Vernissage of the Philippine Pavilion

May 8, 2015

MESSAGE OF SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA
Vernissage of the Philippine Pavilion
56th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale
8 May 2015 | Palazzo Mora, Venice, Italy

I am thrilled that the Philippines is back in Venice after 51 years, on the year that Okwui Enwezor is curating the central exhibition. Both All The World’s Futures and Patrick Flores’ Tie A String Around the World are grounded in urgent geopolitical issues.

Art is politics; art is global politics. This year’s Philippine Pavilion shines a light on China’s hegemonic aggression and its incursions on Filipinos’ daily lives.

Thank you Patrick, for making my dream possible. For your brilliance, your immense creativity, your dedication. I could say much, much more. Manny Montelibano and Jose Tence Ruiz: your works converse so brilliantly with Carlos Francisco and Manuel Conde’s Genghis Khan.

Sixty-three years after the film was screened in Venice, the Philippines has come full circle. And I assure you: it will not be as long for the next time we return.