Curated by Vanini Belarmino, the performance art initiative series unites Filipino and Danish artists in public spaces, making art accessible

Art takes many forms—from the intricate carvings of sculptures to the composed brushstrokes of paintings. However, one form that often goes unappreciated in the Philippines is performance art.

While performance art is usually associated with theater plays and orchestral sets on stage, “In Situ, Performance as Exhibition: The Philippine Edition” brought performance arts to the public, on the streets and rural spaces, from Oct. 15 to 26, 2024.

From concept to execution

Vanini Belarmino, Filipina curator and founder of Belarmino & Partners, is the brains behind the ongoing art initiative series that first experienced success in the first edition in Singapore last April. 

She also collaborated with the Cultural Center of the Philippines to localize it to the country. 

“I asked CCP’s art director Dennis Marasigan if he wanted to collaborate with me on this. It’s unbelievable because I just told him mountain, seaside, and urban jungle, and he just read my ideas.” 

This conversation led to choosing Mount Makiling in Los Baños, the sea shores of La Union, the streets of Roxas Boulevard, Intramuros’ walled landscape, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and the main stage, the Manila Metropolitan Theater, for the week-long exhibition.

The series featured eight works from Danish artists Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, Molly Haslund, and Sophie Dupont alongside choreographers Filip Vest and Kai Merke.

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Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen’s “Mobile Mirrors”

In my personal experience, I was able to catch Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen’s performance of her original concept “Mobile Mirrors.” Born in Manila, the Filipino-Danish artist explores the themes of identity, culture, religion, gender, and social relations in her work. Her medium of choice includes a blend of music, costumes, and stringent scenography. 

As the sun set last Oct. 16, 2024, six figures from the Daloy Dance Company stood out like mosaic sculptures in Raja Sulayman Park, a landmark near the Malate church, each donning bodysuits of fragmented and scattered mirror shards.

Moving through public spaces, the crowds slowly gathered around the mysterious statue-like sculptures, filling the park with gasps of awe as the figures began to move. 

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Rasmussen shares, “I was trying to think of how you can make a sculpture that can fit in a living being—like a suit that is a living sculpture in a public space. People were showing insecurity about whether it was a real sculpture. It aroused suspicion and even curiosity.”

In the two-hour performance, the living mosaics sauntered from the Raja Sulayman Park to the Manila Bay boardwalk, accumulating onlookers driving through the Roxas Boulevard rush-hour traffic. The dancers did not have planned choreography, improvising their poses according to their environment, making the performance one-of-a-kind. 

Since Rasmussen first performed “Mobile Mirrors” in 2017, she describes the unexpected audience engagement as one of her favorite aspects. 

She describes the differences in culture, observing that in Cairo, the audiences shied away from interacting with her. This contrasts to the Philippines. “I think that Filipinos are also quite performative. They’re not ashamed of interacting and being part of it.”

Besides “Mobile Mirrors,” Rasmussen also performed “Magic” a three-house performance centered on palindromes using chalk on Oct. 17. As well as “Mis United” on Oct. 18, modeled on the “ideal and imagined Miss Universe” as she shed a multi-layered costume piece, making a statement on how the constantly transforming world leads to losing oneself. 

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Further “In Situ” performances

Haslund, the Danish artist who performed “Flower Drop” earlier with choreographer Ea Torrado in Intramuros, noted how much Filipinos interacted with her during her performance, compared to her performances in other countries. 

In her “Flower Drop” performance, Haslund carried a giant bouquet of flowers. As she “accidentally” dropped flowers, pedestrians picked up the petals and returned them. In exchange, Haslund offered them flowers to keep as a token of gratitude, building a cycle of intimate acts of kindness. 

Haslund, with Torrado, also held a final performance in La Union on Oct. 26 with “Infinite”. Set on La Union’s beachfront, the performance invited the community to walk a 100-meter “infinity path” in front of Leeroy New’s Mebuyan installation, embracing sama-sama and Bayanihan concepts.

Other performances included Sophie Dupont’s “Marking Breath” at the National Arts Center in Mount Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna on Oct. 15, which marked the start of “In Situ, Performance as Exhibition” as a whole.

“Marking Breath” featured the subtle and meditative act of Dupont scratching lines onto a copper plate in a 12-hour performance. The students of the Philippine High School for the Arts served as her special guests as they shared the experience of spiritual reflection highlighting each other’s presence. 

In addition, Dupont also performed “Breathing Beings” with choreographer Christine Crame at CCP ASEAN Park on Oct. 17. The new performance was specifically created for a Philippine audience in a journey of collective breathing. This highlighted the act of breathing, a simple yet essential part of human life, in a creative space.

Meanwhile, choreographers, Filip Vest and Kai Merke performed “Bunk” alongside contemporary artists Jeremy Mayores, Kyle Confesor, and Sasa Cabalquinto on Oct. 18 at the Manila Metropolitan Theater. 

The performance involved three characters navigating the realities of longing, intimacy, and the passage of time, with themes of imagined childhoods, queer temporalities, and sleepless nights.

Vanini Belarmino’s curator notes

Throughout, curator Belarmino emphasized that bodies are simply a medium of the artist’s work, as the most important thing continues to be the audience. 

“The idea is that bodies are the actual material to exhibit the works. It’s about the presence of the artist and the presence of the audience. This is really something I’m really passionate about. This is what I’ve been doing for the longest time,” Belarmino highlights.

With goals to bring performance art out in the open, with no pretentious inhibitions, Belarmino reflects, “Normally we associate the Cultural Center of the Philippines with ballets or orchestras… Something that’s for the elite or only for the learned. But this really can be for anyone!” she exclaims. 

“I think the people in the street deserve to see and experience something like this. I feel very lucky because they allowed me. And the artists also welcomed the idea.”

Belarmino & Partners is an international project management and promotions consultancy for arts and culture with recent projects in the Philippines.