Philippines to Return to Venice Biennale in 2015

Dr. Patrick Flores will curate the Philippine Pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale. Photo: Vimeo

The Philippines is set to return to the Venice Biennale after a 51-year hiatus, GMA Network has reported.

A jury of contemporary art experts selected a proposal titled Tie A String Around the World submitted by Dr. Patrick Flores, professor at the University of the Philippines’ Department of Art studies and curator at U.P.’s Vargas Museum. The winning submission was chosen over 15 other proposals.

A statement by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) described Dr. Flores’ concept as a “poetic and political reflection on the history of world making, the links between geography and politics, and the notions of nation, territory and archipelago.”

The Philippine Pavilion at Palazzo Mora will show Manuel Conde’s 1950 film Genghis Khan next to works by contemporary artists such as media artist Jose Tence Ruiz and filmmaker Mariano Montelibano III. The exhibition promises to engender a dialogue on the “history of sea and its relationship with the current world, claims to patrimony, and the struggle of nation-states over vast and intensely contested nature.”

A team of technicians led by Dr. Flores travelled to Venice last week to begin the preliminary preparations for the exhibition. Meanwhile, Riya Lopez, a representative from the NCCA, presented the exhibition to the Venice Biennale General Manager Andrea Del Mercato and the Main Exhibition Coordinator Manuela Luca-Dazio at a meeting in Milan.

A statement by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs announced, “The exhibition of the Philippine Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2015 aims to strengthen the role of the Philippines in the international community as a nation of and destination for contemporary art.”


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