May 4 to June 4, 2011

Quezon Memorial Circle


The French Embassy in the Philippines and the Quezon City Government, together with the Alliance française de Manille and the Niepce Museum in France, are organizing a photography and video exhibit to be held at the Quezon Memorial Circle. The exhibit is part of FrancoPhil, the 2011 French cultural season in the Philippines.


Giant photo installations featuring the work of Filipino photographer Jake Versoza and French photographer Charles Freger will be placed throughout the park for an entire month, from May 4 until June 4, 2011. Versoza will exhibit black and white portraits of the women of the Kalinga tribe dressed in their traditional costumes and displaying the extensive traditional tattoos of their tribe. Freger, on the other hand, will showcase the bright colors and energetic dances of the Filipino performers at this year’s recently concluded Sinulog festival. Filipino director Raya Martin is also slated to show a short silent film revolving around the fitness theme.


Mayor Herbert Bautista sees the project as a great opportunity to showcase the attractiveness of the Quezon Memorial Circle as a unique venue for public events. “The QMC has undergone several transformations in recent years. We want people to see it as more than just an ordinary park but as a venue where people can engage in all sorts of activities like concerts, film showing, poetry reading, conferences while enjoying the natural amenities of the park,” he said.


As a public park that attracts around 10,000 visitors on weekdays and 20,000 on weekends, the Quezon Memorial Circle is the perfect venue for bringing artistic photography to the general Filipino public, and to raise awareness of the richness and variety of local cultures. Different echos of the project will take place all around the City.


Quezon Memorial Circle is the heart of the park system of Quezon City, as envisioned by the City’s planners. It is a 25.37 hectare national park first reserved as the central park by a proclamation of President Elpidio Quirino in 1949, at the time when the plan was to make Quezon City the capital of the Philippines. Now, QMC is best known as home to the shrine, museum and remains of the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth and founder of Quezon City, Manuel Luis Quezon, and his wife, Aurora Aragon.



Exhibition Schedule

Main Exhibit: Quezon Memorial Circle: May 4 to June 4, 2011


Micro Events:

Ayala Museum: May 5 to 12, 2011

6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. (May 5) and 9:00 p.m. (May 12)


Silverlens Gallery: May 4 to June 4, 2011

2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City


Manila Collective: May 4 to June 4, 2011

Shop 6, Cubao X (formerly Marikina Shoe Expo), General Romulo Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City


Alliance Française de Manille: May 4 to June 4, 2011

209 Nicanor Garcia Street, Bel Air II, Makati City


CURATOR'S TALK

with Francois Cheval of The Niepce Museum

5 May 2011, 5pm

Ayala Museum Lobby


In his lecture, Cheval will address the way western photographers paid attention to faces and bodies in 19th century photography. Pictures from the Niepce Museum collection will illustrate the lecture


For inquiries, please call 757-7117 to 21 loc. 33 or email education@ayalamuseum.org