Insight: Moving Image, Philippines proved popular last February 27, as a crowd of artists, filmmakers, students, arts professionals, curators and enthusiasts packed out and filled MCAD’s Multimedia Room. Moderated by Ricky Orellana of the Southeast-Asia Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA), the panel discussion began with a presentation by Lisa Chikiamco, Rica Estrada and Tenten Mina who are the founding members of Visual Pond. Their documentation of past projects produced in collaboration with institutions such as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Ateneo Art Gallery and Listening Group of Companies, traced changes in aspects of mounting video art and film exhibitions. Lisa, who is a curator at the National Gallery of Singapore spoke about the curatorial aspect of selecting artists for their exhibitions; Rica, now with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, focused on the considerations of executing exhibition design; and Tenten, who is a Senior Researcher at the Ayala Museum, emphasized partnerships and logistical facets.

Manny Montelibano, visual artist and Director of the Institute of the Moving Image of the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod (USLS) presented some of the highlights of the Visayan Moving Image Archive (VIMIA), an ongoing project of the USLS, the initiative envisions to be a pioneer collection of outstanding works in the region.

For the last presentation, the founders of Kalampag Tracking Agency, explored the relevance of archiving video art and film. Merv Espina, an artist and researcher, shared milestone projects in saving archival film materials at the Mowelfund Institute, among other film based organizations. Shireen Seno, who is an artist and filmmaker, and a recipient of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ 13 Artists Award, gave a snapshot of some of their team’s unique workshops in educating audiences on video and film archiving, and the expansion in terms of knowledge, skills and the network their work has helped develop. 

Towards the end of the event, a Question and Answer segment was conducted with the audience, it capped off a reflection of the event and of each speaker and the impact of their work on contemporary video art and film practice in the country.

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Insight: Moving Image, Philippines is part of MCAD’s Learning Program which runs throughout the year, and aims to provide entry points and opportunities to be familiar with, study and interact with contemporary culture. The museum hosts free workshops, lectures, seminars and community events to engage with all members of the public.

To know more about MCAD’s upcoming public programs click here.

To know more about the exhibition click here.