“Muhon” Exhibition Regional Tour Starts in Bacolod

The Philippine Pavilion exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale titled Muhon: Traces of an Adolescent City opens in Bacolod City on February 22 at the University of St. La Salle. The exhibition will run until March 28, 2018.

The opening day features a lecture with the curators, artists and architects in order to initiate a discussion on the future of the country as we continue to build our towns and cities. The talk and the exhibit also aim to elicit views and opinions that discuss the vectors of progress and permanence in relation to corresponding notions of modernity and an emerging identity. The public is invited to be part of the lecture and discussions.

From its run in Venice, Italy in 2016, Muhon had a homecoming exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 2017. Negros is the first province where the Muhon regional tour begins. Its next destination will be in Mindanao.

Muhon and the Philippines’ participation in both art and architecture exhibitions at the Venice Biennale are under the auspices of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda. The project is supported by the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.

Senator Loren Legarda, the visionary and principal advocate behind the Philippine participation in the Venice Biennale said, “All the participations are meant to have many lives after its debut so that we reach as many people, especially Filipinos. It is important that we bring home the exhibition that was in Venice so that we nurture appreciation of art among Filipinos.”

NCCA Chairman Virgilio Almario stated, “Our commitment is that all those interested in seeing the exhibition will get chance to be part of it. If they cannot go because of distance, we bring it to them. It is important that people from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are able to see the Muhon and participate not just by seeing the exhibition but also analyzing the realities it presents and reflecting on it in a critical way.”

Muhon’s curatorial team is composed of Sudarshan Khadka, Jr., Juan Paolo de la Cruz and Leandro Locsin, Jr. of Leandro V. Locsin Partners (LVLP).

The architects featured are Eduardo Calma, LIMA Architecture, Mañosa & Company, Inc., 8×8 Design Studio Co., C|S Design Consultancy, Inc., and Jorge Yulo. They are joined by contemporary visual artists Poklong Anading, Tad Ermitaño and Mark Salvatus.

The nine participants selected and surveyed buildings, structures, landmarks, boroughs, and urban landscapes. Evaluating their cultural merit and analyzing their potential within the national heritage, they created three sets of abstracted models built for each of the subjects corresponding to their original state, their current condition, and projected future.

Bacolod as the venue

Negros was selected because its cities, such as Silay and Bacolod, have shown strong community and government support for heritage preservation and conservation.

Silay’s 29 surviving ancestral houses have been classified as national treasures. And many of these structures are accessible to the public. Several have been rehabilitated and turned into museums, like the Balay Negrense, Don Bernardino Jalandoni Ancestral House, and Manuel Hofileña Heritage House.



Bacolod, the capital city of the province of Negros Occidental, is also known for its well-preserved structures including churches that have historical, spiritual and religious meaning to its people.

The venue in Bacolod, the University of St. La Salle, was selected because the location of the exhibition at Miguel Hall was designed by an LVLP alumnus, Ar. Francis delos Reyes. It is also beside the Doña Corazon L. Montelibano Chapel which was designed by LVLP founder and Philippine National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin in 1966.***



For inquiries regarding the exhibit and public lectures:

Please email [email protected] or Shine Santiago of Museo Negrense (034) 4345998,[email protected]