Manila
2006

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The Pacific Rim Research Program funded my trip to Manila this summer to research the visual art community and to interview artists. I ended up as artist-in-residence at The Living Room in Malate, and also had a brief show at Future Prospects, an artist-run space in Cubao, Metro Manila. Since Future Prospects is more or less the hub of the young artist community, it was the perfect venue for meeting people and having them talk about their work and their experiences. By working with The Living Room and FP, I was able to learn a tremendous amount in the three weeks I was there, via informal interviews, studio visits, salon-like dialogues and drinking sessions with local artists, curators and gallery-goers to find out what drives their creative community.

Cubao has been host to several arts venues in recent years, given its relative proximity to young artists coming from nearby universities. One of the unique aspects of the Cubao scene is the Marikina Shoe Expo (a.k.a. “Cubao X”), a cul-de-sac of old-fashioned shoe shops. The area is a little like stepping back in time: it reminds me of what Manila was like when I would visit in the 70’s. In recent years, the old businesses have slowly started winding down and closing, and a number of enterprising young creative professionals have begun moving in, taking advantage of the low rent and establishing a lively new culture, in tried-and-true bohemian tradition. It’s a dynamic, new scene: the galleries started opening up less than two years ago.

Experimental contemporary art in the Philippines has been increasingly shown in independent art spaces like these. Outside of monolithic city institutions and the handful of commercial galleries willing to show experimental work, these venues are the only places for artists to exhibit, and for an interested public to experience, cutting-edge contemporary art. There have been other spaces in recent years, such as Third Space, Big Sky Mind, and Surrounded By Water. FP was founded in direct response to the gap in the community created by the closures of those spaces, but there’s a likely time limit to this incarnation of the art scene: rents are rising, the big malls are expanding, and it’s almost certain that the Shoe Expo will soon be snuffed out. It will be interesting to see how this amazing community evolves next: I’m going back next summer to find out.