Deadline Extended for Open Call for Curatorial Proposals for the PHL Participation at the 2016 Architecture Biennale

The Open Call for Curatorial Proposals for the Philippine participation at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale has been extended from October 7, 2015 to October 30, 2015. The extension was announced last September 28, 2015 at the well-attended consultation meeting held at the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) Boardroom in Intramuros, Manila.

The Philippine participation is historic since this will be the first time for the country to have a National Pavilion at the Architecture Biennale, which will run from May 28, 2016 to November 27, 2016.

The consultation meeting gathered prominent architects, heritage conservationists, interior designers, academicians, artists, and curators to discuss the country’s historical participation at the prestigious and significant exposition for Architecture in Venice, Italy. The meeting was meant to convene stakeholders and process inquiries, comments, and suggestions on how to prepare a more informed curatorial concept that would officially represent the Philippines in its premier participation at what is considered as the most important global platform on Architecture in the world.

“Architecture has a direct impact on how Filipinos live and flourish. Great architecture can uplift the nation living in a quagmire weighed down by many factors including climate change. Our unique voice and realities can find its stage in Venice, in the Architecture Biennale,” Senator Loren Legarda, the visionary of the project, explained.

Dr. Patrick Flores of the UP Vargas Museum, who serves as a consultant to the project, encouraged the stakeholders to participate. The curator, whose proposal was selected to represent the Philippines at the country’s comeback to the Venice Biennale after a 51-year hiatus, shared his experience to guide potential proponents in their proposals as well as give them an overview of the challenges that organizing a National Pavilion entails.

Flores shared, “The National Pavilion is a global platform, but it should also make sense locally. I tried to organize a pavilion that was relevant in the Philippine context as it was responsive to the global conversation. In the process, I thought of as many after lives as possible for the Pavilion after Venice.”

“It should not be a singular spectacle in Venice. It should mutate beyond the Venice Biennale; otherwise it becomes export art that merely caters to the expectations of the international audience.”

Among the attendees of the consultation were respected individuals and organizations from the architectural sector. Independent artists and architects were also present.

For interested individuals, information can be accessed via www.philartvenicebiennale.com. The Coordinating Committee can be contacted at [email protected] or (632) 527-2175.