Art

5 Years Later: How Filipino Artists Responded to COVID-19

On the fifth anniversary of China’s first COVID-19 lockdown, we reflect on how Filipino artists responded to the global pandemic, and its mark on the local art scene

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Neil Doloricon, Pila, 2020. Photo from UGATLahi Artist Collective/Facebook

To put it mildly, 2020 was a rough year.

The COVID-19 pandemic, a global health crisis sparked by the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, forced Filipino artists, galleries, and cultural institutions to swiftly adapt to a new reality. By April 2020, just a month into the national lockdown, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported a startling unemployment rate of 17.7 percent, a record high not seen in the country since 2005. The arts, entertainment, and recreation employment subsectors saw the biggest drop in employment at 54 percent. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the government agency responsible for promoting Filipino arts and culture, reported an estimated P90 million loss in total revenue caused by the pandemic-induced lockdown.

While 2020 saw the country’s artistic community struggling to navigate a national health crisis, Filipino artists across different mediums responded by embracing digital platforms and by continuing to create art despite the chaos caused by COVID-19. “Pivot seems to be the word of the moment — adapting because the times call for change,” said Art Fair Philippines co-founder Trickie Lopa in a 2020 interview with art gallery Cartellino. As a result of the pandemic, Lopa and her co-founders Lisa Ongpin-Periquet and Dindin Araneta decided to host both Art Fair Philippines 2021 and their other initiative, Art in the Park 2020, on virtual platforms. Other galleries, museums, and cultural organizations had to learn how to make the same pivot in order to continue connecting Filipino audiences with local art and culture.

Five years later, the Filipino art scene still carries the marks of that turbulent time as work continues to address themes of isolation and uncertainty. What started out as a sudden shift in how art was created and shared has since shaped a new wave of artistic expression. This list of artworks and performances not only reflect the challenges of the early days of COVID-19, but also the powerful ways artists turned crisis into opportunity.

Quintin Pastrana and Xyza Cruz Bacani’s ‘Love in the Time of Pandemic’

covid-19 filipino artists
Photo from Xyza Cruz Bacani/Instagram

Love in the Time of Pandemic was an exhibition that combined the striking, pandemic-centered photographs of Filipina author and photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani with the reflective poetry of Filipino author Quintin Pastrana. The exhibit featured photographs and poetry that centered around small moments of empathy and connection during the pandemic. Bacani’s black-and-white photographs of the mundane —from people standing along a shoreline to a nun making her way down an escalator — highlight the importance of human presence. Similarly, Pastrana’s poetry explores themes of love, loss, and resilience, serving as a poignant accompaniment to Bacani’s photographs.

Aze Ong’s ‘Transcendence’

aze ong transcendence covid-19 art
Photo from Aze Ong/Facebook

Filipino artist Aze Ong struggled to cope with the distress caused by the pandemic. Looking for an artistic coping mechanism, Ong turned to crochet — a medium which features significantly in her body of work. Eight months of crocheting colorful strands of string fiber culminated in Ong’s exhibit Transcendence, which was featured in the ArtFairPH/Projects section of Art Fair Philippines 2022.

The exhibit was composed of vibrant, web-like crochet pieces that were so large they spanned from floor to ceiling. Using repeated patterns, intricate designs, and various lengths of fiber, Ong created an exhibit that seemed to envelop viewers, inviting them into an immersive, interconnected experience. In an interview, Ong explained that creating Transcendence allowed her to process the passing of her mother-in-law and grandmother, both passing before and after the pandemic, respectively. The artist added that she hoped the exhibit would provide viewers with similar feelings of healing and reflection.

Neil Doloricon’s ‘Pila’

neil doloricon pila
Photo from UGATLahi Artist Collective/Facebook

During the pandemic, visual artist, printmaker, and social critic Leonilo “Neil” Doloricon created art pieces that reflected his frustrations over how the national government was responding to the crisis. Doloricon, widely regarded as “one of the pillars of social realism” in the Philippine art scene, returned to his social commentary roots with the creation of his linocut print Pila. The piece features masked men and women lining up in opposite directions, while an ominous military presence looms behind them. Through Pila, Doloricon critiques the prioritization of authority over human well-being that evokes urgency and a call for accountability.

