High Time For Asean Contemporary Art

MANILA, Philippines — It is high time for contemporary artists from member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including the Philippines, to showcase their artworks, said the head of the country’s arts and culture commission.

Min Thein Sung of Myanmar

“We should be able to exhibit what is contemporary in ASEAN,” said National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) chairman and National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario at the opening of “Ties of History: Art in Southeast Asia,” currently on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. He noted that ASEAN art, as reflected in elements like songs, architecture, weave and textile, could be often associated mostly with being “traditional.”

Do Hoang Tuong of Vietnam

 “I would like now the Philippines to experience what is happening to ASEAN when it comes to contemporary art,” hence the exhibit, he added. 

He hoped other ASEAN countries would host similar exhibits on a regular basis, in the same manner that the ASEAN chairmanship is rotated among the member-states.

Vuth Lyno of Cambodia

The artworks from 10 contemporary artists from ASEAN displayed in the exhibit still “engages with tradition,” said exhibit curator and University of the Philippines art studies professor Patrick Flores.

The art pieces show “local ecology and tradition displayed in contemporary art.”

ASEAN artists Anusapati of Indonesia

He also hoped that the exhibit, to be held for the first time in Manila, could “contribute to the ongoing conversation about ASEAN.”

The exhibit features works in various media – sculpture, photography and videography, painting and art installation – by Roberto Feleo from the Philippines, Amanda Heng from Singapore, Anusapati from Indonesia, Do Hoang Tuong from Vietnam, Savandhary Vongpoothorn from Laos, Chris Chong Chan Fui from Malaysia, Jedsada Tangtrakulwong from Thailand, Min Thein Sung from Myanmar, Vuth Lyno from Cambodia and Yasmin Jaidin from Brunei Darussalam.

Chris Chong Chan Fui of Malaysia

The artists – who have all exhibited their works at home and in various international art festivals – tackled different topics and issues like folklore, environment and politics.

The exhibit is simultaneously on at the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City and at the UP Vargas Museum in Quezon City and will run until Oct. 6.

Savandhary Vongpoothorn of Laos