“Ugnayan,” a Lesson on Collaboration and Exchange

The dominance of Manila as the center of the Philippine art scene has long defined the narrative of success and visibility of Filipino artists. But this centralism might soon be yielding...

Alchemy in Alan Cabalfin’s Artworks in Clay 

Alan Cabalfin's workshop is more of an alchemist's laboratory than an artist's studio. His inventory lay bare: canisters labeled "manganese" and "cobalt" lined the...

A Day in the Life: Van Bagañgan

On social media, Van Bagañgan is known as Alima Embroidery. Using embroidery as his chosen medium, Van transforms objects into thread art, imbued with the delicate tenderness of care,...

Musings on the Dissonance between Artists’ Intent and Critics’ Interpretation

I remember a conversation I had with a fellow artist a long time ago. The artist expressed concern after observing a huge difference between an interpretation of their painting...

Curating the Artists; the Artists Curating

In her essay, "With Practicality Comes a Practice: The Artist as Curator," Sarah Pierce examines the initial instance of artists assuming control over the curation and presentation of their...