Curators Notes Eastern Visayas
Contingent Kalibutan:Notes on Curating forVIVA ExCon 2020by Mars Edwenson BrionesAs in most other endeavors, it is the volatility of the pandemicthat has been the source of most problems and challenges in theexhibition component of VIVA ExCon 2020. Life has been atthe mercy of the unpredictable implementation and extension oflockdowns and travel restrictions; the fear of contracting the virus orinfecting a loved one, a colleague, or someone more vulnerable; andother sorts of emergency. But all these uncertainties did not simplyhaunt the exhibition; in most cases, they became the basis for howthe project was designed and has eventually played out.My selection of artists for the Kalibutan exhibition, for instance,did not happen as planned. Because there was a perceived need tosearch for artists and ideas outside centers like Tacloban, the capitalof Eastern Visayas, before the pandemic part of my plan to selectartists was—hoping to cover as much of the region—to actuallytravel to cities and towns in Leyte, Samar, and Biliran. But, ofcourse, this was to become a logistical problem when the quarantinesstarted limiting people’s mobility between towns. My research andselection process, therefore, largely involved combing through socialmedia and the internet, asking colleagues, and forwarding the VIVAExCon pubmat and open call to artists. It was challenging to do itthis way because I feel like there is something unique to the rapportyou get to build from speaking with people face-to-face. And withsearching for artists virtually, there’s also the other issue you have toface—which is not all artists have had as strong an online presenceas others. Thus, there hasn’t been a single, uniform method inresearching and selecting the artists. Some of them submitted tothe open call; one artist was recommended to me; others I got tospeak with either in person, through phone calls, Messenger, or acombination of these.But whatever the process, one important consideration washow the artists’ proposals would play out, not anymore just on aconceptual level vis-à-vis the theme of “Kalibutan,” but also on apragmatic level, that is, through the virtual mode by which VIVAhas been recalibrated. The works or proposals of Popo Amascual(Tacloban) and RV Sanchez (Maasin)—the artists I worked with forKalibutan—both engage the virtual mode in ways that are beyondusing the virtual as mode of circulation. For example, in Amascual’sproject entitled “Hingalo,” it is not just that the audio recordingof breathing sounds is made available online, but the audience arealso encouraged to record their own breathing sounds, upload therecordings in a Google drive folder, and listen to the audio recordingwhere their recordings have been overlaid with those of others. Thus,69
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COVER
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CONTENTS68Curators Notes Eastern Vi
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Messages
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Flashbacks of VIVA ExConby Charlie
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It may not be our fondest memory bu
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DUMAGUETE (2012)Garbo sa Bisaya Awa
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- Page 78 and 79: 78HingaloSonic performance, Virtual
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- Page 84 and 85: 84The design-driven creative scene
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- Page 97 and 98: On Seeing the Kalibutanby Liby Limo
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it is thisNeonLani Maestro2018
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Cosmological GangbangVideo Installa
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2003-2016HP Matte Print279 inches x
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Brenda FajardoSiya, Ikaw, At Ako (1
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a. b.c. d.(clockwise) a. Nang Sumil
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Nunelucio AlvaradoUntitled 45.5”
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a.b.a. Tiempo Muertos 9.5” x 67
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Leandro LocsinLeandro Locsin (1928-
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Lino SeverinoUntitled 24 x 30 inche
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#667 19.5 x 14 inches watercolor on
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Essay Divider
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My VIVA ExConby Raymund L. Fernande
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VIVA ExCon Cebu, which we called
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From Bacolod to Roxas:LOOKING BACKW
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Despite differences in styles and t
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the abundance of murals that dotted
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and some intense lobbying. I warned
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Ratia Mufida (Biennale Jogja) revea
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VIVA Excon 1990 at Mambukal Resort,
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Finding Inspirationin VIVA ExConby
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Patrick FloresGuinevere DecenaLiby
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Partner Viewing Spaces172
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Major SponsorsMercedes U. Zobel174