Legarda: Submission of Curatorial Proposals for PHL Pavilion at 15th Architecture Biennale until October 30

October 18, 2015

Senator Loren Legarda today renewed her call for Filipinos to join the Open Call for Curatorial Proposals for the Philippines’ first national pavilion at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale. Proposals can be submitted until October 30, 2015.

 

The open call for curatorial proposals for a Philippine Pavilion is open to Filipino architects, curators, practising artists from the different disciplines, urban planners, ecological activists, geographers, historians and critics of space, heritage workers, and others.  Curators, as an individual or group, are urged to submit concepts, which will undergo a democratic selection process.

 

“The success of this endeavor will be achieved through significant support and participation by the community. I urge talented and brilliant Filipinos to join the open call process and become part of this historical undertaking in Philippine architecture,” Legarda said.

 

The country’s participation at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale is a joint undertaking among the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda. The three agencies were also responsible for the successful return of the Philippines to the 56th Venice Art Biennale, after a 51-year absence.

 

Legarda, who pushed for the yearly participation of the Philippines in the Venice Biennale, said, “For me, architecture must not only reveal intellect or technical deftness; it should also be about spirit. I look forward to curatorial proposals that are able to communicate our realities as a nation. This platform will give voice to our people, how we overcome our struggles and use our distinctive resources through architecture.”

 

All curatorial proposals should be emailed on or before October 30, 2015 to info@philarchvenicebiennale.net. Submitted proposals will be deliberated upon by a panel of jurors to assess the most suitable curatorial proposal.

The chosen proposal will be mounted at the Philippine Pavilion, the official national representation of the country at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, which will run from May 28, 2016 to November 27, 2016. NCCA Chairperson Felipe De Leon, Jr. is the Commissioner of the Philippine Pavilion.

 

The Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena has been appointed as the Director of the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale. He has stated that “there are several battles that need to be won and several frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of built environment and the people’s quality of life.”  In the light of such vision and advocacy, he imagines the 2016 Exhibition to display “success stories worth to be told and exemplary cases worth to be shared where architecture did, is and will make a difference in those battles and frontiers.”

 

Open call proposal forms and details can be accessed at thewww.philartvenicebiennale.com. For more information, the Coordinating Committee can be reached atinfo@philarchvenicebiennale.net or (632) 527-2175.