Mutable Truths | contemporary Philippine art in Australia

Mutable Truths: Perspectives on Philippine Contemporary Art Practice exhibition is on from 16 March to 30 April at the La Trobe Art Institute in Bendigo, Victoria State, Australia. Contemporary Philippine Art is presented in partnership with the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University. La Trobe University and Ateneo de Manila University celebrate their Artist in Residence and Exhibition Exchange Partnership Program established in 2005 with a major exhibition of contemporary art of the Philippines in March and April 2017. Mutable Truths will feature ten artists who have undertaken the annual residency at the La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre (VAC) in Bendigo: Poklong Anading, Martha Atienza, Lyle Buencamino, Charles Buenconsejo, Buen Calubayan, Marina Cruz, Kawayan de Guia, Leeroy New, Mark Salvatus and Ronald Ventura. The VAC was established in 2005 to fulfill La Trobe University’s cultural mission in Central Victoria through an ambitious exhibition program and providing a focus for discussion relevant to contemporary ideas and art practice. In 2017 the VAC will become the home of the The La Trobe Art Institute (LAI) which was established in 2013 to build on existing curatorial, exhibition, education and engagement programs in order to broker cultural partnerships and foster game changing initiatives within the creative industries. Each year since 2005 a winner of the prestigious Ateneo Art Awards for emerging artists under the age of thirty-five has been invited to take up a residency at the VAC. The six-week residency culminates in an exhibition of new work created in Australia—a challenging commitment which has been met with astonishing success. The exchange of ideas between artists, curators and students from the two countries has provided a rewarding experience and enriched the cultural intelligence of the participants. While based in Bendigo, the Filipino artists are invited to visit La Trobe’s Mildura and Melbourne campuses, and to explore as much of the three cities a possible in the short time available. The experience of Australian life, landscape and culture has informed much of the work created during the ten-year program. Coinciding with the ten-year reunion exhibition, Manila based artist Leeroy New has been invited to create a large scale sculptural work for the Castlemaine State Festival. La Puerta Del Laberinto (Door to the Labyrinth) is a major public artwork to be installed on the forecourt of the Castlemaine Art Museum. The commission is the 2017 reciprocal exhibition in the biennial exhibition exchange program between Ateneo Art Gallery and La Trobe University. Read the article on the exhibition and exchange programme in Garland magazine Image: Leeroy New, Chrysalis vessel