Art Movements: Vanini Belarmino on In Situ, Performance as Exhibition

Hello, Vanini. Thank you for taking the time to chat. I know it’s been pretty hectic on your end preparing for In Situ. To kick things off, what sparked your vision for ‘In Situ, Performance as Exhibition,’ and why did you feel it was important to bring this concept to the Philippines?

Vanini Belarmino, managing director of Belarmino&Partners and curator of In Situ: Hi! My vision for In Situ, Performance as Exhibition stems from a long-standing desire to acknowledge performance as a medium in exhibition-making. I wanted to raise questions about the perceived idea of curating in contemporary art, which is predominantly grounded in the context of the museum collection or the white cube. Instead, I have taken the liberty of offering an alternative to the existing framework and understanding of how art can be presented, experienced, and imagined.  

The birthing of this idea slowly found its form and is perhaps in part a response to a question I have been asking myself following my departure from a five-year museum role in Singapore that allowed me the possibility of continuously working with international artists on large-scale commissions for a space that spanned up to 60,000 square meters. How can I continue working with artists and bring to life works for the public as an independent curator?

Although lacking in funding, I was free from the confines of an institutional structure. With that, I began entertaining the imaginings of works in the public space, as I have done in the past for my company, Belarmino&Partners. I thought this could be a good start since performance is ‘transportable,’ flexible enough, and has a strong potential to touch audiences, with the capacity to introduce direct encounters.  

My collaboration with Danish-Filipina artist Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen in 2020 was a catalyst. We worked on Fluid Transitions, which toured 2023 in Singapore, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Manila, and Bacolod. Her solo exhibition, Mag-Anak, also included a participatory performance called Pancitan a la Habhab, a localized version of Pancitan a la Dansk. This project involved the local community, creating an organic, grounded, shared experience.

I wanted to expand on this type of work and involve more international artists who can collaborate with Filipino artists and local communities. Having lived outside the Philippines for the past 24 years, I felt it was the right time to bring such works ‘home’ like a ‘pasalubong’ from abroad that is strongly charged with a Filipino sensibility. 

With the constant disruptions in life – be it the weather, traffic, or socio-political issues – why not introduce a disruption of our own?  What better place in the world is there to think of offering such performance interventions than the chaotic streets of Manila, the tranquility of Mount Makiling, or the beaches of La Union to create a dialogue between performance and place?

In the collaboration you initiated with Danish and Filipino artists, can you share an unexpected moment or interaction during rehearsals that beautifully showcased the blend and the diversity of these two distinct cultures?

Throughout my career, I’ve worked on art projects with artists from diverse disciplines and backgrounds—visual artists, performers, dancers, choreographers, musicians, and more. As such, I tend not to view collaboration purely through the lens of cultural differences but rather through the individuality of each artist and how they interact within a project’s context.

For instance, in Bunk, the performance work by Danish artist Filip Vest, in collaboration with choreographer Kai Merke, featuring Filipino multi-disciplinary artists Sasa Cabalquinto, Jeremy Mayores, and Kyle Confesor, I’m observing how they are managing to weave together parallel realities from their unique worlds.  They are very different individuals, yet still very much connected.  These are artists under 30 who are articulate, critical, and caring people, open enough to come together and bring something to the table.  Their practices, spanning contemporary dance, theater, butoh, language, dramaturgy, and movement, allow for a multilayered dimensionality in the developmental process of their performance.

In the case of Daloy Dance Company, led by its founder and artistic director, Ea Torrado, who is working on the piece of Cuenca Rasmussen’s “Mobile Mirror,” the six dancers have displayed great care in their movement explorations. 

I’ve also been impressed by the dedication of my team, particularly curatorial assistant Eya Beldia and stage manager Renz Sevilla. They’ve shown the quintessential Filipino trait of resourcefulness, always finding ways to work with limited resources to overcome challenges.

That’s great to hear! The performances for In Situ will unfold in a variety of stunning settings, both natural and man-made, across the Philippines. How do you believe these locations’ unique and distinctive characters will influence the artists’ work and the audience’s experience?

We ask our audiences to breathe, walk, and be present for the performances. Both the artists and audiences are invited to journey through the 359.1-kilometer distance between the Cultural Center of the Philippines to the National Arts Center, Intramuros, Rajah Sulayman Park, Manila Metropolitan Theater, and San Juan beachfront. And let’s not even talk about the traffic! Spread between 15 to 26 October, we will collectively clock in a total of 24-hour performances.

One of the most exciting aspects of In Situ, Performance as Exhibition, is the opportunity to create performances in these incredibly diverse environments. If we succeed in gathering a committed public – wow, these performances would be a site to see, an extraordinary experience for the body and collective bodies.

For the artists, these settings serve as more than just backdrops; they become active elements in the performance. Whether it’s the natural rhythm of the ocean or the architectural layers of a historical site, the performers will be accompanied by the situations and spaces in real time. The performances onsite give the artists room to transform their pieces in ways that could not happen in a conventional theater or gallery setting.

For the audience, experiencing these performances in such varied and unexpected locations brings a whole new dimension to their encounter with art. It’s not just about watching a performance but also engaging. I believe these distinctive settings will make the experience more immersive, allowing the audience to think of art and the environment in a new light. The Philippines is a place of contrasts—natural beauty, urban chaos, and historical depth—and these layers will add richness and complexity to the performances.

