The 60th Venice Art Biennale is happening next week and the installation for this year’s Philippine Pavilion is currently underway. I am proud that we are still actively participating since our return in 2015, after a 51-year hiatus.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the team behind the set-up, the Philippine Arts in Venice Biennale Coordinating Committee (PAVBCC), other contributors, and the guidance of curator Carlos Quijon, Jr. and artist Mark Salvatus, we can be rest assured that the country’s pavilion, “Sa kabila ng tabing lamang sa panahong ito/ Waiting just behind the curtain of this age,” is in good hands.
The exhibition delves into the intricate relationship between mysticism and modernity, nuanced with themes of tradition, faith, and resilience, drawing inspiration from Mount Banahaw’s significant cultural and spiritual influence on Filipino consciousness and cultural landscape.
The opening ceremony of the Philippine Pavilion is on 18 April 2024, 2:00 PM (CET) at the Artiglierie of the Arsenale and will be open to the public from 20 April 2024 to 24 November 2024.
The Philippine participation in the Venice Biennale is a collaborative undertaking of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Office of Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.
