Philippines and internationally. This accessibility aligns with the publication's broader mission of fostering cross-cultural dialogue and understanding through comprehensive documentation of Philippine contemporary artistic practices.