Nothing to Declare at Yuchengco Museum

The Yuchengco Museum hosts the second leg of Nothing to Declare, a multi-venue and multi-media international art project that aims to contribute to contemporary discussions on migration. Featuring 27 foreign and local artists working on a range of media, the exhibit is presently on view until January 29, 2012.

Nothing to Declare is a project spearheaded by Flaudette May Datuin from the Department of Art Studies of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman; Precious Leaño of the Filipino Visual Arts and Design Rights Organization; and Josephine Turalba of the School of Fine Arts and Design of Philippine Women’s University. Nothing to Declare aims to contribute to discourse on migration, the movement not just of people across borders, but also of forms and realities across time and space. The project focuses on those who have nothing to declare, whose marginality is a source of intervention and strength. The visual discourse and presentations began at the Blanc Compound as the first venue, with the Yuchengco Museum and the UP Vargas Museum following through until January 2012.

Nothing to Declare at Yuchengco Museum is curated by guest curator Claro Ramirez, Jr., and showcases the works of participating international artists Mateo Amaral (Argentina), Dana Cojbuc (France), Ding Ren (Netherlands/USA/China), Dada Docot (Philippines/Canada), Hillerbrand + Magsamen (USA), Khaled Hafez (Egypt), Sol Kjok (Norway/USA), Thomas Kutschker (Germany), Sebastian Mahaluf (Chile), Nerea Martinez de Lecea (UK), Minou Norouzi (Canada), Ruth Schreiber (Israel), Martin Sims (Australia), Motohide Taguchi (Japan), Sonja Van Kerkhoff (The Netherlands), and Quint Welters (USA). From the Philippines, the participating artists are Michael Bacol (Philippines), Errol Balcos (Philippines), Paulo Chavez (Philippines), Joey Cobcobo (Philippines), Raquel de Loyola (Philippines), Tony Gonzales (Philippines), Nikki Luna(Philippines), Tes Pasola (Philippines), Hanna Pettyjohn (Philippines), Alma Quinto (Philippines), Noel Soler Cuizon(Philippines), and Josephine Turalba (Philippines).

Painting, sculpture, photography, installations, sound art, and video show the array of artists’ ideas, while some collaborative work has been done with partner communities. The exhibit is also a starting point for various activities and programs, such as art educators’ training workshops, an essay writing contest for college students, education guides, and docent tours.

Nothing to Declare at Yuchengco Museum runs until January 29, 2012. The museum is located at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenues, Makati City. Museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (632) 889-1234 or visit http://nothing2declare2011.wordpress.com/.