MANILA, Philippines — An exhibit to protest the seeming failure of democracy worldwide is ongoing at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde on Taft Avenue, Manila, until May 5.

“The Center Will Not Hold” features the works of Asian artists, namely: Filipino artists Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, and Manny Montelibano, South Korea’s Kim Hee-cheon, India’s Shilpa Gupta and Indonesia’s Tintin Wulia.

The exhibit mounted by the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) “seeks ways and forms to creatively subvert, engage and resist during an age when democracy seems to have failed.”

In this political climate, “The Center Will Not Hold” embodies art born from global resistance and personal experiences. It pushes “to navigate away from a center, and build our own systems, and imagine alternative futures.”

In one of the featured works, “Here, There, Everywhere: Project Another Country,” the Aquilizans find a way to translate cardboard into cities. With the help of volunteers, they created numerous dream houses from recycled cardboard, forming a model of an imagined metropolis. The work touches on the never ending struggle of the urban poor for decent and sustainable housing.

MCAD will also hold public programs in line with the exhibit, including a lecture series on social, political and communications issues from a global perspective with Antoni Muntadas.