Exhibitions at West Gallery for May
FIVE exhibits are now on view at West Gallery in Quezon City. There’s Celine Lee’s Times: Expansion of Matter, depicting a collection of explosions resulting from missile strikes in the early stages of the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran. The images were composed by generative artificial intelligence and adjusted by Ms. Lee as she seared and polished them onto copper sheets. In Anj Pe’s Nothing and Everything, For the Time Being, viewers are invited to a meditative journey into everyday life by seeing familiar items in paintings as if encountered for the very first time. Other exhibitions this month are Eugene Jarque’s Offcuts, Mac Valdezco’s Bagyong Bahaghari, and a collaboration between artists Miguel Aquilizan and Jessica Dorizac, titled Pilgrimage: Telescopic realities, kaleidoscope dreams. These all run until June 6 at West Gallery.
Indonesian artist’s debut show in the Philippines
GAJAH GALLERY is presenting An Endless Soul, a Boundless Feeling, the debut exhibition of Indonesian artist Ibrahim in the Philippines. It presents 15 new works shaped by color and intuition. His paintings are meant to evoke sensory exploration as they are reconfigured into vivid textured landscapes. Curated by Alain Zedrick Camiling, Ibrahim’s exhibition runs until May 24 at Gajah Gallery, NBS Park, Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City.
Rift Gallery mounts group exhibit
NINETEEN artists have gathered at Rift Gallery this May to transform the space into a modern playground. Through various art forms, they offer reappraisals of playground rules, interrogations of the hybrid and the hyperreal and of advertorial and algorithmic content; critiques of gamified consumerism; and reminiscences of carefree days of childhood. The artists are Andrew Rimpola, Carlos Jose Camus, Cristina Escario, Dan Mendoza, Ferd Failano, Francis Valles Bejar, Hyacinth Laoke, Joel Casimiro, Kate Callangan, Kean Barrameda, Michael Joselo, Mio Aceremo, Pam Liban-Sarmiento, Patreng Non, Raha Rodriguez, Shangrila Viola, Teepee Gile, Timo Ambo, and Trina Clemente Nguyen. The show runs until May 31 at Rift Gallery, VV Soliven, EDSA, San Juan City.
CCP Channel offers stories of Filipino heritage
THIS MAY, in line with National Heritage Month, the CCP Channel is highlighting content on the interconnectedness of Filipinos. Guided by the theme “Roots and Horizons: Our Shared Heritage, Our Collective Future,” the streaming platform’s lineup weaves together stories that bridge generations to shape national sensibility. From Cinemalaya are Iar Arondaing’s Musmos na Sumibol sa Gubat ng Digma, Mark Sicat dela Cruz’ Misteryo ng Hapis, and Sol Garcia’s Tagapagligtas. From the Virgin Labfest’s 14th edition comes the play Labor Room, written by Maki dela Rosa and co-directed by José Estrella and Issa Manalo Lopez. The CCP Channel also shares educational and dance performance videos of Singkil: Sagip sa Sintang Ibig and Palóbo: Pagsúyo sa Siphayo ng Pobreng Puso from the CCP T(A)YONG Dalawa project in 2023.
Mari Dance Company restages a dance in a day in a dance
THE Mari Dance Company is set to restage its acclaimed production, a dance in a day in a dance by choreographer JM Cabling, from May 16 to 31 at the Doreen Black Box Theater, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City. Shaped by musical theater director Mikko Angeles, with Al Garcia reprising his role as the Choreographer, the work unifies five distinct choreographic voices into a single evening that reflects the realities of dance making in the Philippines today. The full-length contemporary dance production brings these together to narrate the lives of dancers and choreographers. Four were developed through the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Choreographer’s Series and other dance programs. The production features alternating performances by ballet dancers Georgette Sanchez-Vargas, Ea Torrado, and Janine Arisola-Cabrera. Tickets are available via maridance.com.
Nonie Buencamino stars in Rep’s Man of La Mancha
REPERTORY PHILIPPINES (Rep) is set to restage the classic musical Man of La Mancha, the story of literary hero Don Quixote. There will be a limited four-weekend run from June 5 to 28 at the Rep Eastwood Theater, 4F Citywalk 2, Eastwood City, Quezon City. The musical will be directed by Nelsito Gomez and will star 2025 Gawad Buhay Best Actor in a Play awardee, Nonie Buencamino. He will be making his comeback into musicals as Alonso Quijano/Don Quixote, a man on a dedicated mission to restore honor, justice, and beauty to a world tainted by cynicism and hatred.
TGA casts Celeste Legaspi in The Notebook
THEATRE GROUP ASIA (TGA) has announced that iconic Filipino performer Celeste Legaspi will take on the role of Older Allie in its production of The Notebook, The Musical. Ms. Legaspi will join Morissette as Middle Allie and Sheena Belarmino as Younger Allie in the play’s multi-generational ensemble. Featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson and a Tony Award-nominated book by Bekah Brunstetter, the musical portrays love as it evolves through youth, adulthood, and old age. It will be staged in September.