This is the gift of conceiving the work here in the Philippines. ‘Para sa lahat ito’—these performances are for everyone, and I hope they spark a sense of connection between the art, the space, and the people.

Beautiful! Speaking of the audience now. How will you weave the local communities into the fabric of the performances? Can you share a specific example of how you envision this connection playing out?

Engaging local communities is central to this project. Each location is more than just a performance site; it’s a living space filled with the energy of its people. The performances are designed to invite these communities to become part of the encounter—whether as observers, participants, or even collaborators.

For example, in Intramuros, Flower Drop will move through the walled city, offering chance encounters with the people who live and work there. Along the route from Rajah Sulayman to the CCP, performers will interact with public spaces in a way that we hope will prompt the audience to walk with them, transforming a casual street into a procession.

In La Union, known for its surfing culture, the performances will naturally blend with the sea’s rhythm and the local community’s day-to-day activities. The performance there will become an organic extension of life in that place.

As curator of the exhibition, was there a moment that made you rethink or deepen your understanding of the relationship between art and its audience? What excites or scares you about the impending opening of the show? (Editor’s note: The show opened October 15, 2024, with Sophie Dupont’s Mount Makiling performance of Marking Breath)

Art and the audience are inseparable. The experience of art is an ongoing negotiation between the two.

What excites me most about the opening is exactly this sense of surprise. Each performance will unfold differently depending on the day, the weather, the people who happen to be there, and how the space interacts with the work. It is a living, breathing exhibition that continues to excite and bring me joy. The potential for connection, for creating something shared between the artists, the audience, and the environment, feels full of possibility.

Like any of my shows, especially this one, the weather scares me the most. And this thought I do not wish to elaborate further.

(Laughs) Yes, we shall now drop the subject. You described the interplay between Danish and Filipino performers as blind dates, but in a way, so is the actual performance with its audience. In relation to my previous question on audience relationship, what do you hope the show’s spectators will feel or think as they engage with In Situ? Is there a specific interaction or response within the performances you are particularly eager to see?

Much like the performers’ meeting for the first time, the audience’s encounter with In Situ feels like a blind date, too. There’s an element of surprise and discovery, which is exactly what excites me about this project.

I truly hope that the audience comes with a commitment to be present—to embrace the unpredictability of these performances and the spaces they inhabit. It’s less about expecting a specific reaction and more about creating an environment where people can engage with the art in a meaningful way, whether they’re encountering it by chance or coming with intention.

I want the audience to feel a sense of connection—to the artists and their works, the space, and each other. Whether in the mountains, by the sea, or in the heart of the city, I hope they find themselves surprised by the experience. Perhaps a passerby gets caught in the flow of the performance, or the weather alters the dynamic between the artist and the space in real-time. These moments of shared presence, where everyone becomes a part of the performance, whether intentionally or by chance—are what I’m most looking forward to. I find those instances of spontaneous connection when the boundaries between artist, audience, and environment dissolve most powerful.

I have had the privilege of organizing exhibitions and performance interventions both for historical spaces of museums and cultural institutions, not to mention unconventional spaces like clubs, parks, buildings, massive walls, city streets, and even in a friend’s bathroom. The encounter and confrontation between art and the public have always been an integral part of it.  I want to be able to touch and be in close contact with a public who may not necessarily have the opportunity or means to encounter art. 

Maybe for a moment, the people and the artists participating in the show could feel empowered.  Performance, participation, and spectatorship make up the totality of In Situ Performance as Exhibition.

To wrap up, what would you like your artists and audiences to bring home from this experience? How do you see this exhibition inspiring your future artistic endeavors?

I want the audiences to feel that these works have been created for and with them. My hope is that the connections made between the Danish and Filipino artists will continue beyond this exhibition, inspiring future collaborations.

For myself, I see this as a step toward embracing more permanent public art commissions and expanding the boundaries of what an exhibition can be. •

In Situ, Performance as Exhibition

October 15-26, 2024

Performances:
Sophie Dupont, Marking Breath
Tuesday, 15 October 2024, Sunrise to Sunset
Pugad Adarna Executive House, National Arts Center,
Mount Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna

Molly Haslund, Flower Drop, with Ea Torrado
Wednesday, 16 October 2024, 8:00-10:00 a.m.
Manila Cathedral and Gen. Luna Street, Intramuros, Manila

Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, Mobile Mirrors, with Daloy Dance Company
Wednesday, 16 October 2024, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Rajah Sulaiman Park and CCP Liwasang Kalikasan

Sophie Dupont, Breathing Beings, with Christine Crame
Thursday, 17 October 2024, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
CCP ASEAN Park

Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, Magic
Thursday, 17 October 2024, 4:00-7:00 p.m.
CCP Front Lawn

Filip Vest, Bunk, with Jeremy Mayores, Kyle Confesor and Sasa Cabalquinto
Choreography: Filip Vest and Kai Merke
Friday, 18 October, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Manila Metropolitan Theater, PPO Rehearsal Hall

Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, Mis United
Friday, 18 October, 5:00-6:00 p.m
Manila Metropolitan Theater Courtyard

Molly Haslund, Infinite, with Ea Torrado and the Community of La Union
Saturday, 26 October, 6-8 a.m.
La Union beachfront

In Situ, Performance as Exhibition, The Philippine Edition is organized by Belarmino&Partners in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Philippines and is supported by the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Arts Foundation.

belarminopartners.com