‘ECQ: Eksena Cinema Quarantine (COVID-19 Filmmakers’ Diaries)’

An empty church courtyard, haunting visuals of masked women, and everyday people isolated in their homes during lockdown are just some of the scenes from the ambitious cinematic project, ECQ: Eksena Cinema Quarantine (COVID-19 Filmmakers’ Diaries). In collaboration with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ National Committee on Cinema and the University of St. La Salle, the project gathered 16 Filipino filmmakers from across the country and asked them to document their experiences during the pandemic.

What resulted was a pensive visual exploration of what it means to live under lockdown. Filmmakers such as Cleaners’ Glenn Barit, Iskalawags’ Keith Deligero, and Medusae’s Pam Miras, among others, used their unique perspectives to craft intimate, often experimental narrative shorts that captured their anxieties, fears, and hopes at a time of uncertainty.

Green Papaya Art Projects’ ‘DEATH IS NOT A PORTAL’

During the early days of the Philippines’ enhanced community quarantine, art collective and Manila’s oldest artist-run space Green Papaya Art Projects launched a series of twenty posters titled DEATH IS NOT A PORTAL that explores themes of death, suffering, and a lack of governmental preparedness relating to the pandemic.

The posters — all of which are available for viewing on the collective’s Instagram, feature bold capitalized messages, like “OUR DEEPEST RESPECT AND GRATITUDE TO HEALTH WORKERS FIGHTING COVID-19. WE ARE HUMBLED BY YOUR SACRIFICES.” Forgoing visuals with their posters, Green Papaya Art Projects chose to use the simple, stark imagery of their printed messages to amplify the urgency and emotional weight of their commentary.

The minimalist approach, stripped of distractions, allowed the messages to stand out powerfully, confronting viewers with the harsh realities of the pandemic and the failures of those in power.

Pam Quinto’s ‘Parcel Exhibitions’

For multimedia artist Pam Quinto, the pandemic was the perfect opportunity to explore alternative ways of hosting exhibitions, especially during a time when physical spaces were inaccessible. Parcel Exhibitions was Quinto’s effort to curate a traveling exhibition, one that wouldn’t be affected by the nationwide shutdown of museums and art galleries.

Viewers signed up for a mailing list, and the first person on the list received a 47” x 34” x 22” box filled with art pieces from various artists, which they would enjoy for three to four days before passing the box along to the next viewer. The inaugural launch of Quinto’s experiment included a variety of works, such as a pair of furry boots titled Outside Fur from artist Gale Encarcion, a dreamy mirrored eye sculpture titled Mirage (Mirror) from artist Miguel Lorenzo Uy, and a playful windmill-esque device titled Portable Collage Maker from Miguel Puyat, among others.

CCP’s Virgin Labfest 2020

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Photo from CCP/Facebook

The 2020 edition of CCP’s annual theater festival, Virgin Labfest, marked a pivotal moment for the cultural agency as it navigated the challenges of COVID-19 by moving the event entirely online for the first time. This virtual iteration featured a mix of new one-act plays, along with three previously staged productions and six readings.

The festival captured the diverse ways Filipinos coped with isolation, confusion, and grief during the crisis. By adapting to the digital space, Virgin Labfest not only preserved its tradition, but also became a platform for artists to share their reflections on a world in crisis.

One highlight of the festival’s lineup was Fangirl, directed by Nekropolis’ Charles Yee, which focused on three friends that reunite after 20 years to attend their favorite boy band’s reunion concert. Another stand-out production was Anak Ka Ng, directed by Tao Po‘s Maynard Manansala, which centered on a woman reunited with her estranged mother who is an Overseas Filipino Worker.

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