MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In preparation for the inauguration of 21AM—the new contemporary art museum presently being established by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the CCP Visual Arts and Museum Division will hold a Curatorial Workshop for selected CCP staff from November 23-27, 2020 (10am-5pm) via Zoom. Five (5) slots will be opened up to young curators not currently connected with the CCP.
The 21AM Curatorial Workshop will be facilitated by the corporation TAOINC, which is also the commissioned corporation to close the Museo ng Kalinangang Katutubo and curate the establishment of 21AM.
The 21AM Curatorial Workshop is a capacity-building endeavor that foresees possible involvement of the participants in immediate and future 21AM projects and programs. A focus on curation for contemporary art during the workshop is supported and augmented by an in-depth introduction in traditional Philippine art and in museology, in order to enhance understanding of theoretical contexts in which cultural work in museums transpire.
The 5-day online workshop will cover topics such as the framework and newly custom-designed Accession Record System of 21AM; traditional art of the Philippines and Southeast Asia; curation for 21st century contemporary art spaces; and the tensions between traditional and contemporary art. The workshop incorporates an examination of knowledge gained and certificates will be given to all participants.
21AM is a 21st century contemporary art museum that exists in 3 spaces: online (for art conceptualized within cyberspace), everywhere (for art in the grain of social spaces) and within art-as-system (for art conversing with the CCP collections). Among other priorities, 21AM seeks to enhance the intellectual, aesthetic, and community-building possibilities inherent in the consolidation of the CCP art, ethnographic, and ethnomusicological collections into a single collection that is provocative of contemporary artmaking.
The CCP Collections include the Visual Arts Collection (VAC), the Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino (MKP) Collection and the Collection of Asian Traditional Musical Instruments. The VAC consists of significant Philippine contemporary artworks with an emphasis on the 1970s and 80s. It is composed of over 1,500 pieces including paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and mixed media works. The CCP was also entrusted with the collection of the Museum of Philippine Art when it closed in 1986. The MKP Collection holds in trust a significant collection of Philippine artistic traditions and explores the development of Philippine art and aesthetics in the socio-cultural context. The Collection of Asian Traditional Musical Instruments, on the other hand, includes various traditional musical instruments that were acquired from 1969 to 1986 through donations by the countries represented: Indonesia, Japan, China, and Korea, and by National Artist for Music Dr. Lucrecia R. Kasilag, a former president of the CCP.
The corporation tasked with workshop facilitation is Tao Management Corporation or TAOINC, founded by veteran curator Marian Pastor Roces and partners in 1997 to help give momentum to the shift of curatorship from a 19th century practice of custodianship, to the current craft informed by critical theory. TAOINC maintains a network of conservators and collections/records keepers, but cultivates its deepest relationships with intellectuals, designers with a philosophical bent, avant-gardes of myriad cosmopolitan centers, critics of exhausted systems, advocates of emancipatory projects, institution builders, and scientists who understand acts of the imagination. TAOINC has also taken fastidious care of its links with leaders of indigenous communities and other peoples on the peripheries of mainstream societies.
Interested parties need to submit the following requirements:
1. Application form
2. Short CV/resume (300-500 words)
3. Motivation statement (300-500 words)
4. Availability for the entire duration of the Curatorial Workshop. Applicants must commit to the exact set of dates announced and have the equipment and Internet connection needed to participate in the workshop.
Criteria for selection are as follows:
-Filipino citizen residing in the Philippines or abroad
-Below the age of 40 as of application deadline
-Relevance of current curatorial practice to CCP’s mandate and to the 21AM framework
-Body of work that expresses innovativeness and contemporaneity and shows a sensitive awareness of art and culture’s responsibility to Philippine society
Interested applicants must submit their complete requirements by November 9, 2020 via email to ccp.exhibitproposal@gmail.com.
Accepted participants will be informed by November 17, 2020.
The CCP galleries will remain closed until further notice. For inquiries, contact via email at ccp.exhibits@gmail.com, mobile (0935-3379438), or through @ccpvamd on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more information and for access to the application form, click on the link: https://bit.ly/21AMCuratorialWorkshop
